The Tannery

by Amanda S.

The Tannery -- i'm torn over how I should review this place.  On the one hand, I want to boycott and not shop here at all both because of the price markups and the incredibly elitist atmosphere that slaps you in the face as soon as you enter.  However, the thing that pulls me back is that I keep finding really cute (albeit out of my price range) clothes here.  It took me about a month to get the guts up to walk in here by myself because I find the salespeople so intimidating which angers me since I know they are actually just stupidly snobby.  Anyhoo, if you can get over the unwarranted elitism since I'm not even sure they sell enough to stay in business, you might find a pretty cute outfit in here.  This location also sells the "higher-end" shoes and a lot of different styles of denim.  Basically, just make sure you're not looking for a friendly salesperson or any help at all in picking out an outfit before you make a visit to this store, and you should be okay.

by Inez N.

Wah! Wah! No body's paying attention to me!!!! (rolls on the floor, blow-pop stuck in hair) I actually enjoy the virtually absent sales force here. I want EVERYONE to leave me alone until I need to try something on. And I've never had to wait or hunt for an associate to assist me once I've begun slinging clothes over my arm, quite the opposite actually. Maybe I'm just a fashion fascist. The space is vast, well lit, and teeming with up-and-coming and contemporary designer clothes. I love to see: Lauren Moffat, Castle Star, Sunner, Charlotte Ronson and Rag and Bone on the racks. Well made clothes make my life worth living. The shoes are often unique and always high quality. They seem to cater to the more practical footwear club... which is smart given all the bat-shit cobblestone that comprises Cambridge's sidewalks, streets and alleyways. I get their idea. And I'm a fan. But I'd also like to make a friendly suggestion or two: - Improve the dressing rooms. There are no mirrors in the cubicles. That means you have to traipse out to the communal mirror where everyone can see you before you can see yourself and they are all thinking those jeans are way too tight! Zing! The dressing rooms are also missing benches. So I have to put my purse on the floor?? Isn't there a bad superstition involving loosing all your money when you do that? Oh wait a minute..... I think that's the point!! AHA! (I'm onto you) I'm also not a fan of the "curtain-as-a-door" idea. I know the register person can see my ass from there. I hope the customer service lynch mob doesn't cause this place to close down. If they have it their way the place will turn into a hookah bar where everyone holds hands and resoles their Birkenstocks. PS. Tannery: Please feel free to discount a size 6 of that awesome green silk dress in the window. xoxo

by Shaina G.

Shopping for shoes is like deciding whether or not you'll go home with a guy after a night at the bar.  You know before you go in that you'll find that perfect shoe, that this is the store to do it, and that you'll definitely take the plunge.  You might drop your IQ slightly to conversate with the staff who are clearly workin it.  You might feel a bit of shame the morning after.  But had you not walked through that door with the decision to make a deal, you might wake up craving more.I went into the Tannery with the determination to buy myself a great pair of shoes.  I was drawn by the vast floor space not densely cluttered like the other.  I felt dizzy after turning around and around the circular shoe displays, touch-testing each pair.  And then, I found THE shoe.  Pricey, but on the cheaper side of shoes compared to other pairs, beautiful worn tan color, soft leather, high heel, cushy sole, t-strap.  I asked the staff if I could try on a pair.  She scurried off to the storage room and returned with the last available pair in my size.  I buckled them on and I knew.  These were it!I admired them on myself in the mirror and then it started.  The girl attending to me began to over-compliment and discuss all the great things about the shoe and how I would definitely not be disappointed if  I made this purchase.  I was ultra close to leaving the store.  It was like meeting the guy who is so close to bringing you home but once he starts talking, it's over.  Anyway, I bought the damned shoes.

by Trish F.

I forgot to wear my cool clothes so maybe that's why no one paid attention last time I was here. I just wanted to pop in to get flip flops anyway.. how could I have forgotten a pair on one of the few days I wear heels a week? Sigh.. This Tannery has a huge selection of shoes that I'd love to try on. In fact, right now, there is a pair of shoes there that I've been lusting over for awhile since I spotted them on the internet. I wanted to try them on, but I couldn't find any workers. Good thing, I thought, because I'd probably spend money I don't have on other pairs. So I selected a pair of non-frilly flip flops and off to the register I went. Doo dee doo.. dum dee dum.. after several minutes one of the co-workers decided to grace me with his presence. He rung me up without saying a word and then left the register. No "thanks for coming".. no offer to put my shoes in a bag (just plopped them on the counter).. seriously? Wtf? I mean I didn't need a bag.. but what's the 'tude?I don't know man.. 1 star for the shoes. The lovely lovely shoes being held captive by the cool kids.

by Miriam L.

If it weren't for recent experiences, this place would get two stars.  The selection is lovely, I won't deny that, but it's ridiculously overpriced and sales help is usually pretty absent.  I've said it before - I'm not the kind of girl who needs constant attention in a store - but I do want to feel as though they actually care whether or not I buy something.  I usually don't feel that way here.However, I came in a few weeks ago, lured by the 70% off clothing.  I didn't see much there, but I did see a table full of 50% off shoes.  Yum!  I'd barely picked up a cute pair of ankle booties, when someone came over and asked if I wanted to see them in a specific size.  Wow, really?  Much better service than I'm used to here.  They didn't seem to mind, either, that I tried on several pairs of shoes and didn't end up buying.  Definitely an improvement.Not an improvement, however, is the fact that their size range in jeans is abysmal.  The first time I came in looking for Joe's Chelsea or Cigarette jeans, I was told that they don't carry past a size 30 (that's a size 8-10).  Most recently, when I came in, I was poking through the Citizen's of Humanity Jeans, and couldn't find my size.  One of the sales guys asked which I was looking for, I told him, and he looked through the pile.  They didn't have my size, though he assured me that they typically carry the full range of sizes (24-32) in COH and Seven for All Mankind, and almost the full range (25-31) in Joe's.  The thing is, they only order ONE pair of each style in the largest two sizes.One pair.In THE most average size out there.Um, what?I questioned him, and he said that when they order more in larger sizes, they never sell all of them, and the jeans all end up on the sale racks.  Has he not noticed that the sales racks are filled with jeans in sizes 24-26?  Clearly, they don't have any qualms (over)ordering on the teensy sizes and then putting those on sale.Oh, and the reason the larger jeans sizes don't sell?  This store gives off a snobby vibe that would normally make me assume they don't carry past a size 6 or so.  Guess I'm partly right.

by Morgan T.

The Tannery empire is a strange place. The one on Boylston should be avoided like the plague (the service is truly abominable). But this one in Harvard is a bit of a different animal. I have to give them props for having a pretty good menswear section, especially for Boston which is way too stuck in North Face land. They stock brands here that can't be found any place else in the area. And the shoe selection is great as well, especially for nice bootsl. Yes, most of it isn't cheap. But if you want cheap clothes go to Urban Outfitters for the knock offs. I appreciate that they're trying something more fashion forward in an area where people won't spend money and are afraid of being different in the slightest. I do feel like the selection has gotten better this year (2009) than last. Maybe they switched buyers.In terms of the service issue, I've never had bad service here. It's not great, or even friendly, but it's usually pretty efficient. And frankly, I don't want anybody talking to me until I want to ask a question. While I definitely don't doubt people's experiences here, I think a lot of people  are just put off by the prices and would have the same reaction to any store that had clothes that were more expensive than The Gap.

by Chloe B.

I just bought new Ray Bans at The Tannery. Good sunglasses, I think most can agree, are really hard to find -- but The Tannery, while certainly expensive, has a great collection of high end, well-made sunglasses that will NOT fall apart on you. The salesclerk who helped me was funny, very nice, and eager to show me his own vintage Gucci frames. He also stroked my ego a little, which is surprising when it comes to shopping for sunglasses. In the end, I left with a pair of "Clubmaster" Ray Ban's (my salesclerk informed me excitedly: "just in case anyone wants to know the style!"), which are an 80s classic reborn, that I probably could have purchased online for less, but that I was happy to buy with a 10% discount at The Tannery.

by Ligaya T.

The newest of the entire Tannery empire is undoubtedly also the most upscale of its ilk, focusing its inventory on leather foot wear with only a smattering of sneakers, premium denim and designer clothing. The owner promises an influx of unique brands towards innovative design and has come correct with several though overall I've yet to be wowed.The store itself is a spacious and modern, with bright lights and easy to browse displays. I've found the staff to be helpful when asked and there's often so many in there you'll never have to wait long. It's definitely in my regular circuit for a gander, but I haven't purchased much to date as the prices are often a bit more than impulse buys for me. I've got my eyes on some moon boots though. Don't you dare!

by Leighann F.

Five star shoe and boot sale.Two star customer service.Common gripes I agree with:1. The customer service here is nearly non-existent. Especially when in the clothing section. 2.The mark-up here is absurd. $800 bucks for a jacket? $200 T-shirts? It's gouging like this that acutally allows them to have sales. If you can call a $150 pair of jeans a sale.Common gripes I do not agree with:1. Their selection is terrible. That is completely unfounded. They sell beautiful clothing, well-made and current. Maybe a little too current, as what you buy may go out of style tomorrow...like those Andy Warhol brand overalls that are acutally a skirt made out of some synthetic fabric adorned with dangling chains and six different kinds of buttons.3. Their prices are high. Again, it's not the prices of the clothing, it's the markup. And regardless, if you don't like their prices, there are nine hundred other places to patronage with your pennies in Boston.The only thing I've ever purchased here? A pair of navy plaid rain boots, on sale for $49... A 50% discount! I pretty much live in themzn so The Tannery gets the A-OK from me for a great find. What they don't get the nod for is that this is the exception not the norm.

by Susie C.

I'd prefer not to judge these people, because everyone is entitled to their own taste, but I can't resist... so here we go...Snoo-tay Eurotrash glide around this place, pawing the soft leather shoes and stealing glances of themselves in the window. And that's just the staff. Most of the shoes are gorgeous. Most of the shoes are very expensive. If you are looking for a very specific style of shoe, this place could be great for that. They have beautiful boots, but then again so does DSW and Lord and Taylor. The racks of women's clothes are also very expensive, and some of them look more like pieces of string hung together with bits of tape and ribbon.I walk in here and sigh, longing for the Harvard Square of old.