Dressing the Part?!! Answers needed please...

Jan 29, 2006
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I wanted to ask this as a general question and was going to post in the 'handbag section' because this question applies to all handbags however I've decided to post in the two most active forums...so here goes...




this is going to be used in a survey/essay so please answer honestly...



do you think that when shopping you have to dress the part? like for instance if you walk into let's say BALNY or a LV boutique do you think you have to dress up? At least more than usual? Do you get better treatment/service if you look the part of a 'big spender'? For people who have gone into high end boutiques 'dressed down' have you received bad service ? How bad ( if i may ask) ?


thank you guys!:flowers:


i hope it's okay that i post this in the BAL. section as well since I need as many opinions as possible. thanks everyone! & please answer as honestly as possible too...i cannot stress that enough! :heart:
 
I have gone and shopped at many high end boutiques. There were times when I went simply dressed up in T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Mostly, I end up getting pretty good service: SA's approach me and ask if I need help finding something. I have been tempted to dress up when going to LV but choose not to. I like to dress comfortable when I shop. Nevertheless, I still get very good service. The worst service I have received is in Hermes when Christmas shopping. I came in empty handed and none of the SAs even noticed me when I came in. I asked how much one of their scarves cost and the SA looked at me from head to foot as if I was crazy to even shop there. I felt humiliated and left. :crybaby:After I finished shopping, I felt like having a Julia Robert's moment from "Pretty Woman." I walked in carrying my shopping bags from LV, Chanel, and Dior. The SA who snubbed me approached me right away and ask if I needed help. I said to her, "oh no thank you. Just came in to let you know I found better scarves at another store. Bye now." You guys should've seen the look on her face. :lol: BTW, I'm a straight guy so I never feel the pressure to go to high end boutiques all dressed up. I am the customer and if they want to make a sale, they better treat me nicely even though I am in T-shirt and jeans.
 
I have gone and shopped at many high end boutiques. There were times when I went simply dressed up in T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Mostly, I end up getting pretty good service: SA's approach me and ask if I need help finding something. I have been tempted to dress up when going to LV but choose not to. I like to dress comfortable when I shop. Nevertheless, I still get very good service. The worst service I have received is in Hermes when Christmas shopping. I came in empty handed and none of the SAs even noticed me when I came in. I asked how much one of their scarves cost and the SA looked at me from head to foot as if I was crazy to even shop there. I felt humiliated and left. :crybaby:After I finished shopping, I felt like having a Julia Robert's moment from "Pretty Woman." I walked in carrying my shopping bags from LV, Chanel, and Dior. The SA who snubbed me approached me right away and ask if I needed help. I said to her, "oh no thank you. Just came in to let you know I found better scarves at another store. Bye now." You guys should've seen the look on her face. :lol: BTW, I'm a straight guy so I never feel the pressure to go to high end boutiques all dressed up. I am the customer and if they want to make a sale, they better treat me nicely even though I am in T-shirt and jeans.

Totally agree !!! :tup:

I felt like having a Julia Robert's moment from "Pretty Woman." I walked in carrying my shopping bags from LV, Chanel, and Dior. The SA who snubbed me approached me right away and ask if I needed help. I said to her, "oh no thank you. Just came in to let you know I found better scarves at another store. Bye now." You guys should've seen the look on her face. :roflmfao:
 
Well I'm always dressed appropriately when I go shopping - the idea of hitting a store in gym gear or a tracksuit is just not me - I think it's inappropriate. So I guess I'm just dressed normally whenever I go shopping. I don't feel the need to dress up per se - I certainly shouldn't have to dress up for service.

SA's should be polite and courteous to every person in the store, regardless of appearance.
 
Well I'm always dressed appropriately when I go shopping - the idea of hitting a store in gym gear or a tracksuit is just not me - I think it's inappropriate. So I guess I'm just dressed normally whenever I go shopping. I don't feel the need to dress up per se - I certainly shouldn't have to dress up for service.

SA's should be polite and courteous to every person in the store, regardless of appearance.

I am 100% the same as Bitten :yes:
 
I'm really a jeans and cute tshirt girl when it comes to shopping, and I have been snubbed by SA's when I've been in LV stores. I look a lot younger than I am even thought I'm already done with college and into my career. I have found that if I dress up; I do get better service. For example, I had just bought my ebene mini lin speedy, and they had forgotten to include the brass lock. I went to the store the next day,after work, in my work clothes and got helped much faster than I had ever had...I wasn't even carrying a purse.
I was at a boutique the other day with my mom who was looking at a bag. I was carrying my speedy and the SA who was helping my mom look at a bag asked me if that was the store's speedy that I was holding. I was a bit taken aback that her first thought was that it wasn't mine. I always figured that you'll get treated better if you're actually carrying one of their bags...but in some cases they might actually mistake you for someone who has taken a bag off one of the shelves and just decided to carry it around the store to get better attention.
 
LVKeepallFan, that's hilarious!:roflmfao: I

As for me, I don't follow a dress code when I shop at LV. I've been treated nicely either in jeans or business clothes from work. I guess it also helps once you are a familiar face.:smile:
 
I'm always dressed up even to the supermarket lol..but in my prespective I think it does have an effect on how the SA approaches a customer. I think it's absurd to look at a potential customer based on how they are dressed, but its sadly the truth.
But I really think it depends more on the SA (attitude) than the customer.
 
IMO, how you dress truly reflects how one presents oneself. I can't say much for customers who choose to dress sloppily in slippers and shorts and swagger into a high-end boutique expecting to be served. As the saying goes: 'Clothes maketh the man'. It's the impression you want people to have of you. I don't really blame SAs who choose to serve somebody who is dressing appropriately vs somebody who doesn't bother to dress but wants to buy a fashionable high-end item. It just doesn't gel.

On the other hand, I'm not too impressed by SAs who are snobby and judge their customers too quickly, ie looking young=no spending power. I sometimes get that cos I look really young though I can afford to spend. So I make sure I dress appropriately before I shop. Besides, if you look good, won't you feel good too?
 
...but in my prespective I think it does have an effect on how the SA approaches a customer. I think it's absurd to look at a potential customer based on how they are dressed, but its sadly the truth.
But I really think it depends more on the SA (attitude) than the customer.

I agree.

I don't dress up especially if I know I'm going to a high end boutique. Usually, it's an unplanned visit anyway so it's whatever I wear when I go out shopping. Tough luck if they don't want to serve me, they don't get my money so I'll go somewhere else where I won't get judged by the way I look or what I wear. I usually wear a pair of nice jeans, ballet flats and a girlie blouse, it's comfortable for me so if it's not good enough for snooty SAs, I don't really care.
 
From that moment on, I have NEVER entered another Hermes store again. Two of my girl friends were once interested to get Hermes' enameled bracelets and asked me to accompany them to the store in Las Vegas. I told them to go online and buy it there; at least the computer won't judge them for what they wear.
 
Most of the time (atleast during the colder months) you can find me in sweatpants! I have this odd obsession with sweatpants.. ever since I worked at Roots p/t for a couple years, now i'm hooked!:love: So a good percent of the time when I make my way over to the mall I may very well be dressed in sweats! I don't have a LV boutique anywhere near where I live, but there is a higher-end department store that has some pretty snobby SA's trotting around.
I have found from my experience that when I want to be more left alone I throw on a pair of sweatpants (but sometimes this doesn't matter, they will still acknowledge my existance), and if I want the attention or whatever I might try and look a little more presentable to the public. Although in the back of my mind I believe a nice pair of Roots Sweats are very presentable:rolleyes:
 
I've found to make an impact on the type of service you receive depends upon two things: your outfit along with accessories AND your attitude. If you are well-dressed, but wimpy, forget about it! You have to act like they need to get your attention, not the other way around. It really makes a difference, particularly in high-end boutiques or department stores in which you don't have a regular SA. So put on a nice outfit and a snazzy attitude.