Filene's Basement (Reported Closed)

Recommends

sonic1983

Joined 4 years ago

Customer service & Discounts.. This place has it all, From jewelry to kids clothes to fragrance etc, i bought Ed Hardy T-shirt in a size small, Lucky me. I know a person who works there that snags all those small sizes cloths. It's a good thing we don't have the same size shoes.lol.Great customer service and Great Shoes! Overall I recommend Filene's Basement at 830 N Michigan Ave. Better the the other locations so far.

Doesn't Recommend

zelemont

Joined 6 years ago

Cheap designer names, but at what price?. The first time I went to Filene's I thought I had hiit the jackpot. Cheap clothes in styles that i like. What more could I ask for? Well, after going back a few times I can definitely say A LOT.

Why are 90% of the men's clothing either size L, XL, or XXL? I looked through the athletic pants for 10 minutes and didn't find a single size small. I saw just a few mediums in the hundreds of pants. When looking through the shirts it was VERY rare to find a size small and again pretty rare to find a medium. Why is it that a 5'8" guy can't shop at most stores unless he is obese? The average height of american males is 5'9", so unless they are all overweight it seems like there has to be a demand for medium and small clothes. After spending several minutes looking through every shirt on a rackk without finding a single shirt in my size i felt like Filene's was actually punishing me for eating healthy food and exercising enough to keep my weight down. At one point I went to the suit department and didn't see anything smaller than a size 38. I asked the sales associate if they had anything smaller, and the guy literally gave me a dirty look, said a stern NO, and turned away from me.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't think Filene's has a policy to discriminate against healthy short guys. I just think they do less than any other retailer to cater to us.

My other problem with Filene's is the mess. I do realize that there are lots of customers who make a big mess, but if you have that many customers you ought to pay up and have enough associates around to keep things reasonable. The mess is outrageous.

I have yet to encounter a knowledgeable Filene's employee. At one point two young female employees ignored me as I stood waiting for them to quit gossiping and acknowledge me

Basically, if you want cheap clothes you WILL find them here, but you will have to suffer through disorganized messes of clothes that are probably not your size unless you are Santa Claus

Recommends

Liz Zack

Joined 10 years ago

This markdown mecca has its own chapter in the bargain-shopping book.. The Scene
The first Filene's Basement opened its doors in 1908 in downtown Boston and since then, branches have popped up all over America. The key to proper Filene's shopping is time: You'll need a lot of it. The main rule is that you must never turn up your nose at a rack of what look like fashion nightmares, because hanging between 10 junior miss spandex dresses and an amorphous plus-sized caftan cover-up is the Armani jacket of your dreams.

The Goods
There are tons of department-store brands marked down to prices that allow you to fill out your closet nicely. You'll find brands like French Connection and Finity, Express and Calvin Klein and occasionally, you'll come across couture finds. Be sure to check the shoe department--brands like Nine West, Enzo Anglioni, BCBG, Via Spiga and Kenneth Cole are scattered throughout the racks. The men's department hosts Claiborne, DKNY, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger and others.

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canabomb

Joined 10 years ago

Bargains Galore. Found some great deals here after looking for a while. Filenes has great designer merchandise and prices. Would definitely shop here every chance I get when I visit Chicago. Was not very impressed with the shoe department selection/prices. Tons of great deals in the clothing and home departments though. My husband even found some good deals!

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robyngalbos_citysearch

Joined 11 years ago

Good deals, if you've got the patience. This really is a great store for bargain-hunters, but you often have to dig pretty deep to find the good stuff. There are some designer labels and quite a few unknowns--and you have to sort through everything to find something in your size. Some articles already look worn after been having been touched by so many hands. The best bargains are upstairs in the coat section. The prices are perfect and the selection is good, especially at the end of the winter season.