Eulogy for Anthropologie
I just visited the only Anthropologie store left in my city. It’s at the end of the subway line. They used to have a beautiful location in an old church in the downtown core. They closed it.
They lost sight of their clients and their brand. They used to have such beautiful, well-made pieces… and now it’s all SH*T.
When I was in my 20s I couldn’t wait to be able to afford Anthropologie, and now that I can, it’s the quality of what I could afford back then (Forever21, Zara, H&M), but with the same Anthropologie prices. The clothing design is—shockingly—a cheap imitation of its former self. No more velvet, cotton and wool, now most things seem to be wrinkled nylon.
The contrast is striking, even between Colette pants pre-pandemic vs now. I know because I had my own ones on when I tried on a new pair of Colette pants that I ultimately returned. The quality was horrible: the fabric was light, not “light and comfortable”, but “light and cheap”. The big plastic button was hanging on by a thread. The pockets were uneven. It’s a microcosm example of the brand itself.
I remember being suspect when they launched Pilcro and Maeve…I thought they’d at least keep the quality of the brands they had curated. nope. It was all downhill from there.
Goodbye Anthro, you’ve lost my business for good. I’m sorry it had to end this way.