Zia

More like 3.5.
I’ve stopped into Zia a few more times over the past year and a half and I think they’ve done some smart things since I first wrote. Their clothes are still pricey, but I, on my student budget, was able to purchase two things off the sale rack yesterday. I think that they’ve increased the diversity of their size and cut selection — these items were cut for women with T&A (and made in America, go figure). A lot more color. Still a limited selection, but much more worth looking at than when I originally stopped in. Fabulous handbags still present, well-​priced.
And the accessories are fantastic and affordable. I bought 2 $ 15 dollar bracelets yesterday that were 30% off and a $ 40 scarf at 30% off as well. I have also purchased a $ 20 bracelet and a $ 20 pair of sunglasses there in the past. They always have cute and tempting accessories.
The lady was friendly. I don’t know if it was the same lady from before, but somehow we got to talking about how I’m in my last semester of law school and kind of bummed about job prospects. She was very encouraging.

Promised myself for several weeks I’d check out this women’s clothing store new to Brookline (relocated from Roslindale). What a let down when I made a special trip there! Rude service. Make that no service. The owner was so busy giving total attention to two Newton shoppers she couldn’t acknowledge me. Another store worker saw me looking through a rack of clothes and scolded me because «they’re not for sale.» There was so sign to indicate this and the rack was smack in the middle between two racks of items that were for sale. Poor layout in a small space. Won’t return.

So I finally made my way to Zia’s after wanting to go in since the day it opened.
First, it is in the wrong spot. The neighborhood is all resteraunts and supermarkets. The only people who would enter are residents… and they are almost all college students (most of the brownstones are dorms)
Their prices are ridiculous. Their mark-​up is way too much!
Yes they have some: nice” brands… but they cater more towards the «I will pay $ 200 for an Ed Hardy shirt instead of a nice quality DV dress»…makes no sense to me.
The only people shop like that are rich students. Sorry, but it didn’t hit a chord with me.

Overall, I’m not terribly impressed with this place. A cute shop, but the selection is very limited. The saleswoman/​owner lady is completely unfriendly, and doesn’t even acknowledge your presence in the store.

Zia is a new boutique located in the St. Mary’s St neighborhood. There isn’t a very big selection, and the only brand that I recognized there was Ed Hardy. Now, while there were a lot of items that I liked, a lot, I did NOT like the price, at all. I don’t think there was anything in the store that was less than $ 100.00. Maybe if I had the money, I would consider buying some items, because the quality seemed to be very nice. There was this beautiful dress that I wanted to buy to wear to my best friend’s wedding, but I didn’t want to pay $ 180.00 for it. Granted, it is a dress that I would wear again, but I didn’t want to, nor could afford the price tag.
I really want to rate this place higher, but the lady that was working there (who I assume is the owner) did not even acknowledge me and Joe’s presence. Which would have been fine, if there was anyone in the store. There was no one in the store. A lady did come in, but I think it was her friend. To me, that’s not good customer service, especially if you are a brand new store.
I don’t think this store is bad, but this place is way too expensive (I have to admit, a bit too expensive, I mean, the stuff is nice, but not $ 150 nice), so I probably won’t be returning anytime soon. I think this store has potential, but I’m not sure how it will do, especially surrounded by it’s student population.