A tempo

I never write reviews but after such a bad experience feel compelled to warn others: DO NOT SHOP HERE. Returned a dress today… They claimed it was stained after being in my home for one week and charged a cleaning fee, only credit back and they kept an extra $ 23.00, offering me soap since there was nothing to buy for the reminding amount after I decided to spend NO MORE money at such a haughty boutique.

Congratulations A Tempo. Your service warranted my first feedback ever. I bought a white cotton top yesterday and thought to pack it for a trip. It had a chemical-​like smell so I decided to hand-​rinse it this morning. As I was rinsing it, I noticed a dark spot and upon close inspection, found the stitching in the lace weave to be dirty. I didn’t notice when I tried it on because it was in the back. As I was leaving tomorrow, I stopped by the store with the almost dry top on a hanger and asked to exchange it. My first mistake was to say I hand-​rinsed it. The sales associate couldn’t help me. Well, first she tried to tell me that the dirty thread was «natural». Natural or not, it’s brown, 1″ in length, on an otherwise super white top. And $ 150. So because the sales associate is «only hourly» she could not do anything. I have to call the owner tomorrow. Note to owner, if you’re going to be in a business serving clients, empower your employees and serve your customers. And consider this fair; I said I’d leave a review.

Wandered in here, they have really cute clothes & jewelry. Too bad it’s out of my price range, even with the sale price. There were beautiful gold charm necklaces & flat elephant charm earrings, $ 105 with the 25% discount. Guess it’s a good deal for a boutique in the area. Nice collections & sales girl.

A tiny store crammed with mid-​range dresses. I got the classic butter dress at half price, which usually runs 250 $. I’m quite happy with it, except that it has excess fabric which is a bit heavy at times. Otherwise, it’s really fun trying on the dresses here. The sales ladies are not very helpful though, you have to pester them for advice.

A tiny, fabulously curated boutique with excellent mid-​range dress options. Dresses (and associated accessories and jewels) is all they do, and they do it well. It’s not cheap, but it’s not high-​end designer prices either, providing a nice middle range for the well-​heeled (and this is the heart of the chic Upper West, so the price range seems quite reasonable – after all, you can buy a $ 5 cookie just down the road). Plus they’re always very nice to my dog, even when he takes up half the available floor space (the store is tiny, the dog is not).

A Tempo suits me just fine being a size 0 petite with particular tastes. The prices, it’s true, are on the steep end, and generally in the $ 250-​$ 400 category whether it’s a simple frock or a long gown. It feels best though when you find something that looks expensive, and then is knocked down 30%, as was the case with the last remaining size S indigo lace Nicole Miller number I picked up in between a take out order and picking up laundry. This dress will be worn frequently and enthusiastically, and I have A Tempo to thank for it!

It is my «go to» shop for all events. If I just need a belt or a formal dress, this shop has it all. The staff is super helpful in piecing looks together and is also truthful about how the garment fits. There are times when they pull something from the back because they think it will look perfect on me making me feel like I have a personal stylist! Love it!

The dresses are tiny tiny, but lovely. The prices (On average $ 265 for almost every dress in there no matter how simple), the attitude and the cut of the clothes (which leans toward hummingbird sized) are not so lovely. With so many competing boutiques in this area, it’s a bit of a shocker that they are still in business.

Great store has tons of nice stuff! I bought a $ 326 necklace for my wife but she didn’t like it. Apparently the store is just not her type although it does seem to have a lot of great buys. Anyways, I now have a $ 326 credit to A Tempo since they would not refund my credit card. If you are looking to make a purchase I am willing to sell my credit for less than its value. maybe 300? If you are interested plz call Justin 516.987.2305. I live on the West side and can meet you anywhere nearby…
Thanks

For many years now, I have always found «The Dress» for all my most special of occasions at A Tempo, including: a beautiful Butter by Nadia dress in Cinnamon for our pre-​wedding ceremony; a drop-​dead red Issue cocktail dress for our party/​concert; and a fabulous Soia & Kyo tweed jacket for our trip to Tuscany. Whatever the event, A Tempo is my go-​to place to shop.
The staff at A Tempo have always been friendly and helpful, and it is a pleasure to shop there. And if you don’t find what you are looking for that day – although you probably will! – check back frequently because they are always getting new things in.

These ladies deserve a medal. I came in on the same day as a gala event on the UES looking for a colored cocktail dress.
I HATE shopping for cocktail dresses. It’s too much of an agonizing purchase: «What am I saying about myself with this dress??» «Am I where I want to be on the slutty/​elegant continuum??» «How does it fit in with what I already have??» But for work, I go at least four events a year. Anyone working in the Arts or Non-​Profits or Media knows what I mean. So I sometimes compromise by shopping on the day of the event just to force the decision.
I walked in to A Tempo at 2:00 and needed to be at the event venue at 4:00. I knew they’d have more selection of what I needed: something elegant and simple in the $ 200-​$ 400 range. I called 20 minutes ahead with my size and the lady in charge pulled some items for me. (Totally do this. Staff in stores like this are often aloof, but if you call ahead, they know you’re not fantasy-​shopping.) They were in the middle of a Nicole Miller sale so there were over a dozen choices at 30% off. We looked at these and I focused on colored dresses since that’s what I thought I needed. I had both sales girls’ total attention and they were phenomenal at making recommendations about fit. Since it’s a small store that ONLY does cocktail and evening wear, they know how EVERY dress fits. A late choice in a high waisted black crêpe skirt with silk top and jeweled décollté (don’t have to worry about jewelry. s c o r e.) won because I’m tall and the proportions worked like gangbusters. The decision was easy because I knew the girls were being totally honest about what looked best. The younger one said «Yeah, I think you need to wear that tonight.» Walked out the door by 2:35.
Fast Forward six hours and I’m posing for Bill Cunningham… WHAT? No, seriously. I couldn’t believe it. Later that night I was collecting pledge cards for the non-​profit being feted and hot businessman goes «Yeah, you could collect anything you wanted in that dress.» Landed in the NYT Sunday Styles section posing with my best friend two days later. Not bad for a western tom-​boy.
Confidence is priceless, but you can help yourself out with it at this little UWS power-​house. I also scored an awesome wide belt in buttery leather that they had pulled for my long torso. It goes with everything.

This place is in the neighborhood — always has cute dresses! Some are a little steep in price but no big deal.
Unfortunately, EVERYTIME, I have been in the store the staff have been aloof. I have never been greeted — EVER.
If I am going to spend my money at a store, I would at least hope to get a smile as I walk through the door.

I’m normally not a fan of small spaces however this store has a great selection of dresses. As an added bonus you don’t really have to do much work, you just tell the staff what you have in mind and your size, they handle the rest.

Although this is not a large store, it has an incredible selection of very pretty dresses, from work appropriate to casual to formal. After a brief chat with the salesperson, I tried on no less than 10 dresses, most of which she pulled from the rack for me. Each time I exited the dressing room, she was there to make sure the dress fit properly.
I ended up with two dresses and one of them was 50% off!
They also carry Butter by Nadia (which a previous reviewer called «a jersey wrap dress for $ 250»). Well, Butter is a fabulous versatile dress (yes, it’s $ 250, but it’s like buying multiple dresses). You can wear it dozen of different ways by draping the «wings». The woman at A Tempo helped me with that too.
All in all, a great store — I will be going back!

We had a strange experience here. Prices are a little high for the quality/​selection, but we saw some jewelry in the window and decided to check it out. The salesgirl was completely clueless. She was confused about how much a necklace was when we changed to a different pendant. She tried to convince us that we were getting a really good deal even though when she broke the price of everything down, somehow an extra $ 25 was added to the total. What kind of «deal» is that? We tried to explain that her addition was a little off and she got very defensive and acted as though we were trying to cheat her and didn’t understand.
I noticed the name of the designer and since they had a local store, visited them in town. When she saw this, still unable to accept that she didn’t know what she was talking about, she granted me her permission to look them up online (because I guess I needed it) and see for myself that she was giving me a discount. I got the item for the REAL price at the designer’s store and there was no confusion with the math. This is not somewhere I would shop again.

I agree with MiRi’s review below, so stick to that.
I bought some great necklaces here on sale – very nice independent designers.
If I had more money or needed a nice dress this place would have served me better.

There were some cute items in this store, but the prices didn’t justify what they were selling. Seriously, a jersey wrap dress for $ 250. Um… NO.
There was some great jewelery and I would go back just to see, but I can’t really imagine myself buying much here.

3.75 Stars.
You could easily miss A Tempo — a tiny boutique on the upper west side owned by a couple of Japanese girls — but it’d be sad if you did.
I’ve been coming here for years to get ‘big night out’ dresses and am generally enthralled by the incredible taste of the proprietors. They stock predominantly dresses from carefully chosen labels (Alice + Olivia, Foley + Corinna, Single Dress) and going through their racks is like shopping at Barney’s but all the best stuff has been pre-​selected. Better yet — don’t go through the racks. Just tell them your size and what you like and they’ll whip out some options for you. Don’t forget to check out the jewelry selection, which is small but fairly fantastic with at least a few one-​of-​a-​kind splurge options.
The drawbacks? The store isn’t very spacious so everything is tightly packed. There are two teensy dressing rooms and neither of them has mirrors, so you have to emerge to see how you look. Also, A Tempo is pricey ($ 100-​$ 500 on avg), which isn’t surprising given the labels they go with. One suggestion? Get on their email list. They send Evites to secret sale events at which you can get anywhere from 30−60% off for one day only.

ok so i had to get a fancy-​pants dress for an event this past october, and i came across this little spot on columbus that i have come to love.
DO go in here if you want to be surrounded by well-​chosen, stylish cocktail and evening dresses. whoever their buyer is should get more than a pat on her/​his back. the selection of dresses is impeccable.
DO go here if you want to purchase a Butter by Nadia convertible dress. they are the shiet. i worked at the dance school where nadia first started to make costumes for our teachers and choreographers. imagine how surprised, impressed and happy i was to see her wares at a chichi UWS boutique years later! go nadia! work! the butter dresses are fab and you can style them about 20 different ways. no kidding. they come in fantastic colors, and more than one friend of mine said they would be great as bridesmaids dresses.
DO go here if you are looking for a Nicole Miller frock. i just bought one today. i wasn’t expecting to, but that’s what happens when you walk into this store. Nicole Miller’s been constructing some fantaaabulous dresses that make me look like i got some junk in my trunk (when it’s actually very empty), but it comes at a price. which leads me to…
DON’T go in here if you don’t have $ 150 – 400 to spend.
they also have fancy shirts, but your $ 80 for a shirt would be better-​spent elsewhere.
this place’s greatest strength is it’s dress selection and it’s staff. it’s a small place so they totally remembered me and i’ve only been in there like 4 times. they are not haughty or too cool for their own good like in pookie-​and-​sebastian (booo) or intermix (only somtimes good for their windows).