John Varvatos

The Bowery Store used to be one of my favorite places to shop.
It has great décor and as the flagship store, invites to free shows and friends/​family sales are fun and occur often.
The staff, however, have become increasingly unhelpful and rude.
I’ve been coming here since 2007, spent thousands of dollars on clothing here, and witnessed a negative change over time. The first several employees made shopping fun, often making great suggestions in combinations of pieces as well as being quick to accommodate (rushes in tailoring, updating on upcoming sales/​performances). It didn’t matter what I wore to the store that day, what I felt like purchasing, or if I came just to chat, they never pushed and their level of manners were consistent.
Now, many of the staff don’t introduce themselves unless I’m wearing something in the genre of the brand and seem only in the mindset of selling clothing and not building relationships.
Many don’t respond intelligently when it comes to the fabric and tailoring. Once a manager even accused me of bringing in non-​Varvatos clothing to be altered because it was in a non-​Varvatos bag even when I offered to show him the contents. He was actually raising his voice to the point where other customers noticed. At that point I realized how ridiculous the store had become.
I still am loyal to the brand but I will not be visiting the Bowery Store any more. Go to the store on Spring Street… décor may not be as rock n roll but the service there is still consistent.

This review is for their website,
, however there is no way to review that on Unilocal or google.
«I ordered several things from
during their end of season sale a few weeks ago. The first thing that struck me as odd is that AFTER you place an order, you have to wait for your order to be ‘approved’… meaning that they can just cancel your order after you placed it for any reason. Of the several items I ordered, 2 actually got shipped right away, 2 were labeled as approved, and one labeled as backordered. Now, several weeks after I placed the order I got informed via email that all 3 items I haven’t received are not available and are cancelled.
Even more frustrating, I ordered a pair of gloved in a separate order on the same day. After ordering, I sent a picture to a friend of mine asking if she liked them. She said she did like them and in fact decided to order a pair for herself. Although she placed her order after me, she received the gloves right away… on the other hand, my order with the gloves has now been switched from ‘approved’ to ‘backordered’. This level of disorganization, and just cancelling orders left and right is shocking, and unacceptable from a major company such as John Varvatos. I will certainly think twice before ordering again, and would NOT recommend it to others.»

Great Vibe and cool décor does not make up for bad customer service. The manager and staff have an attitude problem. For some strange reason they feel a sense of entitlement, almost like they are better than you, when they are the ones who work there and I am the one spending money. They have a horrible return policy (14 days), which is not posted anywhere in the store like NY law requires and when you try and return or exchange something they give you a snobby attitude because they don’t want to lose their commission. John Varvatos makes very nice clothing but I will never go back to this store again. I can go to Bloomingdales and great customer service or shop online and get free returns with no attitude. DO NOT SHOP here you will only be disappointed.

The décor and vibe of this boutique is amazing, rock n’ roll glam at its most chic, and it speaks to the location, where the soul of such things has permeated for so long. From the layout to the products, everything is stellar. I’ve been a follower and customer of John Varvatos since I was a teen, I think it’s an amazing label.
However, upon entering, my feelings about the atmosphere changed with the reception I received from the staff. I wasn’t greeted by the guard at the door, nor by any of the many employees strewn about the store either attending to menial tasks or standing idle at their register stations. I had come in with an agenda, I called the day before about the sizing availability of a pair of boots. I walked to the boots section without so much as a nod of acknowledgment or smile, so I took to myself to look around for several moments, trying to look perplexed and in need of help, still completely unaccosted, I tried to look out to hail for help, until finally I caught eyes with a particular tall blonde salesman, but he seemed rather displeased that I had, and looked as though he was being bothered. He shuffled his feet reluctantly towards me. He offered me this drawn uninterested expression as I proceeded to inquire my goals for being at the shop, and continued being underwhelmed, constantly hesitating to take any measures to assist me (discuss various products with me, check for product and size availability, etc.). Everything from his tone, body language, and lack of initiative to accommodate me made it clear as day he wasn’t there for me.
He also kept asking if I was ‘planning on purchasing today’ which I found quite rude. He was attending this other middle aged couple, catering to their every whim, chatting them up blithely, absolutely concerned to see their every need met. The dichotomy between who he was with me and who he was with them was clear as day, and his lack of attempt to mask it were plain offensive. Now… I understand sales, and being concerned with commission and wanting to foster a relationship with clientele who are going to be more inclined to want to return to purchase more from you, but what made this gentlemen assume I wasn’t one such person? None of the other employees passing me by as I was waiting (exceedingly long) for my turn to be helped regarded my presence in the slightest.
By the end of my experience, the salesman’s and staff’s continued lack of interest and enthusiasm to help me discouraged my own captivation with my endeavor, so I walked out. I can and will gladly continue ordering my John Varvatos products online. Such a shame for them.

You’d have to be a complete idiot to want to spend $ 2,000+ on a papier mache like pleather looking quality «leather» JACKET, MADE IN CHINA. Oh, everything is made in China. Don’t take it the wrong way, China makes some good quality stuff from time to time… FROM TIME TO TIME.
This store is so ridiculous. I went to a sample sale years ago that had same type of clothing, official from John Varvatos for $ 30 – 100 a pop pants, shirts ETC. This store wants to have a repetitive collection throughout the store (emo, fake grunge, wannabee gothic «I don’t give a shit about fashion but I really do… kind of») looking apparel throughout the store… Come on. Their accessories are so expensive for yet again, made in China cheap quality steel/​silver. If you’ve ever heard of Chrome Hearts, a handmade Japanese silver/​steel accessory company that many celebrities wear, the’r most expensive item is about 700 and it’s very high quality and will last many years to come, whereas JV’s stuff really looks assembled by machine.
Think about it, they are getting like %95 of profit since mostly everything is made in China.
The employees just sit there, don’t ask/don’t tell attitude. Probably because they know they are not going to meet quota with those outrageous prices, but I don’t blame them.
Store looks really cool for the first minute you walk in with the cool audiophile systems and what not, but it’s like every row you walk by, same Urban Outfitters «punk rock» section again, over and over.
Take a look if you want to see a poser version of what this neighborhood once was, it’s not close at all, but at least they have some guitars in here to try and say «hey, we spend a lot on rent, and we’re near where CBGB once was, bro.»

This place hits all the high notes! Great staff. My wife instantly made friends with two of the staff members who were informed of my short shopping attention span. In a matter of minutes I was trying on shirts, pants, bracelets…
plus still had time to look at the guitars.
Fun place and good stuff!

Sorry, You can never be this cool.
I mean, you can try but this type of coolness is reserved at rock star levels. Here’s a guy (A Greek Guy no less thankyouverymuch) who made his bones at Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klien and busted it out on his own.
John Varvatos was made famous by the 1992 print ads featuring Mark Wahlberg on those Time Square billboards back in the day.
Then it all starts rolling for JV, Chrysler asked him for a limited edition 300, cologne brand, shoes, boots, jeans, jackets, the skies the limit!
To make the old CBGB cool again, I laughed when they said it couldn’t be done by JV. Well, it was done and done right.
Walking into this store is both historic and updated for the 21^st century. The great part about the John Varvatos clothing line, its not trendy, cheaply made clothing. I bought a pair of John Varvatos Chukka boots, they’re comfortable and are wearing well.
My teenagers love to come into the store and browse the old record albums.
If you want to see history unfolding, I highly recommend stopping by and looking in the John Varvatos store.
My favorite designer who happens to be Greek (My mom is ½ Greek)
Opa!

High end hipsters dancing on CBGBS grave. I went in to check it out I was looking at some converse shoes (cuz $ 175 for one stars is logical) and as I’m looking for my size the guy who works there walks up and says I can’t handle the merchandise. I have to look at the shoes on display. I said I like the black hi tops but I need a size 12. He insists HE will find them and I should stop touching the shoe boxes. After several moments he offers me some white lo tops: no. Blue lo tops: no. A black lo top: no. I like the BLACK HI TOPS. He offers them in an 11 ½ at that point I just walked out. I wanted to see the old CBGB and the black hi tops were cool, but in the end the rude sales hipster and high end douchebag atmosphere was too much.

Very interesting shop full of cool dude clothes and music. Yes, you probably aren’t cool enough to actually shop here. The décor and staff as well as the clothing are pure rock and roll. The posters and guitar collection as well as amps for sale lend a great vibe though prices are on the high side.

I’d give it zero if I could. John Varvatos is NOT a rocker and never was. this is only a PR campaign. He used to make cashmere «Italian type» straight suits till PVH bought his line and changed it all. I admit it looks good, but skip the BS please, and the use of CB’s as a «flagship» is just downright sad… Welcome to the «new» New York… Hilly would have been p) ssed.

We were in New York recently and my husband really wanted to visit the old CBGB. He knew that it was a clothing store, but he did his homework and knew that John Varvatos kept some of the original elements as part of his store. So, we stopped by for a quick look around and really enjoyed the place. for what it is versus what it used to be.
The staff was very busy setting up for a concert/​book signing later that evening, but the employee that helped us was super nice! We were free to browse and take photos without complaint or anyone from security following us around. We ended up buying a lovely sweater for my husband. Edgar, the very nice sales associate, told us all about the Lou Reed event happening in the store that night and offered to put us on the list. Regretfully we had to decline, but he told us to call about upcoming events the next time we plan to be in the city and just let them know that we’d like to be put on the list for any event we’re interested in.
Now, that might not sound like much to some people, but to two travelers from Ohio, it was a very nice offer and probably some of the nicest service we received all week. We really appreciated it and we will probably revisit the store the next time we are in NY.

Mr. Varvatos… it’s designers like you who kind of make me want to be male…
Weird infatuations aside, I was in the area and knew the back story behind this address. So being a Varvatos fan (I studied menswear in college) and intrigued by the CBGBs history I decided to check the place out.
Judging now, I found that the store clearly had two callings: to sell his clothes and to honor to CBGBs. The atmosphere is a bit conflicting but at the same time his aesthetic and rock and roll go together perfectly.
No, $ 2000 jackets are not for everyone (heck I rarely spend more that two digits on mine) but he is not catering to the masses. In the world of H&M and other bargain stores I feel that high end apparel design is not understood by many. John Varvatos is an incredibly talented designer. I’ve had the opportunity to meet him and he is by far the one of the nicest people I have ever met.
If you can afford his garments, you will be one stylish man!

Amazing men’s clothing that makes beautiful, classy gifts. Fun, cool store.

The girlfriend would be very hard-​pressed to call me fashionable. However, there are designers and articles of clothing that I have to admit I truly enjoy. John Varvatos would be one of the few designers of Men’s clothes that I recognize and whose fashions I like, especially his line of shoes. The John Varvatos store treads on rock music holy ground, the former address of CBGB, but it tries and, I think, succeeds in paying appropriate homage to the legendary club.
The dark interior, painted black, contains an eclectic décor, which is part vintage vinyl record store, part museum with rock memorabilia, and 100 percent cutting edge clothing is worth checking out if only to listen to the great music being pumped through the store via vintage tubed McIntosh amps. Plenty of items were on sale and some of them were even in my size. Much more was not on sale. All of the items for sale looked amazing! My one critique was that all of the sales associates were a bit aloof as no one ever approached me to ask if I needed assistance. I guess I didn’t look like a serious customer. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask… you just may make a sale. On this particular day? No sale.
5 stars for the very cool store. 2 stars for the service, or lack thereof. Call it 3.5, but rounding down to 3.

Just walked by the store on the way home to look at any possible outfits for the fiancé to wear for the big day. I’m really torn on this review. Because I really liked the sales guy but there was another factor that made this shopping experience really uncomfortable for us. We were helped by this really nice man who showed us some suits and vests. He was very helpful, knowledgeable, and sweet. He showed us a bunch of different options, all along the lines of what we were looking for. 5 stars to him.
But –10 stars to the d**k security guard who followed us around the whole time. Oh and I made sure I wasn’t just being sensitive. I made sure to walk up and down the store, stopped at different points — in the middle, in the end, in the middle again, to the left, to the right — and yup, his ass was following us the whole time. Even when the sales guy was helping us for about 15 mins, security douche was still standing just a few feet away, starting… always staring. Now I know it’s his job. But is it also his job to make customer feel like they’re not welcome in the store? To make us feel like we’re no better than common criminals? No matter how great the service was, I’m only gonna remember how uncomfortable the security douche made me feel.
I wanna go back and get the suit with my fiancé, I really do. It’s beautiful and he’s excited about it. But you know what, we probably won’t because we don’t want to spend almost $ 3,000 after being treated like petty thugs.
I hope management from this store actually checks Unilocal.You need to fire that guy. Or better yet, you need to train him not to drive away paying customers. Seriously, I can go get a nice suit somewhere else and be treated 10x better.

Can’t afford anything in here but giving credit where credit is due… If it wasn’t for JV this historic piece of NYC rock n roll would be a Duane Reade. Props for saving the flyers, stickers and such on the walls.

It’s a pretty cool store. Has lots of fun stuff. Has remnants of CBGB.
But everything is way too expensive to even consider purchasing.

For the sake of full disclosure I’ll admit I never had the chance to attend a show at CBGBs — but I know the great history of the space and the bands who came through its doors. For all the people complaining about Varvatos — they were closing CBGB’s either way, what he did was save it from being lost forever — sure it isn’t «the same» but his pricey line of clothing has allowed him to preserve a piece of rock history.
Visually stunning and run by a designer who is deeply invested in the rock community, I must admit I’d have preferred a bit more professionalism from the aloof staff while browsing suits that cost $ 3K and cufflinks that cost $ 1,500 — but all told they were helpful without being overbearing.
Rock and Fashion can mix and while this certainly isn’t the bargain basement that CBGBs once was, I didn’t see Walmart pony up the money to save the venue — Varvatos did — and his goods are worth the pricetag if you have the means.

This is so not punk rock.
Sorry Hilly.

The last time I was in here was to do «Punk Rock Aerobics» at CBGB’s, where we used a brick as a weight, and had to do mock aerobic moves like «The Skank» to music like The Snivelling Shits.
There’s still some of the original interior left: a shell of it’s former self.