Wolford Boutique Hopping in Boston

I just arrived back from Boston two weeks ago and I brought back a souvenir – a pair of Wolford Fatal Seamless 50 den tights that I bought at one of the two Wolford boutiques there.

Both locations offered a luxury experience. My first visit was to the Wolford boutique at the Copley Place where I was warmly greeted by Linda. She welcomed me and started off by telling me about the brand and all the cool specials in store that day on dresses and swimwear.

Wolford boutique in Boston 2

I chatted with Linda about a few things that interested me. Turns out that Wolford now has special uniform for their staff. If they wear pants, they don’t have to wear hosiery, but with skirts they should. I also was offered a bottle of water, it was a very nice gesture considering how hot it was outside.

Wolford boutique in Boston visit ankle jewelry

Then I headed to the next location and I was greeted by Mindy, the manager. She was wearing a skirt and tights and looked very professional. Again, customer service was simply excellent. I told her that I’d buy something, but I already bought a pair of Wolford that day. Usually if I get good service, I make a purchase just so that I am writing a review as an actual customer.

Wolford boutique in Boston store

I would like to thank both of those Wolford locations for welcoming me so warmly and representing this high end brand in the best way possible.

Fogal Hosiery Boutique in Toronto is Closing Down

fogal boutique in toronto is closing down out of business

Sad news! I just got an e-mail from Fogal in Toronto saying that they are closing down and having a great sale. Vancouver boutique already closed in the summer, and now Toronto location follows.

When Vancouver boutique closed down, I remembered bad service experience and the fact that Wolford is around the corner, and thought that it’s no wonder. But Toronto boutique actually had really good customer service!

One last boutique left in North American is in New York City. I have no news yet if it’s shutting down or not, maybe some New Yorker can tell me.

Someone told me that this is their strategy now to close down the retail stores and start to sell Fogal brand in other big upscale department stores. Fogal’s stay in Canada was quite brief (2012-2014), perhaps other legwear brands presented a lot of competition since not many people know even what Fogal is.

Below is a photo of Fogal seamless Una tights from that boutique.

Fogal una seamless pantyhose in black

My Deja  Vu at Toronto Fogal Hosiery Boutique

my visit to Fogal hosiery boutique in Toronto - legwear - customer service review and purchasesFogal is one of my favourite brands for hosiery. They have an amazing reputation and quality. So far my customer service experiences varied, so I choose to only go to the location where I know it’s excellent – Toronto Fogal Boutique.

Last time I’ve been to the Fogal store was 2 years ago, so I was really looking forward to another visit. One of my fans, David from Toronto, who helped me get more Fogal pantyhose before, invited me to go shopping there.

As we approached the store, I was wondering if the same person, Melanie, who helped me last time was still there. To my delight, as I opened the door, there she was! Melanie even remembered that I was from Vancouver. Can you imagine that level of dedication to the clients?
Fogal boutique in Toronto - store front - hosiery shop on Bay Street, DowntownI told Melanie about my trip to Cuba and how I managed to wear Fogal Cuban heel pantyhose there. It was so much fun, I wanted to get something similar since Cuban heel is so rare to find these days.  She told me about a style of pantyhose that is similar to the stockings used for the Great Gatsby movie with a fancy design on the heel.

So I grabbed a few pairs, including an ultra sheer 6 den, and tried on the samples available in the store. Actually, I even had a look at the stay ups, but since fall is almost here, I decided to stick with pantyhose. Just for the record though, they are of very good quality.

Melanie, another female associate, and David gave their feedback as I was putting on all the samples in the change room. The 2nd associate there (sorry, didn’t get her name) even gave me some tips on how to put on the backseam to make it straight.

I would like to express my gratitude to David from Toronto for taking me out to the boutique and for buying these wonderful pantyhose for me. I ended up with new 3 pairs of Fogal (Brooke, Clelia, and 6 den) to take back to Vancouver and lots of good memories from the store.

My visit to Fogal pantyhose store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

 

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

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

 

Chanel Iman, Not Just a Pretty Face

by Oliver, France

Chanel Iman in Strumpfhosen, StrГѓВјmpfe, Wà?sche

Is there more about Chanel Iman than meets the eye?  When she is walking around, prancing around and posing in front of a crowd of photographs on the golden runway, wearing beautiful clothes made by the best designers from the whole world, we just see another new gorgeous American beauty, is that all we can say about her, or can we investigate a little bit more and discover very interesting things in her life, or is her life just boredom ?

First of all we can notice that she sometimes looks Afro-American, then on other pictures, displaying a large white teethed smile, her shiny cheekbones showing her happiness at wearing marvellous dresses and getting her endless legs covered with bright sheer tights or smooth stockings, she looks more Asian but still black, we are a little bit puzzled about it.

ГђВІГђВёГђВЅГђ°Р“С’¶, чуÐ»Р“ђВєГђВё, ГђВєГђ°Р“С’±Р“С’»Р“‘Ж’ГђВєГђВё, ГђВјГђВѕГђВґГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’, ГђВЁГђ°Р“ђВЅГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’ ГђЛњГђВјГђ°Р“С’Р’Р… - Chanel Iman in Strumpfhosen, StrГѓВјmpfe, Wà?scheWe just wonder, where does that cute girl come from, there is something strange in her look?  Actually we are quickly told that she is part Korean and part Afro-American.  Her Korean mother was born in Seoul.  Her father is Afro-American. If you are ever in Los Angeles, you may visit the clothing store (The Red Bag Boutique) that Chanel’s mother opened, not without the help of her daughter, of course.

It is thanks to her aunt that she could become a model.  At the age of 13 Chanel’s aunt took her to California to meet with modelling agencies and as a result Chanel signed up with Ford Models.

What about her name, it sounds weird, not American at all, Arabian?  Her real first name is Robinson, just like that of a cast away seaman Robinson Crusoe on an isolated island, who after rambling around finally met his companion named “Friday”.  But our Robinson Chanel Iman is not alone at all right now, she is even invited to the White House parties by the current president of the United States, Barack Obama.

hosiery - Chanel Iman in stockings - ГђВЁГђ°Р“ђВЅГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’ ГђЛњГђВјГђ°Р“С’Р’Р… ГђВІ чуÐ»Р“ђВєГђ°Р“‘… - ГђВёГђ»Р“С’Р’С‘ ГђВіГђµР“‘‚ры?Is Michelle jealous of her?  We do not know yet, but I think if I were Michelle, I would be a little frightened to see this snazzy girl getting invited at home, her gorgeous dress clinging to her hips while wearing beautiful silky pink tights and trying to raise herself up on her tiptoes to decorate the top of the Christmas tree in the White House.

Is she a new Marylin Monroe, a new American President’s lover, a new coming icon, is a new romance on its way in the White House?  What about Robinson’s private life?  I guess not, she is not living with a companion like Friday.

By the way, her first name, Chanel, was chosen by her mother.  While pregnant, she had a book with her about Coco Chanel, hopefully for us for these days she had no book about Karl Lagersfeld.

hosiery - ГђВЁГђ°Р“ђВЅГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’ ГђЛњГђВјГђ°Р“С’Р’Р… ГђВІ Гђ±Р“С’µР“С’»Р“‘‹Ñ… ГђВєГђВѕГђ»Р“ђВіГђВѕГ‘‚кÐ°Р“‘… - Гђ°Р“С’¶Р“‘ƒÑ€Ð½Ñ‹Ðµ ГђВєГђВѕГђ»Р“ђВіГђВѕГ‘‚киAtlanta is her birthplace, a city where many Afro-American people live, a place from the deep South.  But do not be misled, she was not a poor cotton picking girl in the purple fields, sweating from morning to night, accompanied by Whoopie Goldberg, and ill treated by bad white bosses, like out of a movie scene from “The Color Purple”.

Her father used to be a professional basketball player and already earned a lot of money with that sport by the time she went to school.  Our princess girl was not compelled of working hard at school, she was a real beauty.  Nowadays Atlanta is a very progressive and tolerant place.  For example, they have a very big and active gay community and about 1 in 5 residents is part of the LGBT community.

Being a modern girl in a modern city, Chanel Iman recently started her internet blog and is now involved in a Kinect game on Xbox.  We could say she is rather a business woman and not just a beautiful dummy.  She is a rare combination of pretty and smart.

 

hosiery - Chanel Iman in pantyhose - ГђВЁГђ°Р“ђВЅГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’ ГђЛњГђВјГђ°Р“С’Р’Р… - чÐµР“‘€Ð½Ñ‹Ðµ ГђВєГђВѕГђ»Р“ђВіГђВѕГ‘‚ки

Chanel Iman is posing for Korean Vogue in fancy vintage hats and black hosiery

In German:

Chanel Iman – Mehr als ein hübsches Gesicht

Steckt hinter Chanel Iman mehr, als es den Anschein hat? Wenn sie vor einer Meute von Fotografen
am goldenen Runway schreitet, stolziert oder posiert und dabei schà?ne Kleider der besten Designer
der Welt trà?gt, sehen wir eine neue atemberaubende amerikanische Schà?nheit. Ist das schon
alles was man ГѓВјber sie sagen kann? Vielleicht kà?nnen wir ein bisschen tiefer graben und dabei
interessante Dinge über ihr Leben erfahren – oder ist ihr Leben gar pure Langeweile?

garter belt and lace stockings - Chanel Iman - Chanel Iman in Strumpfhosen, StrГѓВјmpfe, Wà?sche

Zuallererst stellen wir fest, dass sie oft einen afro-amerikanischen Eindruck macht, dann aber wiederum sehen wir auf anderen Bildern, wo sie ihr strahlendes Là?cheln zeigt und ihre glà?nzenden Wangenknochen ihre Freude darГѓВјber verraten, wunderbare Kleider tragen zu dГѓВјrfen, ihre endlosen
Beine in hell glà?nzende Strumpfhosen oder sanfte StrГѓВјmpfe zu hГѓВјllen, dass sie eher asiatisch, aber dennoch schwarz aussieht, was uns doch ein wenig ratlos zurГѓВјcklà?sst.

Da fragen wir uns doch, wo kommt dieses sГѓВјГѓЕёe Mà?dchen, bei diesem exotischen Aussehen her? Nun, wir erfahren recht schnell, dass sie zum Teil koreanisch und zum Teil afro-amerikanische Wurzeln hat. Ihre koreanische Mutter stammt aus Seoul, ihr Vater ist Afro-Amerikaner. Sollte man jemals nach Los Angeles kommen, dann wà?re es eine gute Idee das Bekleidungsgeschà?ft ihrer Mutter – The Red Bag Boutique – das diese mit der Hilfe ihrer Tochter erà?ffnet hat, zu besuchen.

ГђВЁГђ°Р“ђВЅГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’ ГђЛњГђВјГђ°Р“С’Р’Р… ГђВІ чуÐ»Р“ђВєГђ°Р“‘… - чуÐ»Р“ђВєГђВё - Chanel Iman in Strumpfhosen, StrГѓВјmpfe, Wà?sche

Dank ihrer Tante wurde Chanel ein Model. Mit 13 wurde sie von ihrer Tante nach Kalifornien zu einem Treffen mit Modelagenturen gebracht, wo Chanel bei Ford Models unterzeichnete.

Aber was ist mit ihrem Namen, der ist doch auch ungewà?hnlich und ГѓВјberhaupt nicht amerikanisch, mà?glicherweise arabisch? Ihr wahrer erster Vorname ist Robinson, nach dem SchiffbrГѓВјchigen Seefahrer Robinson Crusoe, der lange alleine ausharren muss, bis er sich mit „Freitag" anfreundet.
Aber unsere Robinson Chanel Iman ist derzeit ГѓВјberhaupt nicht allein, ganz im Gegensatz, sie wird unter dem aktuellen US-Prà?sidenten Barack Obama sogar zu Feiern ins WeiГѓЕёe Haus eingeladen.

 

stockings and red top - fashion model photoshoot - Chanel Iman in Strumpfhosen, StrГѓВјmpfe, Wà?sche

Ist Michelle eifersГѓВјchtig? Das kà?nnen wir nicht sagen, aber wenn ich sie wà?re, wà?re ich schon besorgt, wenn ich zusehen mГѓВјsste, wie dieses schicke Mà?del nach Hause eingeladen wird und sie womà?glich auch noch in einem hГѓВјbschen, eng an ihren HГѓВјften liegenden Kleid und in schà?nen, seidigen pinken strumpfhosen auf ihren Zehenspitzen versucht die Spitze des Weihnachtsbaums des WeiГѓЕёen Hauses zu dekorieren.

Ist sie gar eine neue Marilyn Monroe und damit eine neue Prà?sidenten-Geliebte, eine neue Ikone, bahnt sich gar eine Romanze im WeiГѓЕёen Haus an? Was ist mit ihrem Privatleben? Ich denke nicht, sie lebt ohne einen Gefà?hrten wie Freitag.

ГѓЕ“brigens, ihren Vorname, Chanel, hat sich ihre Mutter ausgesucht. Wà?hrend der Schwangerschaft las sie ein Buch ГѓВјber Coco Chanel, gottseidank hatte sie damals keines ГѓВјber Karl Lagerfeld dabei.

Afro-American and Korean supermodel in hosiery and garter belt - Chanel Iman

Ihr Geburtsort ist Atlanta, eine Stadt mit hohem Anteil an Afro-Amerikanern tief im amerikanischen SГѓВјden. Trotzdem sollte man sich davon nicht in die Irre fГѓВјhren lassen und glauben sie wà?re eine arme BaumwollpflГѓВјckerin gewesen, die auf dem Feld zusammen mit Whoopie Goldberg von morgens bis abends schwitzen und dabei von miesen weiГѓЕёen Bossen auch noch schlecht behandelt wird, ganz soals wà?re das eine Szene aus dem Film „Die Farbe Lila".

Гђ°Р“С’¶Р“‘ƒÑ€Ð½Ñ‹Ðµ чÐµР“‘€Ð½Ñ‹Ðµ ГђВєГђВѕГђ»Р“ђВіГђВѕГ‘‚ки - ГђВЁГђ°Р“ђВЅГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’ ГђЛњГђВјГђ°Р“С’Р’Р… - Chanel Iman in Strumpfhosen, StrГѓВјmpfe, Wà?sche

Ihr Vater war nà?mlich ein Profi-Basketballer und verdiente in dem Sport schon gut zu der Zeit, als sie noch zur Schule ging. Unsere kleine Prinzessin musste sich in der Schule nicht anstrengen, sie war eine echte Schà?nheit. Heutzutage ist Atlanta ohnehin ein fortschrittlicher und toleranter Ort. So gibt es dort beispielsweise eine groГѓЕёe und umtriebige Gay community und sogar jeder fГѓВјnfte Einwohner gehà?rt der LGBT community an.

Wie es zu einem modernen Mà?dchen in einer modernen Stadt passt, hat Chanel Iman vor kurzem auch einen Blog gestartet und wirkt auch bei einem Kinect-Spiel auf der Xbox mit. Wir kà?nnen daher wohl sagen, dass sie mehr von einer Geschà?ftsfrau als von einer dumpfen Schà?nheit hat. Sie ist eine der seltenen Kombinationen aus hГѓВјbsch und smart.

 

ГђВЁГђ°Р“ђВЅГђµР“С’»Р“‘Е’ ГђЛњГђВјГђ°Р“С’Р’Р… ГђВІ чуÐ»Р“ђВєГђ°Р“‘… - фото ГђВђГђ»Р“С’µР“ђВєГ‘ВЃ ЛюÐ±Р“ђВѕГђВјГђВёГ‘€ÑÐºÐ¸Ð¹

photography of a supermodel by David Roemer - Chanel Iman in stockings and suspenders

*Friends, please keep in mind that it is the shop section that funds this blog.  Please check it out for some cool hosiery.*

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.

*Friends, please be kind to the sponsor ads as this is the main source of funding for my blog*

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.

My amazing visit to the Fogal store in Toronto

On Wednesday I got a chance to visit Toronto Fogal store with my pantyhose friend, David from Toronto.  He is that Canadian gentleman who sent me some Wolford pantyhose to try out.  Up to this point we only exchanged messages online, so I it was the first time that we got to see each other in person.  Both of us were excited to meet and check out Fogal.

As we walked in, we were greeted by a young lady named Melanie who was wearing fun tiger-print pantyhose.  She asked what we were interested in and pointed out that some of the summer collection items were on sale.  With her help I picked out to try 2 pairs – seamless low rise UNA pantyhose and backseam pantyhose with a Cuban heel called Belle Epoque.  I also tried a shiny sheer pair, but it wasn’t quite enough shine for my concept of “shiny”.

In total I tried on 3 pairs and I got Melanie’s and David’s opinions on how it looks and on what colour is best.  I think that for probably half of my visit I was spinning in front of the mirror and checking out the perfect fit.

 

The service was great!  Melanie answered all my questions with enthusiasm.  I learned a lot about the brand and I was especially amazed to see that they still have one style there that is 100% nylon.  Turns out that some ladies wanted to have the same pantyhose that they bought decades ago and fell in love with.  Melanie also gave me their fall catalog and a booklet with some history of the brand.  Turns out they’ve been around for 90 years!
I must admit that the service at Toronto location was much better than in Vancouver.  Even though they had only one person working there, she handled everything very well.  Melanie told me that she has a lot of Fogal hosiery at home and she buys multiple pairs of her favorite limited edition designs.  To me it is important to see that staff are in love with the product themselves.

 

It was a very nice visit and I walked out of there thrilled!  It was very nice of David to get me the perfect “Welcome Back to Toronto” gift – 3 pairs of Fogal pantyhose.  (Maybe some of you know that I used to live in Toronto for many years before I moved to Vancouver.)  I now have 2 pairs of Una and one pair with the Cuban heel.  Since then my hands were all over the package, but I didn’t open it just yet because I want it to be special.

 

Wolford: can men work at the boutique?

Wolford Boutique in Soho

Recently there was a post on Hosiery Advocate’s blog about him feeling that Wolford doesn’t wish to hire male staff.  Eugene, the Hosiery Advocate, even went as far as writing them a letter.

I was in the area, so I walked in and asked about that.  The lady working there told me that they have no problem with hiring men.  However, she did mention that some female customers would rather have another female assist them with the change room.

It seems to me that Wolford may lose sales if their customers are not comfortable wtih the sales staff.  At least when I try something on I ask the sales girl to come over and look so I can be confident that this is the proper fit.   If it’s lingerie, for sure I’d prefer female staff to check the fit.

I used to know a guy in Toronto who brought in a line of Latvian lingerie.  He distributed it to stores, but he also had a retail location where I went with  my mom for shopping.  There was a change room, but he obviously didn’t offer “assistance” beyond the curtain.  I don’t know for what reason, but his business closed down eventually.

Have you ever seen men assisting women in lingerie stores with change rooms (ex. Victoria Secret, La Senza, and so on)?

What is your opinion on this?  Would it hurt Wolford’s sales if they would hire male staff to assist clients at the boutique?

I asked for some opinions and most people seemed to think along the same lines as Jenny from United States who agreed to share her response with us.

“I would definitely feel weird if a guy tried to help me make a purchase at a Wolford store or Victoria Secret. It would say to me that he has a fetish for hosiery or lingerie, and that’s not the kind of person I want standing a foot away from me while I pick out my undergarments. My guess is that most women would feel the same way, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

On the pantyhose forum there were also mentions about the fact that men and women react differently in the same situation when it comes to a sales person of an opposite gender.  Another man stated that he saw gay men working at lingerie stores and women didn’t mind, they just perceived them as one of the girls.

I even consulted two women at work about this matter.  One lady said that for sure she would prefer female staff since they have the same anatomy, but she made an exception – drag queens are OK!  Another young woman said that she doesn’t mind men at all because even her gynecologist is male, she knows what she likes and all she doesn’t require any assistance or assurance in the changeroom.

Let’s say, so far from my little research most of the time both genders would say that lingerie stores should continue to hire only women.  Is this discrimination or not?  I remember that one time a professor told me that equality is a concept that generates a lot of confusion and is often misunderstood.  Perhaps Wolford is also having that dilemma.

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