Clothes Mentor

Loved it! Went thrift shopping with a group of friends and we all left with piles of clothes. I found a pair of J Crew orange capris in mint condition for $ 18, unfortunately they didn’t fit. Lots of higher end brand names, low prices. The staff were polite and helpful. Everything was organized according to size and color, it was easy to pick through. The best place I went to in Albany all day.

Unless you are selling fake Coach bags and cheap brand names don’t bother trying to sell your clothing here.

This store has a very certain type of clothing and after reading the reviews I’m less gutted that they rejected my rejects. Having said that I was thrilled to find a bunch of tops from higher end brand names-​not quite designer-​at $ 10.
Also liked the checkout system where I got money off but just beware before you treck out… they may have nothing for you, especially if your’e a conservative or in-​the-​box dresser.

Sadly, I have to give a negative update. I recently trekked back to Clothes Mentor to try and sell two bags of clothes. While waiting for my clothes to get picked through, I looked through the racks to see if anything caught my eye. All I could find were boxy, pastel-​colored suits, dated dresses and low-​quality tops. Even all the shoes seemed to be scuffed up. On top of that, it seems the prices have skyrocketed since my last trip there. Why pay $ 17 for a used dress when I can buy the exact same thing, brand new, for $ 10 less at Target?
Twenty minutes later, when they finished going through my clothes, they handed both bags back to me and said they couldn’t take anything because all of my clothes were «off season.» Since when has that been a problem? Every time I come here, I feel like they give me a different excuse for why they don’t want to buy a majority of my (always clean, trendy, and usually unworn) clothes.

I’m somewhat of a regular at this store. Not so much for myself, but for my friends who ask me to shop with them. I’ve found a few things in plus sizes, but good finds are few and far between. The selection of plus sizes is very limited (2 – 3 racks), but I can often find great accessories and the occasional fantastic skirt or top.
I’ve sold a few things there, too, well, once. The process was fine, but successive times, I’ve been highly disappointed. I think that there is too much subjectivity among the staff in terms of what is or isn’t worth selling, so I always bring my clothes home with me now, to try again with a different salesperson.
Even with all of that, I considered Clothes Mentor a 4* store until my most recent selling experience, where I tried to sell a black professional skirt (brand new, never worn, no tag) a simple cardigan and a shrug from this past summer.
This is almost word-​for-​word the conversation I had:
Salesman: We’re not going to take anything today. We’ve become a lot more picky about what we take and these styles aren’t what we’re looking for.
Me: Hrm… but you don’t have very much selection in your plus sizes.
Salesman: That’s because we don’t get people bringing in plus sized clothing.
Me: I just brought you a whole bag. You said you’re not interested.
Salesman: Well we have so much inventory that we’re more selective about the styles we accept.
Me: But you don’t have much of a selection of plus sized clothing!
Salesman: That’s because no one brings those sizes in…
This actually went on for a few circles before I gave up. They have almost no plus size selection and they won’t take what’s brought in because they’re trying to sell down their inventory. ??? I still don’t get it and it pushes them into a 2* review, because it means that I don’t have a consistent new selection of plus sized clothes.
It’s not enough to stop me from trying, but maybe it means that I’ll say something after I don’t find anything. «I’d like to shop here, but you have almost no plus-​size selection. You should consider bringing in more plus-​sized clothes.»
And, yes, we are trying to bring them in. You’re just applying the solution to the problems with the smaller sizes to the one section that has the opposite problem.

This was a great find. Long story short, I recently lost a lot of weight, and plan on losing more in the future. This has rendered my wardrobe useless, but I’m not yet at the point where I want to sink hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to replenish it. In steps Clothes Mentor.
The store is very well organized and seems to have something for female professionals of all shapes and sizes. I really appreciated that the racks were organized by color. I know exactly which colors I’m lacking in my wardrobe and I went straight for those sections. I ended up spending $ 12 for a cardigan and a camisole. I was very happy.
If you want to sell items, please use common sense: they don’t want the bottom of the barrel clothes you’re two steps away from donating to the GoodWill. I tried selling a few pairs of NY&Co pants that were too big, and they wouldn’t take them. Now, I would have accepted $ 1 a piece for them, but I get the sense that they only want very lightly worn, contemporary clothing items. I had a lightly worn dress in the mix, but apparently it wasn’t contemporary enough, so they wouldn’t buy it. I wasn’t insulted at all by my selling experience. It gave me confidence in the integrity of the clothes that they sell.
I recommend this store to young women who are looking to bulk up on their professional wardrobe without breaking the bank.