The New York Look

I had not even stepped both feet in the door when the saleswoman said to me «We only carry up to size six.» As if I wasn’t allowed to be in the store because I wear a size 10! What if I were buying a gift or accessories?! THIS PLACE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN FOR SIZEISM!!!

The shopkeepers make the store, definitely.
Whenever I shop here, Andrea dresses me and she has impeccable taste. She picks the highest quality garments, and boy the outfits she throws together sure look fashionable!
I wish she could help me with my whole wardrobe, if my wallet could afford it!
I’ve also bought their shoes and accessories before next door at the shoe store, and the French salesman helps me pick the best quality shoes.
Sadly, it is very very expensive, but the sales are worth it (especially for shoes), and they have the best brands.
The owner can seem a bit brash, but he is just very confident about selling great items, and they are great.

This is a Very pricy store. Their garments are gorgeous though.
Quite a friendly and helpful staff. The woman helping my mother and I walked around with us, gave suggestions without being pushy, showed us the waiting room, gave honest feedback on our clothes. I got a suit, a shirt, and a skirt. The woman helping us took the measurements of getting my clothes hemmed quite quickly. She was quite attentive for most of it, but then 5 other people walked into the store and she had to divide her attention between us. Still, she was quite quick considering this.

I would buy all my clothes at the store if it were not for the salespeople. EVERY salesperson is so pushy. They follow you around. If you touch ANYTHING… they start bringing you items to show you. What part of touching this Nanette Lepore jacket appropriate for work made you think I want a fushia strapless evening dress? Who trains these people? Then, if you find anything you would love to try on… they usher you to a dressing room with NO MIRRORS. So… you HAVE to come out… and there is that dreaded sales person jumping on you. Then she starts bringing all types of clothing that bear no similarity to what you are trying on. By this point, I just try on the clothes in the dressing room and do NOT come out unless it feels good. this store is terrific, if it were not for the sales people. God help you if you try on a few items and you choose not to purchase anything. You are met with such disgust, you feel you have to go home and take a shower. And even if you persist thorugh this wretched experience, and you DO buy something, just remember NO return policy. Also they do not do any form of alteration. I presume this store exists for tourists and not locals. We can stop by any day of the week, and just look. We want to be left alone. We will reward you with our business and come back, and back, again. If only you changed your sales people and sales policies.
So ladies, you don’t need to be treated like this. there are lots of great boutiques in the area Intermix. Great customer service there. Rooms with mirrors. They leave you alone if you want to be left alone and they work really hard to get you a size from another store if they don’t have it. They don’t have as much work appropriate clothes, but the sales experience is HANDS DOWN one that makes me want to come back. Same for Theory, Rag & Bone, Helmut Lang, Olives & Bette’s, Reiss, and most of the shops up Columbus. It is possible to have a great experience in this neighborhood. I live in the Lincoln Center area, and the improvement in shopping over the past few years is remarkable. OK, it’s not Soho, but if you need to put together a great outfit in a hurry, from the dress to shoes to makeup, you can get everything you need here and have super friendly, good customer service. Don’t judge the UWS shopping experience by The New York Look.

Had the pleasure working with one of the sales ladies, Mouna. She picked up about half dozen dresses for me to try on. As soon as I told her I had a budget, she helped me picked up the ones that were affordable for me without giving me any looks or attitude at all! I walked out the door with a pair of Italian black pumps and a gorgeous summer dress that became my «It» dress for the summer :)

This store isn’t particularly impressive from the outside but once you venture in there are all kinds of great finds. Wonderful dresses for NYE or a fun night out.
I had just purchased a hot bandage skirt and was trying to find the perfect top for dinner that night. Needless to say I didn’t purchase anything but the sales associate did find me an amazing Ali Ro jacket ($ 398 — Yikes!). They didn’t have my size but offered to go up to their other store and grab the size I needed.
I was determined I could find another top so I decided against it. When I returned home I did a little investigating and found the same jacket at Neiman’s online for $ 375 so I guess not all is lost. Now I’m just waiting for the damn thing to go on sale.

So I gave this store 2 stars because the clothes and accessories there are amazing … Love them all.
However, the staff, ugh.
I will tell you why I say that.
Have you seen my boobs??? (yeah I seriously just asked that question… See review of Intimacy)
Ok, well if you read that review and have seen my boobs, then how in the world can a sales person keep finding me strapless dresses and keep insisting that I try them on?
How on earth can she expect those elastic straps inside the dress that were meant to hold the dress up, to give me support where I need it?
How in the world can she constantly keep trying to reassure me by saying, «I know honey I have the same problem», when I try to tell her that strapless dresses are no good for me because I am top heavy, and she clearly does NOT have the same problem since I can tell she is either a B or a C cup.
From that experience I knew she really had no clue on how to dress a person who has a non average body. I know she was just trying to do her job to make a sale since she is probably getting commission, but LADY! I would like to buy a dress that actually looks good on me and is right for my body type!
I really love the clothes in this store, but I don’t go there because of the sales people.
Sorry.

I decided to write a review of this place after reading the other two negative ones. Yes, NYL is expensive, and yes, the staff is most definitely commissioned. Still though, they really do a great job finding up and coming fun brands to feature– Mackage coats before everyone in the city had one, Rachel Moffatt, Tibi, Hogan, etc. Their older, Eastern European saleslady, Lena, has also been a Godsend to me. She’s vetoed dresses I wanted to believe looked good on me, and even once saved a pair of Christian Lacroix shoes I liked when they went on sale for just $ 150. (I’d said I liked them before, but was nowhere near able to afford them! They’re still the nicest shoes I own.)
All in all, a great shop with beautiful clothes sold at the same prices they run at Bloomingdales. It’s also open late for those of us working long hours (9:30 pm on weekdays). I’ve gotten my most killer outfits in this store.

Great selection but I agree with the others– their sales people are extremely pushy and then become aholes when they realize you’re not going to buy anything. Why shouldnt customers be able to think about a 300 dollar purchase over a night? AND, they say that everything looks good on you just so youll buy whatever it is you’re looking at. Hey, but if you’re a baller, its a good place to splurge.

One of my closest friends used to live in the building next door (Great lobby & beautiful tenants, btw), so I walked past this store frequently. Never felt inclined to go in. «The New York Look» What’s that? A store for clueless tourists to buy clothing which will camouflage them as natives? How forced & awkward would that be? Huh?
They are going to hate me for this, but I used to imagine the merchandise inside to be a combination of Ann Taylor + H&M! This goes to show you how important a store’s name & window display are to its image. First, The New York Look really does sound like a costume store. Second, their window displays stopped me once. Maybe. Their mannequins are dressed neatly, but there is no «story» or even backdrop — You can see directly into the store from the street. Where is the fantasy? Where is the lust? Where is Simon Doonan when you need him?
Plain old curiousity finally drew me into the store. I was completely wrong in my assumptions. This is NOT for the Ann Taylor or H&M crowd. Not at all.
The store stocks a variety of high end designers including Marc Jacobs, Theory & Galliano. I saw some fantastic dresses which ranged from $ 500 to $ 1,000. Jewelry, purses & shoes are also available for purchase.
I still don’t see how they are offering The New York Look, however. I think The Socialite Look would be a more appropriate name. The Trust Fund Baby Look? Surely New Yorkers (Read: Manhattanites) are not the only people who will spend $ 800 on a frock?
& if I were dropping that kind of money on clothing & accessories, I’d expect the store to look & feel more Bergdorf’s or Barneys. But maybe that’s just me. At least my curiousity has been satiated.