Togs Soho store review - typical random, pricey boutique

Togs Soho
68 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012
917-237-1882

Inside, looking at just the clothes offered, Togs seems no different than the hundreds of tiny clothing boutiques scattered across the city. You can usually find them in swank areas like SoHo, Midtown, and the Upper East Side. It always surprises me that these places stay in business - but I guess they scrape by somehow. The stores are usually filled with sexy, slightly trashy garb perfectly suitable to go out clubbing in. There's also a tiny dressing room with no mirror - both for saving space and for forcing you to go out under the eyes of the sales staff to use the one outside.

I guess the saving grace of all stores like these, is location, location, location. The 6 line's Spring Street stop is very close - you can practically trip over this store (and just as easily walk past it too) when you get off. What made me stay in was the Russian model/saleswoman that was as thin as me, but almost 6' tall! I definitely wanted to ask her where she got clothes herself. As typical of the waiters and boutique workers in New York, she was obviously working there to cover expenses while she tried a hand at modeling. Talking with her was very amusing as we shared complaints about finding stuff that fit.

It's pretty funny when the sales staff can't actually wear the clothing that is being sold there - even if they're the correct gender and share the same style. It was pretty late in the day when I walked in, so it was just me and her. I've gotten pretty upfront in shopping at this point - so I asked point blank whether anything Togs had would fit me. She looked me up and down and then confessed that not many of the things even fit her!

At this point, she hurridly snagged me two tops before I could leave. Ok, sure, why not? The t-shirt fit perfectly and was made of some stretch cotton with gold snakes. I walked out to take a look in the mirror and she declared it looked fabulous on me (as if she'd say anything else, really!), but I didn't think it was anything special. "It looks expensive," she said. Well, I beg to differ, but even so, it certainly cost $88! I definitely shimmied out of that one quick.

The other top was way way way too low for me in the front. I'm pretty much hopelessly boob-less, and this top would require me to wear it bra-less, as it dipped below my sternum (you know, that bony bit where your ribs connect in front). Uh-uh. No way. It'd be falling off of me! I was wearing my padded strapless bra, and even then, it was too big. And the cost for the little slip of silk? $108.

As I was leaving, I figured I might as well ask. What do you do for pants? She leaned in and conspiratorially mentioned that she was in love with Buffalo jeans in size 23. They were slightly too short for her and they be too long for me but a cuff or hem wouldn't kill me. I've never heard of them before, but I promised to check them out.

Overall, pricey and typical of such stores; it's all about convienence, convienence, convienence. The nice part for me was that even though the help couldn't help me in store, she gave me a hint or two for elsewhere!