I had a terrible experience at this store. If you "look right" to the owner, I 'm sure it's great, but if you don't, you're not welcome. I am autistic and I believe my affect likely lead to the owner making assumptions about me. It felt really crappy to be obviously treated differently than other people in the store. I would not support a business that so blatantly discriminates. Anyway, here's what happened.
I am a local performer and was looking for a costume for a new act. My friend suggested I check out this shop, so we went together. While my friend was chatting with the owner, I found some cute items that I thought might work. My friend found something that they tried on and decided to buy. After I found some things, I walked towards the front to ask about using the dressing room. The owner walked in a direction that looked like she was planning on blocking my path to the dressing room area, which made me uncomfortable. I always plan on asking before using a dressing room in a new store anyway, but it seemed that she felt the need to prevent me from sneaking in or something. As soon as I was close enough to comfortably speak without needing to raise my voice, I asked about using the dressing room. The owner responded "No," and not even in an apologetic or understanding way. Then she directed me to a large mirror in the front of the store. Some of the items I was considering were priced over $50, so I wouldn't purchase them without being sure of the fit. The owner did not at all seem to care about my business in the store. She made no attempt at helping me determine if the items I had would be the right size for me. It was very odd and uncomfortable. I completely understand that some businesses may not be able to accommodate a fitting room and maybe she's worried about people stealing clothes being downtown, however, I was clearly treated differently than how my friend was treated, which made me feel unwelcome. If there's a no try-on policy, it's really off-putting to see one "special" person or person who looks right get to try on clothes while I was not allowed to because I suppose I look more "suspicious"? I have no idea what assumptions she made about me, but I fully intended on treating all the clothes carefully and probably spending over $100 for the right costume.
Anyway, I would never go back to this store again. Not to mention that I went down the street to Moon Zoom, which was cheaper, had just as nice of costume options, had fitting rooms, and they were friendly (as always) and made me feel welcome (and even wanted) in their store. I hope the owner of Kat's Meow reconsiders how they treat potential customers and evaluates their implicit biases (or maybe it's not even implicit). read more