Buckle

Full review
Cumulative Review
Please note: The following review details information about the shopping experience at Buckle.com, and also includes relevant content to the actual Buckle store located in Fayette Mall in Lexington. I have included the latter data as it fills in significant gaps regarding product selection and shopping experience. I feel that I could give a much more comprehensive review by blending both aspects, and that my desire to do (or not to do) business with Buckle necessitates both.

Product Provider
Buckle (formal name The Buckle, Inc.) was first established as Mills Clothing, Inc. by David Hirschfield in 1948. The company has undergone two distinct name changes -- Brass Buckle in 1967, Buckle Town during an unknown period -- and now the current incorporation as of 1991. It is colloquially shortened to Buckle at most retail stations. Buckle is a collective vendor of medium- to high-end West Coast, rock, vintage, athletic, and alternative fashion brands such as Affliction, MEK Jeans, Lucky, Obey, Zoo York, Puma, and Green Apple Tree. It is a store that houses brands not often seen or readily available in comparable outlets.

Site Layout
The website adopts a centralized link and image palette against a dark background. The upper left text above the display reads the latest announcement while the upper right shows a Sign In / Register feature. The central palette spans a home page link, department links, and account and shopping links. A search box appears below. The prominent image is a reflection of the current periodical in the store; it is usually seasonal in nature and showing models in current styles. At the time of this review, there is a contest for a Schwinn scooter. Beneath the promotional image are four clothing items, a theme to be repeated throughout the shopping experience. Specific department links span the left vertical row, allowing the user to also shop by vendor, brand, size, and price. Gift cards and order specific information as well as employment opportunities span the bottom.

Site Navigation
Pages are quick to load and display over a broadband connection.

An unusual feature, especially when shopping by department, is the narrowchannelling aspect of viewing items. For instance, when I click on Shirts/Tops, links appear breaking the category down into short-sleeve, long-sleeve, thermal, etc. Clicking one of those will display applicable shirts for selection. You can browse all of those shorts or specify a brand to narrow the results even further.

Images will appear to the right of the vertical row. Eight appear per page, though the table looks a little too elongated for the bottom four images. The tedium of surfing page per page becomes evident unless you select both a brand and a style. The page numbers and Previous and Next indicators are difficult to read.

The item page allows several alternative views of the garment selected. A jargoned description is scrawled beneath the name of the garment, with its price, and size and color selections. I can't differentiate tacking, grinding, or grommeting, and I sell clothes for a living. How could you?

Suppose you find something. Beneath the item's display is a "We also suggest..." table that pulls up four additional fashion items. Most pages will assemble a shirt, jacket, jean, and accessory combo. If it isn't appropriate to pull up separate layers, it will suggest a watch and a wallet, a pair of shoes, or fragrance. The recommendations fit a user who probably has little fashion sense or instinct, as these combinations seem relatively uninspired. It's not my style to match a black-and-blue shirt with a black-and-blue watch or to match a beige shirt with beige shoes. It seems like a transparent attempt to cull more in a single purchase. Of course, you can refuse the offer, but the recommendations still make up a weighty part of the visual experience.

To backtrack, simply select "remove" under the categories clicked prior, or just go back to the home page and try again.

Size Comparisons
Buckle does not include a sizing chart, which makes it difficult to figure how these garments fit their customers. Deprived the opportunity to get a straightforward answer, customers can assume that a "small" will fit just like any other small and, for some, that'll be fine. That's not always the case. I happen to own two garments that the Buckle sells, and my small Filter shirt features a length trailing just beneath my belt line and that my Green Apple tee is fitted tightly on the sleeves. The description may tell you this; it may not. You can try your luck Googling the brand maker to get the size information there, perhaps with limited success. You just have to try your luck and some customers may not be too comfortable with that -- especially women, as there are so many factors to consider while fitting clothes.

It might help to include a standard bust, waist, chest, and inseam guide to serve as a general guidance. The site fails to account for this.

However, I have yet to see a store offer such a wide range of sizes, particularly in denim products. Buckle markets extra-long inseams up to 37" and a wide range of slim, classic, and relaxed styles. Its own brand, BKE, provides the most diversity of sizing even if its price point doesn't quite explain or validate it.

Price Ranges and Fashions of Choice
The cheapest pop-up was a $10 hemp necklace. The most expensive was a pair of Affliction jeans retailing for $152. And there's certainly everything in between. I pulled up a basic Buckle brand t-shirt ($12) and was recommended a total outfit at the cost of $205. If value conscience is a high priority, you can always shop a price range within your budget. If you don't care, by all means, let the computer do the picking for you.

My t-shirts have survived many washes and wear. Some of my black/dark colors have naturally faded with use, but the fits have remained intact. My jeans have undergone noticeable wear and tear on the leg openings and some deconstruction on the thigh. The site warns that deconstruction will increase over time, but I would expect a little more durability from these products. I have paid less for jeans that have shown signs of better strength.

Regarding taste in clothing, Buckle dictates internal store jargon to describe several different looks: Mod Rocker (graphic t-shirts, deconstructed jeans, hoodies), Campus Life (casual athletic wear, jackets, oversized garments), Dreamchaser (lace, lightweight materials, long necklaces), and so forth. I suppose you can look at a model and decide which look is "you" based on their appearance. The suggestion is that the store is out to market the new arrival on a constant basis, so much so that items are often replenished or replaced by the time you surf the site on a different occasion. If you work at it, you can hunt these elusive items down, but who wants to exert that much effort shopping?

Order Processing
Buckle processes orders effectively and quickly. There is good communication between mortar and online store, in that you can order and ship products from store personnel. A convenient UPS shipping fee of $5 gets the garment to your house if it's not already in stock. Store personnel can also check the status of pending orders or remedy problems in-store. You can return online items for store credit as well.

I have ordered from the store and found it to be satisfactory at best -- not great, not terrible. Items were usually available in my size and were shipped to my residence within the delivery time frames. Of course, dates of arrival are broadly ranged similar to Amazon.com; you are given up to a 14-day delivery window once the confirmation e-mail of your order arrives. I would expect better timing.

Concierge Services
The web site boasts an impressive range of concierge services available for customers, most of which, however, can only be accessed through a mortar store. They are included but not limited to the following: layaway, Buckle line of credit, free alterations, charge-sending (transferring product from a different store to be sent or shipped), gift cards, year-long gift wrapping, and accepting checks as payment (in-store). While most stores trend toward simplicity and localized options, Buckle is willing to cover all of their bases. They want to keep customers happy, so they offer a lot of options.

Beyond that, I have only taken advantage of the layaway option once. It helped control my spending on a larger purchase, so I wouldn't have to charge a heftier sum on my credit card. That was a perk. Still, I recognize that I have only taken advantage of a small segment of their available service.

Portability to Store
I have had to return clothing to the local Buckle store as I would rather not fool with shipping and merchandise return labels. I just don't have the time. Other customers might not have a choice.

I have also browsed fashions online so that I may take a look at them in person, especially since I haven't worn the brands before. Staff are enthusiastic and attentive and knowledgeable of the brands. They can answer questions about size, style, and fits, but also push service to the point of annoyance. An employee will saunter up to you like the We-Also-Suggest-a-zorg holding several items of clothing, asking if you've heard of, are familiar with, interested in, or happened to notice this, see that, or smell the other thing. "No," gets you a held explanation. Expect to be firm or insistent to be left alone.

"I appreciate your help, but I'm just browsing." Or, on a second occasion: "Please give me some personal space. If I need help, then I'll be sure to contact you." Or, a third -- you leave the store, spouting some choice profanity, and try your luck online again.

The inundation with recommendations belies an unspoken policy, probably something to the effect of store commission. I shop at other online and mortar stores equally helpful and much less pressurized. And to that end, I ask what good are all of the Buckle perks if you can't manage the store personnel long enough to get to them.

Because my patience is rather finite, even if I intend to shop at the store, I'll just browse online instead because I don't like the pressure. I can't handle someone constantly in my face.

Overall
Buckle is quite the mixed bag. It features an unparalleled assortment of fashion labels, styles, colors, and fits and an equally impressive caliber of support services. The online experience only fills out half the picture. You have to shop both online and in the store to get the full effect, which, of course, has its risks as outlined above.

While the online store in itself probably functions just the same as most other e-retailers, where customer service, knowledge, and availability are key to successful sales, it is the backup in the real world that can either make or break this store.

My business was probably no more different than shopping with a different retailer -- okay, but not outstanding.

With the startling dissonance between "helpful" and "annoying," I prefer not to shop in-store and I trust that, as I gain better knowledge of the individual fashion labels, I won't have to. The web site could be more descriptive and informational regarding the make of their clothing so that, at the minimum, just like your online experience should go, you can get in, get what you need, and go.

Buckle is the kind of business that's great when it's good and abyssmal when it's bad. Just watch it. I wouldn't go overboard with this retailer. I would start small and do some Internet research to see what else is out there.