Acne Studios

I recently visited Acne Studios on Greene Street for the first time, and I was very impressed with the level of service I received (because at the end of the day, the way someone does or doesn’t make you feel during a retail experience can affect your decision to buy or not buy, am I right?). I had been emailing back and forth with one of the employees, Federica, so when I walked in I asked for her. She immediately brought out the items that I had mentioned in my email, and set me up in a fitting room. Federica was available throughout my time at the store to bring another size, offer her opinion on fit and versatility, and to see that I had what I needed. She also offered me sparkling or flat water, which I always think is a nice touch! All of the employees that I encountered were friendly and helpful — no one had a «snooty» attitude with their nose in the air, which can sometimes happen at high-​end boutiques. Thanks for a great experience, Acne!

What a twist of events, I truly never predicted that I’d be writing a very negative review about one of my most beloved clothing stores, but here I am… doing just that.
Acne on Greene has always had a pretty ‘iffy’ staff, their employees are either hyper-​attentive and helpful, or will avoid interacting with you (the customer) like the plague. It can be a genuine toss up whether you will go in and have a good or bad experience.
My most recent experience wasn’t necessarily bad, per se, it was more of the aftermath of my visit that truly shook my perceptions of this store.
So for context, I just came home from school for winter break and headed to SoHo to check out all of the lovely clothing stores that make me despise going to school in the barren upstate. So I went to Acne a few days ago, since I wanted to try on a few pieces that had been added in their most recent FW collection. It went fine, decided to purchase a casey crew in their newest palette, ‘balsam green’. This was great and all, the experience was pretty typical: I walked in, saw a few idle employees, they scurried away, I took sometime to look around, found the piece I liked, asked to try it on at the front desk, tried it on, bought it, and left; pretty mechanical. Anyway, the real dilemma was that upon returning to my house (I live about 45 mins outside of Manhattan). I had realized that my sweatshirt still had its security tag on it, which I know better than to try and remove by myself at home. So, since it’s close to Christmas, I knew my best bet was to head back to Acne the next day. And that’s exactly what I did.
Now to quantify it; a trip to Manhattan + Metrocard fare adds up to around $ 35ish-​$ 40 for me, based on peak & round fares. It also takes up a significant amount of time, I actually had to cancel my entire list of plans for the day to come back to Manhattan. Now, as a person who works in a service/​retail industry position, I totally understand mistakes like this, they happen, people are human and are inherently imperfect. That’s fine, and I was NOT mad at the employee for making the mistake. However, after calling and letting them know I was coming back down, I strongly had it in my mind that I wanted to speak to the store’s manager, as I was dissatisfied with my latest experience, especially having to pay for an employee’s mistake.
So I did just that. I went to Acne, waited around, finally got help, they promptly removed the tag and apologized, and then I proceeded to ask an employee that I would like to speak the their manager. The first thing that kind of ticked me off was a bit of a nitpick, but the employee asked me why, which I think is not something an employee should ask in the first place, because it was clear why I was upset, but also, because it is not their issue to resolve if I have actively committed to seeking out a manager.
He got the manager, Matthew, I believe his name was, he was nice enough, gave me a managerial apology, which you can imagine, is an over-​inflated apology, which is quite halfhearted and only done for policy reasons. I gave him my spiel on how everyone makes mistakes, etc. HOWEVER, I did add that when in a service industry, based on a system where the customer is the main priority and generally is «right», I felt that this mistake needed to be amended beyond just a «sorry». I told him that it wasn’t right for me to have to literally pay for a mistake on their behalf with no level of compensation. (And just for the record, I honestly couldn’t care less about trying to squeeze them for money or whatever, I’m much more concerned with the principle of the matter; which is, having to suffer consequences based on someone else’s folly). So I asked him straight up, «I believe that compensation at the barest level, for my travel expenses would be quite fair». He did not go for it, he refused and said that the best he could do is say sorry again.
That didn’t fly with me, especially in a service where store credit costs the store nothing. I just wanted to the core principle of what happened to be somewhat rectified, but it wasn’t. So I told him I found that response to be unacceptable and I would not be buying from that store again.
Look, if you read all of this, I hope that it doesn’t seem as if I’m just ranting or whining, you can choose wherever you’d like to buy your clothes, but honestly as far as I’m concerned, if this is the kind of vibe Acne exudes towards its base (consistent Acne Studios consumers, such as myself), then I’m really not interested in their product/​service, because I’m not just a dollar bill.
Happy shopping, happy holidays; hope your experiences go better than mine did.

DO NOT BUY FROM HERE. BUY ONLINE INSTEAD
What you get with buying online:
1) Free returns
What you get when buying from this store:
1) No returns — store credit only that EXPIRES after a year
2) Sales associates who are unhelpful and lie to you about 1)
3) Cashiers who will swipe your card and complete a transaction before informing you about 1) and then tell you only a manager can reverse the transaction
4) No managers ever happen to be working that day (how convenient)
But no really. Feel free to go and try things on but if you’re going to buy something, buy it online

The whole staff is nice and helpful. Love the no window display ad the way the shop is put together.
TIP:
Tessa took care of me and really helped!!! She s the best! Took pictures, tried things on for me to see how it looks on someone and all. Put things on hold for a day and chek every details i asked for!
4 stars cause some of the line in made in china … i guess they got to make money somehow right…

I had a great experience shopping here. My salesperson (Frank) was helpful, knowledgable and patient. Beautiful clothing and great location. Staff in general was friendly and helpful which made it really fun to shop here.

I shop at stores like Acne because a) you get better quality clothes and b) better customer service than at other places. This store gives me no reason to come back. I purchased jeans and paid Acne to hem them for me. When I went to pick them up today, they were still way too long and instead of apologizing for the mistake, they made a big deal out of taking them back and hemming them again. They then also made me pay for another hemming even though it was obvious that they had done a poor job the first time. I was clearly annoyed with the situation which they tried to ignore. They don’t really seem to know how to take care of their customers in a way that represents their high end brand positioning. Not impressed

Associate was very helpful and called me many times to help me find the jacket I wanted. Store was good about helping me b/​c of an unfortunate situation. Nice management, good employees, beautiful clothes. no returns, store credit only good for a yr.

While I do adore their clothing, I found the customer service at this location to be practically nonexistent. First, it was difficult to identify who actually works there because they tend to just stand in front of the racks of clothing and not acknowledge anyone. After I decided to make a purchase, I asked one of the salespeople if they could get me a new one from the back as I saw people throwing the item around. He rolled his eyes at me and reiterated «What? A new one?» as if it was the most difficult task he had ever encountered.
I contemplated speaking to the manager but honestly, I just wanted to get out of this place. I’m not sure if I just happened to go on a day where the least pleasant sales people were working or if they were just judgmental because based on other reviews, some people have gotten terrific service.
Enter at your own risk.

I love the brand and have many Acne items. The staff has been helpful while I’ve shopped in the store. Recently I had a warranty issue with a pair of boots and had so much trouble getting it resolved that I almost gave up. But once the manager stepped in, things were handled well and I was happy with the result. If you are ever unsatisfied with the service or have an issue with this store, ask for Brittain and I’m sure you will leave happy.

I live down the street from Acne, so when I saw a beautiful scarf online, I was excited to be able to see it/​buy it in the store almost immediately. Unfortunately, the salespeople are super unhelpful. The store was crowded, but the salespeople were just awkwardly milling around by the register. I could see what I wanted in a glass case, but since I couldn’t get anyone’s attention or assistance, I left after awkwardly hanging around. Better to buy online from Netaporter!

This is one of my favourite stores in NYC. The décor is minimalist which make their awesome clothing stand out. The staff that helped me out were very approachable, super friendly and extremely helpful. I love that they offered Sparkling water while I was in the change room. Just that little extra something that made my experience very positive. A great outpost for the brand!

i have personally never bought anything from acne. but, my fiancé is a huge fan of their denim. i can’t speak for other locations, but the people working here were friendly and helpful. my fiancé asked questions and they were answered. they pulled the jeans he wanted and gave suggestions on fit and wear.
the store set up is different. it kind of reminds me of an apartment with different rooms. kinda neat, especially if you’re there just browsing as you wait for your shopaholic fiancé to finish trying on jeans (hahaha, hopefully he never reads this review).
all in all, i don’t get the other reviews about the rude service or whatever. i thought everyone was perfectly nice and helpful. but, i guess you can’t please everybody.

Here are the rules:
1. Behave as a supplicant. Keep your head down and voice low.
2. DON’T TOUCH THE JEANS. (You may well wonder about the styles and colors available. Let someone tell you about these.)
3. DON’T LEAVE THE DRESSING ROOM UNLESS YOU INTEND TO GIVE IT UP. Items too big or small? Wait. Someone might eventually ask.
4. Tired of waiting? DON’T, ABOVE ALL THINGS, REPLACE YOUR UNWANTED ITEMS TO THE JEANS SHELVES. Imagine you’re in the special collections room of an historical/​religious library (You can leave your cotton gloves at home, however).
These are mere guidelines. They won’t save you sarcasm or fits of piqué, which are naturally to be expected from the dedicated staff.

Their service is really nice!!! That’s why their traffic is so good when I was there.

The Swedish at their finest.
Great selection of clothing here. The shop is kind of a maze.
Okay service — the salesperson I had didn’t seem to know his stuff. He pinned my pants for hemming, but I didn’t have too much confidence in him. We’ll see if he did it right once I pick up it up.

I would not even give one star to this store.
They have a horrible return policy, knowing that many vendors who sell their products (who are almost neighbors to their store) accept refunds, they choose just exchange or store credit.
I got Acne products before in other multi brand stores (not Acne stores) and I went to the Greene store for the first time to buy a pair of shoes. I was undecided and told the girl who helped me that I would take it home to try it again with my clothes.
The girl at the store who sold me pair of shoes I heard clearly saying to me refund or store credit (but I give them benefit of the doubt in case I heard it wrong).
I went back to ask for a refund and they totally deny they told me that.
They were really unhelpful and they did not even want to discuss it or bother to understand I was as a first time customer in their store and mistakes happen.
Certainly they do not care to keep customers coming.
I’m definitely not coming back to an Acne store, I prefer to give my money to different vendors… If I ever want to buy any Acne products anymore.

After a horrible experience, Thanks to the new store manager Brittain of the soho location issues were resolved. Her follow up to my unpleasant experience is a redeeming value in a manager. Hats off you her for being proactive, and now I am more than willing to spend my hard earned money at any acne location. Hopefully the policies will change with the growth of their company.
* always read return/​exchange policies

Another great shopping experience at Acne.
Got two pairs of jeans.
Very helpful, professional and knowledgable staff.

A little north of a truly abysmal stretch of Canal street, Acne keeps a small but well curated selection of their expansive clothing line. The emphasis is on minimalist, expertly cut American and continental standbys. The outerwear is frequently impressive and frequently still around at sale time; I especially love their denim jackets. Everything but the jeans is massively overpriced at retail, but that’s just in the nature of brands like this.
That said, the Max Raw are always a good buy. At 2 hundo, they ain’t cheap but these things are built like Volvos (well, I guess? that simile got away from me). I had mine for a year before they even started to stretch and fade in any real way. The Cash overdyed black are a good buy as well.
It’s a good place to find a lot of signature pieces to try on, but they’re often on deeper sale elsewhere.

A cult classic.
I love their Needle jean, the lyocell tops are perfect, the Lanvin collaboration is genius. Not to mention what they can do with leather and fringe. And I love that Acne’s color palette is almost entirely neutral.
With that said, I was elated when Acne opened a stand alone boutique. Sifting through the racks at Opening Ceremony for Acne was getting tiresome, as they’ve always been relevant enough to have their own store. The store is just off Canal Street, across from a parking lot. It is light and airy, décor is minimalist, and the sales people are very helpful.
I should also add that its amazing how excited people get about Acne. Once after a shopping trip to the store, I stopped off in a bar on Broome Street for a drink. A tall, pretty boy noticed the Acne shopping bag and demanded that I show him what I had bought.