Renaissance Room

I love the Renaissance Room. The clothes are funky and stylish. I have never gone in there without finding at least one really wonderful piece. If it were closer to my home I would go there more often. Good thing it isn’t or my clothing budget would be extinct. It’s not for the average Saks and bloomies shopper however.

Their business card boasts «Elegant Art To Wear».
Elegant? Some of it, yes, if your taste is considerably garish.
Art? Sure, if Dada is your style.
To Wear? Not on your life.
The clothes. Oy. Gaudy doesn’t even begin to describe them. The fabrics, the designs, the colors… I don’t remember seeing any Renaissance Era clothing that resembled this stuff in any way. I guess it could a good place to shop if you’re putting together a flashy (and expensive) costume for something, but frankly I’d rather dig through the dumpster for props and costume parts than pay their grossly inflated prices.
The way everything was presented was a turnoff as well (in collective piles of racks stacked to the walls with little maneuvering room). My first impression upon walking into this store was «Oh god, I’m being attacked by black frilly madness.» There are no semblances of aisles to speak of, which is pretty disconcerting when you’re faced with all kinds of fluttery and velvety fabrics bustling in your way from every direction. I can see being a kid and having a ball in there hiding under all the skirts, but as an adult (and an artist/​designer), the layout of the place is pretty annoying. The only suggestion of space is in the center of the store, where they’ve placed a circular table cluttered with accessories. But even getting around said table is a trick in itself if you don’t want to knock anything over in the process. MAYBE if it was all laid out in a nicer way I could find something pleasing. Maybe. But I doubt it.