Lack of Refinement at the NYC Wolford Boutique (Columbus Circle Location)

Wolford boutique New York City NYC Columbus Circle reviewI got to visit New York City on my vacation and I couldn’t resist to see their local Wolford boutique near Central Park, at the Columbus Circle shopping center). Despite the crazy heat this Tuesday, I put on my Satin Touch 20 pantyhose (a gift from a special fan), a lace white skirt, and a black thong bodysuit that I just recently purchased (more about that later). Not intentionally, but I actually ended up wearing the bodysuit style that is called “New York”. I thought I was all set for my visit. My expectations were soaring high and I knew exactly what style of pantyhose I wanted to buy.

I walked into that boutique and noticed two women talking to each other at the entrance, both of them turned out to be Wolford employees. Only after they finished their conversation and I already had my back to one of them while looking at the display, I heard a greeting from Kathleen. Here comes the first strike. Greeting a customer without eye contact.

No matter how long I circled the boutique, trying to solicit any further response in my address, I still felt like I was invisible. At some point I even took the liberty to pull out the drawer of Neon 40 tights and started checking their shades and sizes, hoping that the woman watching the screen of the desk top computer would turn to me and help me pick out the right size and shade.

The day before I sent my guy “undercover” to scout the boutique. His experience was actually quite pleasant, but it was not the same sales person welcoming him though. Right away he was informed that there is a sales section with 70% OFF. At least it would be nice to also get the same information! I figured if I bring up the price, perhaps I’ll heard back which items are on sale as a way to accommodate budget-conscious customers.

I walked up to the rack with some tops and finally asked the sales person why the items are so expensive. She came up to me and highlighted some valid points about Wolford’s quality and reputation. I thought to see how she will respond to a tougher question and pointed at the snags all over the collar of a shirt that was still hanging there with a regular price tag – “Really, you say they make good quality items? Look at this damage.”

Kathleen (forgive me if I spell this wrong, I had to ask her what her name was because none of the staff wore name tags) was very polite and offered to give me a damage discount on the top. She also pointed out that even though that rack is still regular price, this is what’s left of the summer collection and it is getting shipped back to Austria tomorrow. This is just my opinion, but here is the 2nd strike – damaged merchandise should be spotted immediately by staff, not by customers, and either taken off the floor or discounted accordingly.

Third strike for me was that both of the workers on the floor were with bare legs. I brought up the question and got the answer that it is not part of the summer uniform because it is so hot outside. Of course, Kathleen pointed out that whatever she is wearing is made by the Wolford brand. Did Wolford really change their policies or is she just not aware of the dress code? Most of my Wolford boutique visits happened during the summer and I don’t recall seeing staff with bare legs. At least if the front window is occupied mainly by mannequins in fishnets, I would assume that such hosiery would be a great solution for a hot day.

I told Kathleen everything as is, pointing out that I am also wearing Wolford and that I am planning to blog about my visit. She offered me some information to take with me about the upcoming collection and I gladly agreed. But here came the fourth strike – the phone rang. Those of you who worked in customer service know that there are techniques to handle a phone call and an in person customer at the same time by picking up the phone and asking the caller to wait a little bit, then to wrap up the discussion with the person in front of you, and move on to the phone call. In this case I was still standing there, waiting for the conversation to come to an end so I could get that promised brochure.

That moment I saw my guy turn up at the door looking for me, so I was about to leave and Kathleen caught up to me and gave me that brochure to take home. I haven’t seen whether the phone call was over or whether she in fact did put the caller on hold.

My visit, regretfully, ended without a purchase. I only buy if I feel satisfied with the service. It is a little bit sad for me, I was hoping to get a pair of Neon 40 tights in Midnight shade because this is one of the shades I haven’t tried yet. If even more good deals would be pointed out to me, perhaps I’d buy a few other things too. My experience did not live up to my initial excitement based on the courtesy I’ve seen in other Wolford boutiques across the country.

 

 

Who Wears White after Labour Day?

Wolford seamless fatal 15 tightsHere’s a photo of me that I took yesterday in Point Roberts, WA.

I was wearing Wolford Seamless Fatal 15. It’s a nice summmery colour.

I hear fashion experts say that people shouldn’t wear white after Labour day.

Opinions?

I personally think it depends on the country, since in places like Cuba white is the best colour any day with such heat.

My visit to a Discounted Wolford Hosiery Outlet – California

wolford boutique outlet mall California As me and my guy were driving past an outlet mall, he asked me if I want to check it out. I kept on saying “No” until I saw that they have Wolford, so immediately it turned into a big YES! I never even thought that Wolford would have a store like that with deals.

This outlet store opened only in April, so it’s still so new and probably many people don’t know about it. It’s located in the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in the Palm Springs area, the city of Cabazon in South California. They offer discounts around 30% or so on items that are classified as “slightly imperfect B sortment”.

Coincidentally, that day I was wearing my Wolford top and my Wolford 5 den Aura tights. I walked to the store, wondering what the service will be like. If it’s an outlet store, will they still keep the same level of service?

Right away I was greeted by a sales person and as I continued digging through all the sale items staff continued to offer me to check for my size or to let me know that there are other colours available. If they wouldn’t let me know, I probably would never find out that Neon 40 comes in navy blue. Overwhelmed by excitement, I of course ended up getting a pair in that colour too.

Wolford boutique store front in California, Palm Springs Area - outlet mall - customer service reviewThroughout my visit staff were friendly and attentive, asked questions, and made sure that all other customers in the store were being served. All three women were dressed professionally and wore Wolford hosiery.

the store in general was well organized and items were easy to find. I spotted several styles that were actually already discontinued, so perhaps getting them in that outlet store would be the last chance to enjoy them. If I only would have unlimited budget, I bet I’d buy them too.

I picked out 4 pairs: Neon 40 in Gobi, Neon 40 in Admiral, Naked 8 in black, Fatal 15 in black. The store manager, Rebecca, was really nice and agreed to inspect those pairs for me to check that there are no runs in them since I wouldn’t be able to come back to exchange it. What they refer to as imperfections are actually very minor things that are not usually regarded as such by other brands.

Wolford boutique - leg display - hosiery - California Outlet Mall Rebecca also told me that when you buy 10 pairs of Wolford, your 11th pair is free. Their computer system keeps track of the purchases across all boutiques. She is actually the first person to inform me about that as nobody else told me about this rewards program throughout my numerous boutique visits across North America.

I greatly recommend to anybody in California to go for a nice drive and visit that Wolford store at the Desert Hills Premium outlets. Stock up on styles while you are there, you won’t regret it. There were many deductions to the prices, but there were no deductions to the service.

Wolford Outlet Cabazon, CA

Desert Hills Premium Outlets 48650 Seminole Drive, Space # 1140
92230 Cabazon, CA (USA)

Wolford boutique - leg display - hosiery - California Outlet Mall Wolford boutique - leg display - hosiery - California Outlet Mall Wolford boutique - leg display - hosiery - California Outlet Mall

Fantastic Visit to Wolford Boutique on Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles

Wolford store on Rodeo drive in Los Angeles On my trip to Los Angeles I really wanted to see that legendary Rodeo Drive. If there would be a Wolford boutique in that city, I was confident it would be there. I bet that this is where all the celebrities go to buy their hosiery.

I was really excited to go in for a visit. As I walked in, a really pleasant lady named Trystan greeted me and I asked her about the new styles for the summer. Right away I saw one that I liked, it was a pair of stay ups with a red welt. She told me more about that style, as if she had a telepathic sense of what I wanted to know about it.
The manager, Elizabeth, was also working that day. Both of them were dressed really nicely. I explained to them that I wanted to take a few pictures for my blog (please ask permission as there are some restrictions on photography there) and they even helped me to arrange the leg mannequins for a better angle.

In a small table there was a binder full of celebrity photos who enjoy Wolford. They even had some photographs there from Helmut Newton. Famous women like Rihanna, Kylie Minogue, and Katie Perry are known to wear Wolford for their performances.

If you are ever on Rodeo Drive, go ahead and visit Wolford. It’s a really nice atmosphere and friendly service despite posh neighbourhood. You’ll feel like a celebrity too!

Wolford store on Rodeo drive in Los Angeles  Wolford store on Rodeo drive in Los Angeles

 

Trying on Wolford 8 den Eyla stockings

I am wearing Wolford stockings – Eyla 8 den. These are these ones that I got on my trip to Los Angeles. I went to Wolford on Rodeo drive and it was a really nice experience. I’ll write a proper review later here for you.

wolford red stockings eyla 8 den bedwolford red stockings eyla 8 den bed play 3

I am wearing a Marylin Monroe shirt that I got that day, red swimsuit bikini, and zebra print shoes. I wish I’d have another model to have a pillow fight with.

wolford red stockings eyla 8 den bed play 2wolford red stockings eyla 8 den bed play

And later secretly posing in the hallway of the hotel, late at night, so no one saw me. That was  quite a thrill.

wolford red stockings eyla 8 den hallway

Kylie Minogue promotes Wolford in her video Sexercise

Kylie-Minogue-Sexercise-2014-made-by-Ernest-Garcà?a pantyhoe Wolford

Kylie Minogue, the singer known for her wild side, just launched a new video that starts with a shot of a Wolford shopping bag.

Mostly the bodywear is featured as the dancers exercise in white bodysuits, but in some shots you can tell that she is wearing nude fishnet pantyhose under her leotard.

This video of dancers doing all sorts of moves  on high heels was filmed in a high school gym. The song itself is written by an Australian composer, Sia.

Kylie-Minogue-Sexercise-2014-made-by-Ernest-Garcà?a pantyhoe Wolford leotard

Kylie-Minogue-Sexercise-2014-video pantyhose Wolford bag

Wolford Boutique in Honolulu, Hawaii

Hawaii - Ala Moana center, Wolford boutique store front As I was browsing some stores at the Ala Moana shopping centre in Honolulu, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Wolford.  Is this my imagination playing a trick on me?  I was in disbelief to find it in a place where I thought hosiery was least popular. 

Just a few minutes before my discovery I was at the Neiman Marcus department store asking for Wolford hosiery.  The staff were very nice, but there was barely any hosiery there and no Wolford.  Perhaps they didn’t know, but I really can’t say why they didn’t tell me that there is a Wolford boutique in the mall.

So I was really surprised to stumble upon this Wolford boutique as I already was lead to believe that I would not find anything of that sort in that city.  Turns out that it’s mostly tourists who shop there, especially the Japanese.  They even have special signs for them saying that Japanese cards like Union Pay are accepted.

hosiery display at Wolford boutique in Honolulu Hawaii 2 hosiery display at Wolford boutique in Honolulu Hawaii 3


I walked in and was greeted in a friendly manner by Nancy.  She was very polite.  For a long time already I was hoping to find Aura 5 pantyhose to try, so I asked her and right away she knew what I was talking about and went to that drawer.  I had a look at the colours available and decided to go for the shade called “Honey” that was more like a light tan.

Nancy introduced me to the new accessory for this season – gloves.  Wolford apparently decided to introduce a collection of high quality gloves that I even got to try on.  I was surprised that they were completely seamless without any uncomfortable seams between the fingers.  That must have been one a real high end technology that made something like that!

gloves at Wolford boutique in Honolulu Hawaii 1 gloves at Wolford boutique in Honolulu Hawaii 2

It was a really pleasant experience.  For sure my visit to Wolford was one of my main highlights of the trip.  Those 5 den pantyhose will remind me of it as I wear it.

hosiery display at Wolford boutique in Honolulu Hawaii 5

hosiery display at Wolford boutique in Honolulu Hawaii 1hosiery display at Wolford boutique in Honolulu Hawaii 4

 

Trying on Wolford Satin Touch 20 – Wearing Pantyhose With Panty in the Desert

I had a pair of Wolford Satin Touch 20 that was sent to me by my fan David from Canada.  I didn’t want to just go ahead and wear it to one of my daily errands, I wanted to make a real statement by putting it on.

On my road trip in United States, after seeing thousands of women with bare legs and flip flops, I thought it would be a real statement to put on pantyhose in the middle of a desert.

There was a small problem – this is a very conservative State!  For example, in Walmart book section they had absolutely nothing on business, but there was a whole shelf on religion.  Obviously, I didn’t want anybody to see me walking around in just panties and pantyhose.

I also didn’t want to damage this pantyhose, but the desert ground is quite rough.  For this purpose I wore my flats and just alternating standing on one leg while putting pantyhose in the air on another.

This pantyhose is quite shiny, almost like a sheer version of Neon 40.  They soft, resistant, and stretchy – just the way a good quality pair of pantyhose should be. 

On another note, I’ve been told at Toronto Wolford boutique that even the princess Kate Middleton wears this exact style from Wolford.  Thank you, David, for sending that, it makes me feel like a princess too!

 

Pantyhose with panty in the desert of Utah

 

Indifferent service at San Francisco Wolford Boutique

Apathy – I feel that this is the best word to describe the attitudes of staff at Wolford in San Francisco.

I didn’t have much time in that city, but it was very important for me to see this Wolford boutique, partially because I am a blogger, but partially because this is my most exciting destination for shopping.

I walked in with my guy and at first I thought that they had another customer there already.  But when I saw that person moving mannequins, I realized that she is actually one of the staff.

Well, my confusion came from her outfit – she was wearing jeans and some kind of casual flat white shoes.  After she finished, she hopped behind the counter, thus hiding her bottom half and looking more like an employee.

The young lady who greeted me was wearing black textured fishnet pantyhose and a knee length skirt.  She was polite, but somehow I didn’t feel any enthusiasm.  Even though she answered my questions well, I could sense her lack of passion about the product.  The product knowledge was there, yet somehow this experience didn’t feel personal at all.  It felt as if this interaction was robotic and I couldn’t figure out how come it begun to bother me so much.

What could it be?  I didn’t know if my expectations are too high after being welcomed so nicely in their Toronto location by a manager who sincerely loved the product even before she got hired.  Could it be that these women are just there to work their shift, without actually having any interest in this kind of stuff outside of their work hours?

I don’t want to paint too bad of a picture here, the service wasn’t bad at all, just indifferent.  I dream about visiting all the Wolford boutiques around the world, but somehow I am not excited about returning to this one.

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My visit to Toronto Wolford Boutique

When I was inToronto, I went to see the local Wolford boutique at Yorkville.  They already had their fall collection out and I asked for permission to take some photos for my blog.

 

At some point later I had a pleasant discussion with the manager, Olga, and she told me that she loved Wolford even before she started to work for the brand.  It means a lot to me when people love what they sell even in their off time.

 

I showed Olga my blog and she saw that I had a section for boys.  I told her that some men tell me that they like to wear pantyhose, but they are afraid to actually show up to a store and buy it.  It turns out that they have a lot of men coming to buy pantyhose and Wolford staff have no problem with men who have such preferences.

However, another young staff wasn’t wearing pantyhose.  I kind of wondered why and the manager told me that this girl just got hired and doesn’t know yet what’s required for the job.  I’d add it into my work policy book!

It was a good experience to go there and see what they have.  Their boutique is much larger than in Vancouver.