Charming Charlie – Homestead

First let me preface this by saying I’ve been shopping at Charming Charley’s for a couple of years before I moved to Pittsburgh and when I found out there was a Charming Charley’s less than two miles I was more than pleasantly surprised. There are soooo many accessories and the whole store is sorted by color. It’s like a slightly more upscale, better organized, Claire’s with more options (and some clothing).
But here’s what I really want to let people know– if you ever want to feel like you’re a thief (maybe you’re into role playing or enjoy being followed around), then Charming Charley’s is the place for you. I know this place sells accessories and I’m sure people steal them, but the annoyance I feel while being followed around really offsets my love of this store.
I hate sounding whiny, but my last visit was a day when I was running through stores at the waterfront, trying to find a dress for a wedding. I had purchased at least $ 200 worth of clothes (that I was going to more carefully look at and possibly return when I was in less of a hurry) and went into Charming Charley’s to try on two dresses. Although no one was trailing behind me at this point, this was one of the first times experiencing that. I asked to use the dressing room and the girl who helped me very nicely asked me «if I’d like to leave my bags» outside the door. She pointed to an area not directly behind the register, but towards the side near the dressing room. I said that I would prefer to have them, cause, honestly, I know you’re making sure your stuff doesn’t get stolen but I don’t know you and are you also going to monitor my stuff to make sure no one walks out with my bags? She explained that it was their policy and I again said that I would prefer to keep my hundreds of dollars of merchandise that I can barely afford to purchase, let alone get stolen, with me.
The girl later nicely checked me out when I bought a dress, which is typical of most of the people who work there. The people who work at the store are very friendly and usually helpful. I typically believe that if you have nothing to hide and are doing nothing wrong, then it shouldn’t matter if people are watching you, but I’m just so uncomfortable being treated like I’m probably (not even possibly) stealing that I don’t shop there like I used to.
Basically– Why ya gotta be like that Charming Charley’s?

I heard so many great things about this store so I decided to give it a try. Everything they had out on the sales floor was amazing and I wanted to buy it all, I went up to the register with a couple of items and asked what the return policy was, and the girl at the register gave me an attitude and told me that it was «30 days just like any other store» she rolled her eyes and continued with the attitude, telling me that she isn’t even supposed to be there, and that I had to wait for someone else to help me. All I did was ask her one simple question. Other workers were standing close but they did not offer me any help, I didn’t really need her help. Anyways, it is a great store if you want cute inexpensive accesories but the employees and their attitudes might not be worth it and you might want to spend your money elsewhere, possibly somewhere where it’s not too much of a hassle for an employee to do their job.

There IS an accessory heaven! I found out about Charming Charlie relatively recently and have to say I wish it had been in my life a lot sooner — not that it needs to be, given my already extensive collection of jewelery… what can I say? I love my accessories!
During my first visit here I intended to just browse and head on to the rest of my day after 15 or 20 minutes. I quickly realized that my stop in wouldn’t be a short one. There was just so much to see! In fact when you walk in the sheer amount of accessory goodness may overwhelm you. The store is divided up by color and each section has rows upon rows of jewelry, hats, watches, a few clutches and handbags, and more to explore. The range of jewelry is impressive too — you’ll find tiny delicate items, big and bulky statement pieces, sparkly items, trendy pieces, classically inspired pieces… there’s definitely a decent range of stuff in here.
Keep going towards the back and you’ll find some super cute phone decorations and covers to go with your new accessories. There’s also clothing items in here as well — shirts, pants, dresses — although I didn’t really bother trying anything on during my visit. Not that the clothes here weren’t cute, but… not to sound like an idiot, but where were the changing rooms? I think I saw maybe one changing room — is that all that’s here? And it was locked when I tried it, but I couldn’t tell if someone was using it or if to get in I would have to bother one of the super busy staff members and interrupt the flow of the really long line of people ready to make their purchase. (And honestly, if it was the latter, I just wasn’t comfortable doing that and wish I didn’t have to.)
Well, my own silly confusions regarding the changing rooms aside, I still left with an enormous bead statement necklace and simple but pretty green-​and-​gold charm necklace. I would love to shop here again soon but probably won’t be able to, unless I can make room for more adorable accessories. Definitely stop in and see what you can find sometime — everything in here was both stylish and affordable. Win-​win!

I love how these stores are merchandised, it makes a colorholic like me happy when i can go right to the rose gold section or quickly find a turquoise clutch. My only wish? A section devoted to hypoallergenic baubles!

My daughter and I had a blast in here today! A «quick look around» took over an hour! They’ve got an amazing (in terms of scale and desirability) selection of accessories (scarves, shoes/​boots, jewelry, hair stuff). It’s organized by color. If you can’t you match something, you’re not trying. Also, it’s cheap enough that you don’t have to be concerned that you’ll only wear something infrequently.
e.g., We got a faux pearl and rhinestone headband that was $ 10 on the tag and $ 6 at the register. Adorable!

Charming Charlie is an inexpensive, well-​merchandised jewelry store that just opened a location in the Waterfront in mid-​October. The product is lower quality, but there are some good finds here. On average, necklaces cost about $ 15, and bracelets cost about $ 10. The store is very pretty and merchandised by color and style. If you’re looking for a very particular color or style of (inexpensive) jewelry, this is the place to come! While I was shopping, a manager came and checked on me multiple times. However, I was unimpressed with the little sales associate who rang me up. She was a very sweet girl but still needs some additional register training and coaching. Overall, this is a cute little shop, a great place to browse, and a nice addition to the Waterfront.