I'm mixed in my thoughts about Camp Hollyhock. After seeing a bride decked out in a gorgeous ensemble from CH, I immediately made it my first priority to go there - everything is made from reclaimed/repurposed fabrics and vintage materials, and exactly in the style that I wanted for my wedding.
As a side note, the dressing room area offers little privacy. There is a giant hole in the wall between the register and the rooms so if you open up your curtain you are literally looking onto the street and at any customer walking in. (A curtain could easily fix this while still letting light in).
On my first visit with a friend, the young woman working there did almost nothing to help us, just sat behind the register. She was nice enough, but my friend was doing all the work in finding a variety of items for me to try on. When I tried on a beautiful half-slip, I quickly noticed that the lace trim at the bottom was torn, and another dress had a noticeable stain on the neckline, and gave them both to her. Rather than set them aside, she put them back on the rack!!! I was stunned to also see this slip on the rack at the vintage fashion show a week later and in their shop on the rack a week after that. Why would the owners try to sell damaged product? At the very least, they should have an 'as-is' section for that kind of stuff, as it's tacky to try to sell something for eighty bucks that is clearly torn. The clerk told us of the upcoming vintage bridal show and said "oh don't worry about the stock now, they're going to have SO much more next week at the bridal show so makes sure and go to that, they are working like crazy to create more dresses for it!"
So we went and paid ten bucks to get into this show specifically so we could go see more of their choices that this clerk had promised. And there was the torn slip, the stained dress, and exactly the same items that were in the store. The owner was there who was super nice, but what she was wearing was not an item for sale (big mistake - always wear something that the customer can buy as well!). I literally did not see one new item, nor did they say they had plans to make anything new. As a side note, the straps on most of their dresses are attached in a very odd place on the bustline and the bustlines allow very little room for, well, busts, so the fact that there were no new choices was quite aggravating and we'd basically wasted our time and money.
Just for kicks, I went back a week or so ago to see if there were any new pieces, and it was like time had stood still. There was nothing, and the same clerk sitting there not even getting off her chair to offer assistance. Two months and no new tops, skirts, or dresses? I don't get it.
I really, really want to like Camp Hollyhock, and the kid stuff is adorable, but most of the women's clothing pictures on their old blog and Facebook are for items no longer in the store, and the fact that they're not making new products on a regular basis worries me, since women's clothing appears to be the majority of the shop. That mixed with the lackluster service from the shop clerk left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Yet I still hold out hope they'll change...they've got such potential and such a great idea going! read more
