LOFT

Today I arrived at Loft at 530 to shop around. I got a bunch of cute clothes and when I went to try them on I was informed that they were «closed» at 5:55. No announcement. no nothing. Just «Sorry we’re closed and you cannot try on any of those.» With a store full of people who clearly had no clue what was happening they just locked the doors and basically kicked us out. I was not the only one upset and muttering under my breath as I walked out. I was probably going to leave with about $ 200 of clothing but instead was forced to leave with nothing. Stores usually give announcements 15 or 20 minutes before they close (I worked in retail for years). I will not be back.

I have always liked Loft and wanted to check out the outlet when I was at Assembly Row. As soon as you enter it’s hard not to notice sign after sign screaming «40% off! 25% off! Buy one get one!» It kind of lulls you into a mig Ts I would wear to work, dress pants, and sweaters.
I ended up being coerced by the SALE signs everywhere and got into the mindset that everything there was going to be cheap. I certainly felt like buying a lot of things at first but luckily I left my wallet at home and only had a certain amount of cash. Maybe some things are cheaper, but I noticed that many of the prices really similar to what they would be in a regular Loft store and they have 40% off sales often.
Yes there were some graphic tees as mentioned by Maria, but there were also quite a bit of cardigans, a few blouses, nice lookint a skirt I could wear for an interview for $ 37. Not that long after I had buyer’s remorse because that’s not that great of a deal and I would only wear it probably 2 – 3 times. Moral of the story, come here as an alternative to Loft but don’t expect things a whole lot cheaper. And sign up for their email list for discounts and heads up on sales, try to stop in when they have 40% off the main Loft store. Extra bonus tip– if you like Ann Taylor or Banana and want to save a ton try going to a consignment store, thrift store (boomerang is great) or on ebay for fantastic deals– I always see Ann Taylor stuff at thrift stores.

Okay, so Loft usually has sales. So does Ann Taylor. Right? Well, this is supposed to be better, because it’s an outlet — so by default, the clothes *should be* cheaper. You do risk, however, having a much smaller selection. There were many graphic tees at affordable prices, but I’m not fourteen, and this isn’t American Eagle, so I didn’t dig it. I was looking for some clothes that were okay for an adult to wear to work. I had an incredibly hard time finding that here.
Well, I came here looking for dress pants. They had a very limited selection of dress pants, and their selection overall really was mediocre. I’ve seen better stuff and better-​priced stuff at regular Loft stores. I had a really hard time finding anything I needed or wanted, and none of the shirts were work-​appropriate. Also, it’s always a red flag when you are the only person shopping in an outlet store. I learned my lesson when I kept looking for things.
Dresses? None that were work-​appropriate. Skirts? All too flowy. Shirts? All graphic.
Aaaaaaand pants? One pair of dress pants and the sizes were so oft they neither matched Loft or Ann Taylor. Save your dollars and go to a real Ann Taylor Loft, or better yet, shop on the website, you’ll probably get a discount… and get what you really want (what you really, really want).