I wandered into the Espy Experience on a chilly evening a few weeks ago and in need of some better…read moregloves. I left with a very nice pair of leather gloves that were on sale. Espy is mostly a women's clothing store, but if you're into denim, they have a wide selection on the men's side. I found store staff to be funky, friendly, fun, and helpful, offering as much personal space as I needed to contemplate any possible purchases. They also offer "closet intervention" services, which considering my casual (and sometimes baggy and color-bending) clothing choices, would most welcome. But only under Gayle's supervision. :)

My favourite place in town to shop for clothes. Went in today to pick up a new pair of Fidelity…read morejeans that were being hemmed. I bought them last week using a groupon I'd purchased months ago. Always love going in there to see the new stuff as I'm not really a "fashion" guy but really appreciate their help. I'm not always sure what will look good on me based on how it looks on the rack. Megan and Adam are always really helpful and I end up with stuff that I really like. This past spring I called Megan to tell her I was heading to Paris and was having trouble finding a wool pea coat. She told me that they had just been in London and she put her boyfriend in a 7diamonds coat that looked great. She showed me the pictures on the website, ordered it in and I had it in my hands 3 days later. Now that's service. Espy definitely isn't the cheapest place in town but I'd gladly spend my money on quality things that I really like vs cheaping out on just ok ish stuff that I end up not wearing. I can usually expect to go in there looking for one thing but finding others too. Today I was just going to pick up the hemmed jeans but ended up leaving with a new pair of Steve Madden shoes. Collateral damage of the best kind ;-)

I'm from the U.S., but this Canadian department store is my favorite for fashionable, affordable…read morewinter gear, including scarves and neck warmers. Extremely helpful staff who went out of their way to help.

I do like shopping at Simons. The Simons in Edmonton (Edmonton Mall)/North Vancouver (BC) are way…read morebigger than the Simons here. Simons has some pretty good selections at a super reasonable price. The store is clean and neatly organized. The store is located inside Core Mall. I would walk by it every time I go through the +15 here. Good quality clothing for an inexpensive price.

Wow, I really like this store, and essentially the most attractive thing about this store is one of…read morethe staff members, I believe he is from Winnipeg and his name is Charley. He is funny, stylish and has amazing fashion sense. If you need anything in the store and it is lacking it, he is very quick to take down your specs and contact you when they do. Fantastic service! Leo's all around is crazy sick, great window displays, and interior design, good area of designer jeans plus we are talking fashion by Betsey Johnson, Free People, Acne, Young Fabulous and Broke, just to name a few. This is a store with solid lines of both men's and women's fashion, but be on the lookout for Leo's accessories; Bling and Da Bomb. Great necklaces in silver with a simple initial hanging in lower case letters, wonderful belts and kick ass bags and purses. They are moving into Aussie fashion, it's the swagger sensation for the new season, and I find that their pieces although pricey are quite unique. Check this Leo out folks; his bark is as big as his bite.

First off let me say that Ren R.'s review has some erroneous facts within it. "Leo Boutique is one…read moreof the few boutiques left in Calgary after the recession". This statement is simply not true, as more boutique style stores have opened in Calgary over the last two years or so than ever before in recent memory. Shops like Brooklyn, Henry, Bloke Clothing among others, as far as I know the only boutique style store that has closed because of the recession is Smyth and Kang. More to the point, Leo Boutique is great, has many brands and styles not often found in Canada such as Acne, but also featuring more common up and coming brands such as Nudie and Cheap Mondays and other great Swedish brands. Great service, the decor is also very simple but equally elegant. This is one of 17th ave's best

Rude, classist, and highly disrespectful. Clearly, service is only pleasant if you are an old white…read moreman, anyone else gets the ire of the employees, especially that horrid Oran man. We walked in with the intention to shop, but clearly since we did not fit the image of his preferred demographic, we were ignored, dismissed, and stared at excessively. We left without much further ado, went to go get coffee across the street, and when we returned, he was standing outside, taking pictures of our license plates and shouting at us from across the lot. We were quite literally leaving, and yet he was practically chasing our car with his phone. Overall a terrible experience, from start all the way to finish.

I recently needed to update my wardrobe for a series of business trips where I need to make a good…read moreimpression. I don't particularly enjoy buying clothes. I have no real interest in style or fashion so I tend to feel uninformed and at a disadvantage. However, this was a great experience. Seth Chartier was immediately fully engaged in the project. There was no up-sell and no sales pressure, just a genuine and knowledgeable effort to convert my requirements and preferences into exactly what I needed. It was a perfect mix of system, judgement, and tact. I really appreciated the way he coordinated the entire process from selection, alterations, pick-up, and the interface with shoes and belts which is a different department. A special mention to Thelis who helped me select the best-looking leather shoes I've ever owned. Near the end, the owner came out just to introduce himself. O'Connors is a case-study in how a business can successfully use superior service and quality to build loyalty. It doesn't always have to be about price. You just won't find what I received on Amazon.

Tory Burch makes my heart sing…read more I love the high quality style, and the service is excellent! I have shopped both in Chinook Center and online and the service and product have been consistently exceptional. Wait until you read this story of exceptional customer service. I had a small, casual wedding in July 2013 and purchased both my shoes and wedding dress from Tory Burch (I posted pictures so you can see). The ladies at Tory Burch were enthusiastic, helpful and got me suited up, and even watered down with a diet coke while I shopped (seriously?? I never expected that kind of hospitality!). Fast forward a few months, I tried on my dress and....... I put on a "little weight". I needed to go up a size. The dress was unworn, and I brought it in and they went through the whole rigoramol again, (diet coke, friendly, helpful, compassionate) and i got the "new" correct size and was out the door. Now here's the kicker. Right before my wedding, I get a delivery to my home. Flowers! From Tory Burch, CONGRATULATING me! They have a fan for life. I tell everyone the story. They need to know how Tory Burch has gone above and beyond any retail experience I have had. They honestly have inspired me to do better, because I can see what a difference it makes.

Review #2 of Yelp's 30 Day Challenge 2012…read more Tory Burch opened about a week ago and I was so excited as I'm a big fan of their flats. I told my husband about it and joked that he should buy me a pair of ballet flats. Well he took it seriously and agreed, what's a girl to do? :) The one grayed out star is for the overall feel of the store. When we walked in it felt like the store was too cramped. The shelves look like they were too small for the number of items there wanted to display. In the spot where the ballet flats are, it looked like they just placed one of each style they have without thinking if the display will actually entice their customers into purchasing. Those four stars are for their products and service. Their products maybe a bit on the pricey side but they last and their designs go with a lot of styles - I love that cos I hate thinking too much about what shoes or bag goes with what. Their sales people are friendly and really attentive. I think I had two ladies help me and I only tried on two pairs of shoes. My husband was happy too because he was offered refreshments while waiting for me try on shoes, also he didn't have to get out of the couch to pay and claim our purchase (we're not as lazy as this in real life :P) I wouldn't say it's a place that you go to every week for shopping unless you really can afford to do so. I will probably have to eat leather and live in my purse if I do that. For the service and quality of product I think this place is worth checking out and maybe once in a while buy something that pleases your eyes. I think it's just fair for a lady to splurge every now and then right? :)

Now, I'm no fashion expert over here, but I do know when something is over priced... and Crabapple…read moreClothing is far too expensive for any sane person to purchase. I browsed around in here for about 15 minutes before I finally realized everything was out of my budget. I couldn't find one piece of clothing for under $100. Okay, that's a lie. I think there was a hat for around $50. But still. I didn't even find the clothes in this store to be that nice. Everything seemed a little outdated or at least not very modern. To each their own, I suppose. It's been a while since I've been stalked and eye-balled by salespeople when I'm perusing a store, but sure enough, it happened here. One of the ladies followed not two feet behind me the entire time, watching what I was doing, but never offering a hand. I mean, I may not look like I'm 30 years old, but I certainly don't look like a teenager ready to shoplift whatever I can fit into my purse. I was extremely insulted and definitely uncomfortable while shopping here. One cool thing about this place is that they do in-house tailoring to all their clothes. You can't bring something from a different store and have it altered, but they'll change any article of clothes you buy from their store. That sets them apart from most other clothing stores. If you're going to have a look in here, make sure you check out their secret lower level. Okay, it's not really a secret since anyone can go in here, but it's somewhat hidden behind racks of clothes. There's actually a whole separate section to this place that seems like it could be a totally different store. And yes, the aforementioned salesperson followed me down there too. So, to sum up: too expensive, not my style, un-trusting and not very discreet salespeople. Not my forte.

I had spotted some shoes in the window at Crabapple that caught my attention. This place is…read moredeceivingly large! I automatically felt that the kind of clothing carried here was not my style or age group. I browsed the jewellery displays for some earrings, there is a lot of displays around the store, most earrings went for $140. I found some "Hollywood" accessories, like invisible tape, tag tamers and commando liners. All of these went for $20 or so, which is over priced for sure. I looked at the shoes I was interested in initially, but looking at them in person and the price, I wasn't so interested anymore. I browsed around a bit more. I found a great leather belt, for $130, eep. I did find some clothing pieces that were very beautiful, so I will admit that they carry things for women of different ages. This place is expensive, but they have a huge stock of clothing and accessories, all top of the line. It is somewhere to check out if you have money to burn, very quickly.

Rarely do I leave a shop feeling I learned something new. So many brands are so ubiquitous as to…read moreput you to sleep. Not here! Not only did I encounter some brands I'd never seen before, but they also perfectly hit my prized trifecta/venn diagram of shopping: bold and fun prints, natural fibers, and reasonably priced. The store has tons of floor space and is filled with happy colors, unique prints and a variety of styles. If I lived here this would be on my regular rotation. Staff was kind and helpful. I almost skipped out the door with my purchase, heart filled with shopping joy. I'd forgotten what that was like.

Terrible customer service. Sold me a defective Paul Frank sweater online with Julius shown to be on…read moreit but not actually on it. Passed it off for a fine print note and refused to refund or provide store credit.

The outlet is a rather different experience from the downtown Brooks Brothers location…read more Well-dressed, eloquent sales people who knows their product inside and out are much harder to find. The store and fitting rooms are not nearly as clean, nor as well organized, however the prices generally make up for that. Of note, the majority of what the outlet sells is a different label and product than the regular store, denoted by the numbers in the logo on the tag. A lot of clothing is specifically made for the outlet. There are, however, on occasion sales that make sorting through overstuffed, unorganized racks of clothing completely worthwhile, as you can pick up $100 shirts for $15! (This is a rare and special breed of sale!) You are best armed with your own knowledge heading in, such as the colours on the labels and which fits they denote, as the sales staff probably doesn't know the difference between the pink and the green labels, but they are entirely different fits. My opinion of this store is that it needs to be kept cleaner and better organized, in order to avoid tarnishing the Brooks Brothers brand. That said, I will continue to shop there, with the prices I have seen.