Perlis Clothing

Every time I go into the store I get the same salesman and I have never been treated so poorly by any employee before. He is rude, doesn’t ask me if I need assistance, and acts like I am beneath him. I have shopped at this store many times and whenever I have an encounter with Pat I turn away very unhappy. I have stopped going because of my experiences with him. The other salespersons are very nice and accommodating but how I have gotten treated on many occasions by him is enough to turn me away. I had an experience with him last Mardi Gras where I had already bought a shirt over the phone and put it on hold. I came in to get the shirt and he said he had no records of it and couldn’t find it, although my credit card had already been charged. I told him it was a mistake but he flat out ignored me and started to talk to other customers. Sure, it was a super busy day being Mardi Gras but I had already purchased the shirt and he was turning me away saying he could not help me. I stood there for 30 minutes waiting for him to finish with his customers but I continued to get ignored. He was so unprofessional and so incredibly rude. Eventually a nice women came and helped me and found it in the back. Pat himself had taken the call but did not put it in the system, and he said «he always puts things in the system» so I clearly «didn’t purchase the shirt.» He stood there like an idiot because he knew he had made a mistake but still no apology. This is just one of many occasions where I have been treated so poorly by him. I do think this is a great store and has a lot to offer, but customer service shouldn’t be ignored.

While I do like some of their clothes their uppity demeanor is disgraceful. Its not like these salesmen are offering the finest threads in all the land. Half their inventory only sells because their is a crawfish or fish on the shirt. Unfortunately I had to return to this establishment today to return a shirt that I received as a gift. The salesperson gave air that it was beneath him to crediit a return. The only shirt I found with a satisfacttory fabric and design, but too small, he demeans my selection as ‘last years’ inventory and ‘discontinued’. I wanted to ask why it wasnt on the sales rack then, but by that time I had enough of his grandieur sophisticance and had an appointment across town. Maybe when I was 12 it was cool to have a fish or crawfish on my shirt, but to put up with the indignity from those sales guys, I could shop online and get more satisfaction.

Great place to pick up a few items for Mardi Gras season! The men’s selection is expansive. They offer less in the women’s department and it’s better suited for picking up closet staples as opposed to a one of a kind piece.

Sam at Perlis was so sweet and helpful today. My daughter wanted a rugby shirt for Mardi Gras and Sam took the time to educate me on why a men’s xs would be better (longer) than a boy’s large. My husband was picking it up, so I asked if he could leave it on hold in his name for pick up so we’d we sure to get the right item and because my husband would be in a rush. He took care of that too. Thanks for your help Sam. Happy Mardi Gras!

Two times and they are out. This is my second attempt at Perlis. First was three years ago when I was looking for a blazer, I was completely ignored while a cluster of employees gossiped about each other and the customers. Yes, this was within earshot of me. I found what I was looking for and amazing customer service from Rubensteins. This time, I walked in the door and was actually greeted! Good start, I thought to myself. They young lady asked what I was looking for and I told her I wanted some fun Mardi Gras shirts for the season. She pointed to a wall and told me they were over there. This is no Saks. And certainly no Nordstroms. There was no one offering assistance. After 15 – 20 minutes of shuffling through shirts, I pulled one out and went to the register. Again, there were clusters of employees standing around doing nothing but chatting casually with each other and ignoring any customer that they do not recognize as a repeat. When I got to the register, Ron Banks (?Name on receipt) simply grabbed my shirt, rung it up and walked away. No greeting, no thank you. Nothing about is there anything else we can get for you today. I was simply in the way and keeping him from something far more important. My $ 95 shirt was not worth his time and I was to be dismissed. My partner was in line right behind me buying his own $ 95 shirt when Ronald saw some customers he knew and simply walked off. Did not excuse himself or state he will be right back. Just walked off. At that moment I thought to myself that I should just return this ridiculously overpriced shirt and leave. However, for some reason I did not. So, the short of the story is that this is my last time setting foot in this, or any of their stores and I will cheer the day when they close their doors as their inbred uptown chromosome deficit customer base dies off or goes bankrupt and is no longer able to pay these insultingly high prices. This store represents all the things closed off and unwelcoming about New Orleans’ uptown community. If you are not a regular — STAY AWAY!

So, keep in mind I don’t live in New Orleans, but, I am from the south and I do help in running a business. Professionalism and manners do count for something.
My brother-​in-​law got married in the Garden District, so we all rented tuxes from Perlis. They gave us a form to fill out and send in. I sent mine in, but no word. After weeks of not hearing anything, I called in my measurements. I was placed on hold forever. I then was greeted by a crotchety-​sounding fellow, who put me on hold again. It didn’t sound as if they were busy (my call was on a Monday morning), it just sounded like he didn’t want to deal with anyone.
After waiting for another five minutes, the «gentleman» took my measurements over the phone. He was about to hang up on me, when I asked «Do you need my shoe size?» He said yes and when I asked him if the shoes ran small, he yelled «I don’t need your running shoe size, just your shoe size!!» Really? Really? Really??? I hung up after I told him my size, and verbally bashed them to everyone. A one-​star review began crafting in my mind.
Here is why they’re getting more stars. My brother-​in-​law arranged for a car to pick us up and drop us all of at Perlis. There were 12 of us and he didn’t tell them we were all coming at once. We entered the building and they all calmly began to assist us. Based on my phone discussion, I was expecting rude and impatient people, but they handled it like professionals and given the circumstances, I was impressed.
Phone etiquette should be learned, but in-​house service has clearly been mastered.

I had reserved two rental tuxedos for a mardi gras ball. the shoes on the one for my son-​in-​law were the wrong size (I had picked up the tux without him — so it was not checked at that time). The salesman (Peter) upon being informed of the problem the next day, drove the new shoes to my house in extremely heavy mardi gras traffic. It was above and beyond service and saved me a lot of trouble.
Thanks Peter and Perlis!!!

I had not visited Perlis in over thirty years and I now remember why.
My mother used to bring me there when I was growing up. My relatives shopped there too; it was THE place that all of the old well to do familys of New Orleans went.
As a child, I never noticed the rudeness, I guess because it was my mom who had to work with the attendants while I sat board.
At twenty three, I had not yet purchased my own suits, and was still wearing the ones my mother had bought for me in my early years at Tulane.
As a Twenty two year old I was a little intimidated as I walked in and saw the well dressed, sofisticated attendants. I remember receiving glares and a very rude, sarcastic «may I help you „from what appeared to be the man in charge at the time. The rest of the visit didn’t get any better. The attendant had a rude arrogance about him, as though he was doing me a favor even speaking to me. He obviously did not remember me from the last ten years of business that my mother had given them, or maybe he did and just didn’t care. I suppose that having established themselves as THE place to buy clothing, they had developed an attitude of superiority, but to what, or who? These guys sell clothes for gods sake, who are they superior to ?
This attitude has NOT changed.
A month ago, I decided to see if a quarter century had brought about anything positive in the way of attitude. My treatment was no different from that of my visit in 1982. One of my attendants (the head guy that day), had the same arrogance as I remembered from years past. His desire was to put me in what HE thought was best and displayed a sneer at my taste, (wich is quite conservative in nature and right up their alley). I ended up getting three pairs of pants, one of which needed to be left for tailoring. I was told that I would be called when they were ready.
Four weeks had gone by with no call, so I called them. The mans tone on the end of the line was one of a person insulted. It seems that I was the one in error for having waited that long before calling, and my tardiness was the insult. How dare I suggest that Perlis would not have the work done in a week!!! „We always do “, he said. „May I ask who your attendant was “?
“ I don’t remember „I replied.
Then, with a VERY sarcastic „we’ll do you remember the color, sir “? , with the sarcastic emphasis on sir.
“ I really don’t, it was a moth ago, and I bought them purely on a whim », I replied. «Well wait just a minute SIR and I’ll go look».
It was then that, wether by mistake or on purpose, I heard him say as the phone left his ear for the counter, «STUPID IDIOT » !!


It was 30 minutes later that went through the door of Perlis for the last time.
There to greet me with same snied., «may I help you sir », was the man I had spoken with on the phone. In my minds eye, I was expecting to see someone like those who I had seen the month before, someone about 45, dressed to the old New Orleans nines, but to my surprise it was a much older fellow, short in stature, and wearing a suit that I can only describe as strangely old fashioned, like some the duke of Windsor might have worn in 1968. It’s funny, I remember a picture from my childhood of a chimpanzee in a plaid suit very similar to the one he was wearing. The picture was a spoof of a used car salesman if I recall.
While handing me the trousers he said, in his now standard, and rather lyrical sarcastic tone, «come again SIR ». Not wanting confrontation, I muttered, «not likely «as I left their store for good.
I really don’t know where these guys get off acting this way?! Is business so good that they can treat customers with such disrespect and still gain new customers over the years? That just doesn’t add up. I am sure I can’t be alone in my experience. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of dollars thes strangely arrogant people have lost over the decades by insulting customers this way?
Old man Perlis had better take heed of the fact that anyone can get anything in his store over the internet, and for less.

I love the clothing here, and I love the way my husband looks in everything from Perlis. But I don’t like the staff very much — I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I just know that I have found better salespeople elsewhere. I’ll go back, my hubby will go back, and hopefully the staff will get nicer (but doubtful).

We came here on our recent trip to NOLA. My hubby, who is tall and often has a difficult time finding jackets that fit, had no problem whatsoever finding a selection of beautiful sportscoats at Perlis. More importantly, he finally found his seersucker suit! We quickly found a perfect grey stripe seersucker in his size. He was whisked to the fitting room and next thing I knew, they were taking in the suit for alterations — it was that quick! We also found several handsome pocket squares to go with it, so for us, the visit was an unexpected success.
Since we don’t live in NOLA, we had the seersucker suit shipped. How surprised was I when we got it back, alterations and all, on our doorstep in less than a week? Amazing! We were so pleased to get a terrific looking suit, tailored to fit, so quickly! And the suit is beautiful — thank you so much, Perlis!
I should note that I don’t feel we were pigeon-​holed into any specifics about tailoring. Hubby knew what he wanted, asked for it, and that’s what we got. We did spend a lot of time talking with the staff about the traditional vs. modern cuts of suits and how the store tailors for that, so I was surprised to get on Unilocal and see a few reviews that mentioned otherwise. Maybe Perlis read the comments and have adapted their ways, because I definitely didn’t feel like there was only «one» way that hubby’s suit could have been altered. I really felt like the staff listened to what we wanted and we got just that… and quickly too.
I should also mention how fantastically they handled my husband’s size. My husband is a big guy and I often get bothered by the way some stores comment on it. At Perlis, it was all compliments about my hubby’s previous sports life and how great it was to be so broad shouldered and built through the chest. I felt like they made him feel like a million bucks, as opposed to someone who rarely finds his size in coats and shirts and winds up feeling like a giant with too long arms. It just made me smile, the sincerity at which they made him feel like he belonged in their store, and the fact that they had the products to offer him too.
They also have a wide variety of offerings for various age groups. Yes, there are items that your dad or grandpa could wear, but there’s also plenty of stuff for college guys, new professionals, and dapper southern gentlemen in their 30s. We really found so many terrific items here.
If you’re on the search for a perfect seersucker suit or if you’re a guy that has a tough time finding clothes that fit, get to Perlis. The variety and the fittings are like none other that I’ve seen and they can do the whole look for you, right down to the white bucks.

The service at Perlis magazine is very good. The sweetest lady helped me and wasn’t too pushy. Go to place to get your Mardi gras gear. Great selection of men’s clothes also

Do I shop here for women’s clothes… no I do not. However they do indeed have women’s clothes on the 2^nd floor. I would say this store appeals more to men, a gentleman in fact. They have such nice clothing for guys. Need a tie, they have that. Need a suit, they have that. Need to rent or maybe even buy a tux, Perlis would be your place. Stopping in on a rainy Saturday I walked right on over to the Perlis crawfish Polos and easily found the size I needed. Quite a few colors to choose from.
The older gentleman at the register was friendly and pleasant. He looked up my name in the system so he knew I was buying the right size gift. (Perlis is a go-​to Christmas gift stop for me). He gift wrapped my polo, wished me a Merry Christmas, and I was on my way! A pleasure to shop here.

Here’s the thing. The have nice stuff. If you’re over 45. If you are younger than this and are in the market for anything trendy, it’s pretty much going to be a waste of time. And if you do find a suit you like and can afford to pay their prices (very, very $$$$$) they have free alterations for life (yay!) However, these alterations are subject to their approval such as, «it’s suppose to be boxy» or «you wouldn’t want pants to be slim fitted on a suit». And this isn’t subject to which associate you work with, as several of them have the same theories: suits are suppose to be big, boxy, and if they don’t have time to alter your item– they say it looks fine and that the shoulders of the suit are suppose to fit high up on your neck, touching your ears. Obviously.
Ugh.

On a recent trip to New Orleans I realized I left my dress shirt at home. My suit wouldn’t have looked good with the one clean Roots Canada T-​shirt I had left, so I headed off to Perlis to find myself a white button-​down for dinner at Commander’s Palace.
Perlis was everything a proper men’s clothing store should be. A gentleman in an impeccable suit helped me find the perfect French cuff American-​made shirt. When I mentioned my dilemma, he had their in-​house seamstress steam and press the shirt for me at no charge.
Helping me find the perfect shirt would be enough reason to go back, but going above and beyond to really save the day makes me want to wax poetic about this place.

I went to Perlis today for the first time in many years. Although there are some nice clothes, I was terribly disappointed by the service. We were not greeted warmly – or at all – and when I asked a question about a product, the sales clerk could not have been more rude. He essentially said, I don’t know, and I’m not going to take the time to find out, all expressed in a rude, «why are you bothering me» tone. In the age of internet shopping, retail businesses need to have better customer service than ever, and Perlis definitely did not measure up.

If you are the kind of person that likes crawfish logo apparel then this shop is for you! While it’s mostly men’s clothing, they do have women’s on the second floor (and kids). But I need to point out this is not a fashion forward kind of place-it’s the kind of place where you find rugby stripe mardi gras polo dresses with the crawfish logo and a collar. And then if you turn around you will find feathery sweaters and glitter what nots. All large sizes, mostly larger sizes, not to offend but just so you are prepared. There is also a range of home décor new orleans gifty style things which I purchased and they do offer gift wrap and do it nicely! Excellent customer service.

Generally solid, but a few complaints. I have only rented a tux here, and therefore can only speak to that. My sense is that the «stock» of rental formal ware is pretty threadbare. Indeed, the clerk who assisted me essentially apologized for that. But practically in the same breath, he says that Perlis is renting 200 tuxes in a single weekend. By my own calculation, that’s close to $ 20,000 in revenue for one weekend. Of course I understand there are cleaning costs and overhead costs (not to mention the cost of actually buying the tuxes, presumably at some type of wholesale cost). But the real question is: how many times should Perlis rent a tux before that tux is permanently retired? Given its status as a top-​line clothier, Perlis can ill afford to rent garments that have obviously lost their shape or their overall sheen. Of the top of my head, I would say 12 or 15 rentals for a single garment, max. That should yield a healthy profit margin and allow Perlis to compete against the larger chains.

Maybe it was an off day. Maybe it wasn’t. I came into the store looking for a tuxedo. Upon entering no one greeted me. As I walked around and perused their selection, none of the employees attempted to talk to me at all. I counted 4 employees and 2 clients; the 2 customers appeared to be almost done with their business. After 20 minutes of silence, I left the store. As I left, I noticed that a couple of the employees were happily chatting with one another while the remaining associates were apparently waiting around for customers aside from me to help. I can only surmise the reasons though a couple did pop into my mind:
1. They didn’t think I was going to get anything?
–Then why would I walk into your store?
2. Because my work place doesn’t require business attire?
— I visited after work and was walking around in some old jeans
Whatever the reason, I left and checked out a couple of other stores. I went to Jos. A. Bank in the CBD. Though I left empty-​handed, the customer service there was great. They even recommended that I check out a couple of other places for my needs: Perlis or John’s Tuxedo’s (Metairie). Suffice to say, I wasn’t going back to Perlis, so I trudged over to John’s Tuxedo, who I highly recommend. Greeted upon arrival and within a few minutes of perusing their selection, an associate checked on me. Within 20 minutes, my measurements were taken, I tried on a tux, and I was back on the road.

Perlis is one of the better clothing stores in New Orleans. They primarily focus on men’s clothing but they do have some women’s and boy’s items also. The Perlis brand is most famous for their crawfish logo items and you will see many local folks proudly wearing these clothes. In addition to crawfish logo items they also specialize in fleur-​de-​lis and Mardi Gras items. Perlis is also noted for their selection of suits, ties, and shirts with the suits coming with their offer of free lifetime alterations. The prices often do seem a bit expensive but they do often have some good sales and also have things you can’t find anywhere else in the area. They will also special order items and will really go out of their way to search for things for you. I have several of the Perlis polo shirts and I like them «ok» I just wish they fit more like Brooks Brother’s which I find more comfortable. They thing they provide better than just about any other area clothing store is service!

I went to Perlis to purchase a tuxedo for my wedding. I’ve been shopping around different tuxedo shops in the region, and Perlis came highly recommended by a friend who had rented from them for his own wedding.
Perlis carries many styles of tuxedos from European and American brands. They also carry suits from casual to business to seersucker. They carry ties and other suit accessories, cufflinks, etc. They carry fun Mardi Gras and crawfish themed polos as well as fine shoes (with a special attendant dedicated to the shoe section). They also run a tuxedo rental service.
Perhaps the only complaint I have about the shop is that the website is rather uninformative, but one shouldn’t be phoning in this sort of purchase anyway.
The service is what makes this shop five stars. I walked in though the doors and was immediately helped by the staff on the floor. Despite being quite busy, I had multiple attendants ask if I needed any help as I walked through the store. Eventually, we were helped out and walked through the process by an incredibly informative, kind, and accommodating man who turned out to be Mr. Perlis himself. He was completely unassuming and did not carry any of the weird arrogance that I experienced at other clothing stores. He guided me towards what I would want in a tuxedo and even suggested better combinations of things to reduce the price. When a jacket or pair of pants didn’t exactly match what we had in mind, he said «no problem, we’ll make it happen». Once we had everything in check, he made a phone call the next day to smooth over a couple of details that we didn’t address the day before.
Some here have commented on the high pricing of Perlis. I am no expert whatsoever on the pricing of tuxedos. I will say that the pricing at Perlis was much more reasonable than shops in other cities in the Southeast that I checked out.
Check out Perlis for any fine tailoring needs! I’ll be back. Highly recommended!

How could you not the crawfish brand /​logo? Coupled with amazing customer service that is expected from any true NOLA establishment. You will look and feel like a million bucks after walking out the door (well you might be a little lighter in the pocketbook too).
People who need to know, know about Perlis. End of story.
btw– i’ve only been to the location on Magazine St.

I have to say, I’ve never been taken care of in the way I was treated at Perlis. I came in to get myself a nice suit and without asking me so much as my size one of the floor managers took me to a selection of suits. He gave me a few to choose from and between him, a tailor and another employee, they went to every length to make sure I had the best looking and best fitting suit for my size. It has always been a pain for a tall, skinny guy like me to go clothes shopping since most things that fit my length are too wide, but Perlis went the distance to make sure I was going to be looking snazzy. After getting measured, I was able to run to my car to get some returns from online shopping and the whole transaction was slick as can be. The suit was ready in exactly a week in tip top form.
The only other thing I can add: They have their own parking lot, which makes getting in and out on Magazine Street so pain free.

Fantastic place to get a suit. I walked in expecting one, and after a fair amount of back and forth the tailor said what they had, despite nearly making the sale, wasn’t what I was looking for. He basically decided the suit I wanted wasn’t for me the way I wanted it fitted. So after a little bit they ordered one for me coming in this week that should be appropriate. I walked out with a pair of cuff links and shirt and thoroughly appreciative of the effort they went to to make me happy. The family owner, David Perlis, even came out to make sure everything was going well.

The go to place for men’s suits in the city. When my youngest brother graduated from college, I priced out buying him a good interview suit from the various places around. Perlis ended up being a better deal than most of the department stores because of their free alterations policy. And the alterations are for life… now if my brother had only kept the moths away from his suit, then it would have been more useful.
As for women’s clothes, I know they carry a number of designer brands, and I’ve tried on a few things there, but have never purchased for one reason or another.
The gift section upstairs is very fun & unique. This is not a store that you want to run into looking scruffy BTW

This place makes J Crew look like Wall Mart. They are the old guard haberdasher of Up Town. I like to shop here for some reason, I think it may be because it is a bit of an anthropological fascination. It’s just fun to hear the snooty staff mingle with their regular (as in third generation of regular) customers.
I was all but ignored for a while in the store– even pushing Miriam in her stroller. It was her «snap and go» a slightly generic looking model that we use when we travel. I was clad in my Jazz Fest casual– long sleeve button down and Target khaki knickers. Not the typical garb of the typical customer. I waited for fifteen minutes for the shoe salesman to process a return and then got fitted for a pair of bucks. I had to leave my credit card at the counter while I shopped for more clothes (huh?). I got a super fly Tailorbyrd long sleeve, and some sweet Madras shorts. When the old bird that was assisting me at this point realized that I had already bought a pair of shoes she suddenly got a bit friendlier. This might explain the great service I got from them when I got fitted for a suit several years ago (as in don’t expect a nod if you’re only looking at boxers). I would have to say it was a pleasent shopping experience and I had a very cordial interaction with said bird. There is always a lot of love when Miriam is around though.
I haven’t been upstairs where they also have kids and women’s clothes. I will have to check next time, if only to get a good fix of some more of that idle moneyed Southern belle phenomenon.