Tag Archives: Fogal

Fogal Hosiery Boutique in Toronto is Closing Down

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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

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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 amazing visit to the Fogal store in Toronto

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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.

 

What is Customer Service Like at Fogal Hosiery in Vancouver?

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Yesterday was a bit of a frustrating experience for me.  You see, I never actually owned a pair of Fogal hosiery.  I decided to send my guy to buy me some from the local Fogal boutique that recently opened in Vancouver.  He went there, but returned empty-handed.

What happened?

“I didn’t get any customer service”, he said.  Turned out that when he came to the store, there was only one person working (the manager) and she was talking to a female customer.  He picked out something that he liked from the sample display and asked the manager three times for that specific item in size Medium.  All that needed to be done was to run the purchase through the cash register, that’s it!  After being in that store for some time (15 minutes according to his estimation), he walked out.

I was surprised, last time I was there I got really good service.  So I picked up the phone and called up the boutique.  The explanation I got was that the staff is trained to stay with the customer that they started working with until the end.   She explained that the other customer seemed to be very needy and required assistance.  That’s why the manager could not interrupt her conversation with the other customer and go to the cash register to process a sale.  I agree to an extent here, but if you are the only staff in the store, sometimes you need to multi-task.  She was polite and of course she apoligized, but there was no offer extended to compensate for that unfortunate experience.

I wonder if his gender made any difference.  Could it be different if it would be a woman coming in to make a purchase?  I find that sometimes in high end stores staff only watch out for their “target market”.  They may not even greet a customer if for some reason they don’t think that this person is going to buy much because of their youth or simple clothing.  I really hope that’s not the case since my first experience with Fogal was quite positive.

I am sad that it didn’t work out.  Maybe some day I’ll order it online or buy it in Toronto’s store.  This time, instead of Fogal, I went to the Wolford boutique that is literally across the corner from them and purchased another pair of Neon 40 in Cosmetic shade (skin tone).  You see, my guy was too upset to go back to the Fogal store.

I am still open-minded about the Fogal brand and I judge people favourable.  At least for now I prefer to think that it was simply inexperience of the staff  person to multi-task while working alone with multiple clients.

Note Added Later: I heard from some of my fans that they went to Fogal and got good customer service.  So maybe it was just a day of bad luck.  I would also like to say that I had AMAZING customer service at Fogal in Toronto. What is customer service like at Fogal for you?  Would love to hear.

 

Fogal in Vancouver (I’ve been asked about the location – so far listed in Yellow pages only)

1012 Alberni Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

1 604 685 6722

(also goes under Fogal Legwear Canada Ltd)

 

*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible.*

Fogal Boutique in Vancouver – New!

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Fogal store opened in Vancouver 2 months ago. They also have locations in New York, Chicago, and Toronto.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Fogal opened 2 months ago right around the corner, literally, from Wolford!  They have stores in New York, Chicago, Vancouver, and Toronto.

I went inside and the staff were friendly.  They perked up when they realized that I was familiar with Fogal brand.

I was wearing my Wolford pantyhose, Neon 40, with the shine effect.  Right away I got compliments, questions, and even got presented with a similar item from Fogal line.  I asked about seamless pantyhose, but turns out that Fogal does not carry such design.

Correction:  Yes, Fogal has seamless, but they don’t sell it at that boutique.  People buy it online.  Staff at the store didn’t know about this item. 

Staff were calling me by my first name and they even offered that I’ll try on samples.  Yes, they’ve got a whole wall of samples that customers can try on before purchasing.  Both customer service and the quality of product were really good.

I only heard of Fogal from other hosiery enthusiasts, but I have never actually had a chance to try it, so I was very interested to have that opportunity.

I tried on snake print and leopard print pantyhose, as you can see on photos here.  Stay up stockings that they had on display also looked really good.  I touched the double silicon lining and it felt like it would be comfortable on the leg, not like cheaper brands that either squash your leg or simply fall off.

There were some points though that caused me to get a little concerned.  First thing that alerted me though is that they don’t sanitize the samples in between.  They tell clients to keep their underwear on when trying, but from my knowledge it’s not good to share socks since some people may have skin problems on their feet.

Second, they destroy all samples once per month at the head office in Europe.  Even staff can’t keep it for themselves.  Why?  Because it is a luxury brand, so that’s the proper thing to do, as I was told by the staff.

Since you know how I am about stitching my pantyhose and reusing it, you can probably guess my reaction!  I am not suggesting to exhibit flawed product, but there are charities like “dress for success” where women would appreciate donated used hosiery.  Vancouver is a very eco-friendly city.

It was a very nice experience overall to visit their store.  The atmosphere is very high end and they have nice displays.  I greatly recommend you to pay a visit.  They gave me two catalogs to take home, but I couldn’t wait and looked through them as soon as I left the store.  I am glad to see that serious hosiery brands are coming to North America and I hope that they’ll bring along a wave of femininity that will inspire women to dress beautifully.

Wall of samples on display.

Great selection of colours.

 

*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible.*

 

Fogal Boutiques Updates:

– my visit to Toronto Fogal Boutique

http://www.fantasystockings.com/my-amazing-visit-to-the-fogal-store-in-toronto/

– my downhill experience at Vancouver Fogal boutique

http://www.fantasystockings.com/what-is-customer-service-like-at-fogal-hosiery-in-vancouver/

 

Fogal in Toronto (awesome place!)

The Colonnade

131 Bloor Street West

Toronto, Ontario

1 416 929 0369

 

Fogal in Vancouver

1012 Alberni Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

1 604 685 6722

(also goes under Fogal Legwear Canada Ltd)

Smart hosiery idea when traveling between climates

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I was flying from Toronto and the lady next to me was wearing a jean skirt, flats, and opaque pantyhose.  Turns out, she was flying back to Canada from her vacation in St. Lucia.

I asked her about the pantyhose – it seemed strange to me that someone would wear it in that hot climate.  She explained that she left St. Lucia with bare legs because of the heat, but she had a pair of pantyhose in her purse to change into as she arrived to Canada.  Smart!

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pantyhose on the airplane

I went to Hawaii and used that trick to adjust!  I love this hosiery idea, it keeps me appropriate for both destinations.

On the photo above you see me in the airplane cabin wearing a hoodie by Public Myth, a dress that my mom bought me, and a pair of natural Falke pantyhose that one of my fans sent me.  It was an awesome trip and I admit that even despite the heat I managed to parade in my tights to the amusement of the public.

*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible.*

Seamless pantyhose – Wolford

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Seams have always left their imprints on me after wearing my pantyhose and I never even wondered if it can be any different.  However, I keep on hearing about SEAMLESS pantyhose.  What does it mean?

I was talking to another person today about seamless pantyhose and it looks like there are several brands out there with such styles.  I was wondering if anybody here would know which brands currently have this model.  Please let me know, I’d like to try them some day!

I’d assume that one of the benefits would be that there will be no marks from the seams left on my skin after wearing them.  Such marks take up to 40 minutes to fade.  For this reason models are required to come to photoshoots in loose clothing without any underwear to avoid marks.

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OK, adding some information at a later date, 3 months after.  I tried seamless pantyhose that a friend gave me to try – excellent feeling, very nice idea.  Too bad that they all tend to be so expensive!

Wolford seamless pantyhose in white shade

Wolford Fatal 15 in White

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Update, 8 months later – my fan David from Canada sent me some seamless Wolford!  That was amazing.  Wow, thanks! Now I have it in different colours.

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Update… a a few years later.  David from Canada got me Fogal.  Seamless Fogal pantyhose called Una is very nice.  Low rise.  Beautiful!  It was even featured in my newsletter.

Una low rise seamless tights, Fogal

*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible. You may find some seamless styles too.*

Fogal una seamless pantyhose in black