Famous Brands

Who doesn’t love a great deal on brand name clothes?!
If I had to compare this store to another, I would say that it’s like a Marshalls or T.J. Maxx. They have an assortment of clothing from different stores at great prices. Prices that definitely beat Marshall’s. I’ve bought shoes, workout clothes, pants, blazers, and everything else from this store. Can’t go wrong.
They have women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing even though the women’s section is the largest.

It’s always very hard to shop in here for me. I rarely find anything I like. I bought a dress the other week and it didn’t fit right and decided to return it the next day. They don’t do refunds so I ended up getting store credit. After stopping by a few more times in hopes that I’ll find something nice for work. I have up and used my credit on the blouse my friend like. This way I don’t need to bother going back there again.

Where. To. Start. Watching this store «evolve» over the years, I’ve seen it all. The great deals, the extremely poor customer service, the «who would spend money on that?» and the SMELL. Before you walk into the store, here is what you can honestly expect: Clothing presented and sold to you, that was bought by the owners at cents on the dollar from Mid to Low level Department stores, unsuccessful fashion lines, and discount bins in Walmart, Target, etc. That being said, you can have success here. YES. YOU. CAN. I say this now more that ever, because the quality of the product they are purchasing and selling back to us has improved. It is bittersweet however, because they have now increased the prices on ALL of their items. Walking in here for a good deal is getting harder and harder. The prices are actually starting to compare to the sale prices at department stores. I understand that with better brands coming in there is destined to be price increases and adjustments. But to hike up the prices on ALL of the items as well? No thank you. For those of us who are regular customers WE NOTICE. That being said, it is possible to walk in and find something for 40−70% off of what you would pay for it in store or online. But BEWARE of price gouging. Remember they paid cents on the dollar, so you should probably NOT pay $ 40 for something you could find for less, on sale in the original store it came from. Also USE YOUR PHONE, google the item, look for it on Amazon or eBay. It takes seconds and will give you an idea as to whether they are being unreasonable with their price tag. ALSO don’t be afraid to lift up an item and smell it, check it for holes, bleach or makeup stains etc. Visiting this Famous Brands location CAN be a great experience if you find something you LOVE. Don’t settle for something because it’s cheap and it fits. YOU DESERVE BETTER. Put it back and come back another time. I guarantee you can find something you LOVE at a good price.

Famous Brands is hit-​or-​miss. Sometimes, you find a crazy deal on something great — think under $ 10 dollars, or even under $ 5. I usually find good basics like a cami, or maybe a simple dress, or maybe accessories like some earrings. But, you have to be willing to dig through some serious crap. Once, my husband and I bought this long-​sleeve purple velour jumper for $ 4 for my sister-​in-​law as a gag gift (it was incredible, in the gaudiest way possible). And always inspect the products and try the clothes on — there tends to be a reason or two that merchandise ends up in this kind of a store, like the awkward ways the garments often fit. The «new» merchandise is sometimes a little overpriced to me (in a store like Famous Brands, I’m not looking to spend $ 40 on a pair of shoes, but that’s just me), so I usually shop the deals (50% and up off), which target certain «ticket colors.» Lastly, they also try to sell clothing that has been sitting on the racks for months or even years (think that purple jumper) and severely damaged clothing, albeit for very cheap. By damaged, I mean that it looks like a bear mauled a person wearing a sweater and that sweater was subsequently taken to Famous Brands to be sold. I don’t get the point of it, but maybe crafty people buy them just for the material? Anyway, it’s still worth a trip for that coveted possibility of a great deal.

Very poor customer service.
An old lady who works at the fitting room doesn’t know who to talk with customers. She was very bossy, mean and rude. I complained this to a female store manager, but she had no work ethics. Just giving excuses and I felt worse after talking with her. Don’t go if you don’t want to have unpleasant experience.

I stopped in here after passing by the neighbourhood one weekday. They used to have a famous brands near my house but it closed. That store used to be my go to store to buy clothes for cheap and then sell on Ebay. When I walked in it wasn’t crowded and I was shocked to see how big the store was inside. The store itself isn’t modern and fabulously decorated. I did notice a musty like odor but it was bearable. There’s tons of clothes for women of all sizes. There’s a small section of shoes that didn’t look too appealing. There’s also a small wall of accessories. They have fitting rooms in the back which is very convenient.
This is a place that you can be in for awhile looking at clothes, checking for your size. Everything is affordable and they even have markdown items that are 50% to 75% off which I loved. They have lots of designer brands but you definitely have to look to get the style you want in your size.

I walk in and the smell of mold or basement turns me away… that is UNTIL I realize that they have a great selection of clothes with so many different brands to choose from, and inexpensive at that!!!
You can find blazers, jeans, tops, dresses, shoes coats, sweaters for under 30 $! (and sometimes with their random 50−75% off sales, for even cheaper!!)
The greatest turn off for this store is the people who work here!
They take their job WAY too seriously.
This isn’t Sacs or Neiman
please, CALM DOWN. take a chill pill.
I don’t need your attitude especially when I haven’t done anything to you. You don’t have to say anything but I can see it in your face.
The lady in the back by the fitting rooms– seriously I KNOW I can only try on 1 item at a time– stop telling me the same thing over and over. I GOT IT.
The only pleasant employee is the boy at the front, who even tho he might not enjoy standing there and grabbing peoples bags to hold while they shop– or even once in a while help a customer out with the door, he plays it off well, with a smile!

My mom & Grandma love this store. You have to have the time & patience to go through every rack, but you will find good clothes for a very affordable price. They have something for the whole family & for every shape & size.
Clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry, under garment, you name it, they have it!

Just like other posters said, you can’t go looking for something specific. But the selections are great and the prices are even better. You can always find something and since everything is so cheap, it’s pretty guilt free shopping. No bells and whistles to the store — not even benches in the dressing room — but everything is for the most part organized. If you’re willing to dig a bit, it can be totally worth it.

A variety of clothes. But this place just stinks like old folks homes or old clothes. I found a few pieces but decided to leave them because they were stained. Won’t be coming back over here ! Yuck.

Famous Brands — really lives up to it’s name. In the era when I can no longer run to Filene’s for a dress, or Daffy’s for those random italian jeans, or even SYMS. oh dark dank Syms for that special work suit…
Now I am ALL in at Famous Brands… yes it is a discount store so please do pushups work out whatever u need to workout so that you can push the hangars and massive clothing racks with abandon. Also if you don’t like reggaeton, salsa, or meringue and don’t know the Spanish words for «dressing rooms are closing in 5 minutes» then you may need to pay attention…
They carry New York & Co, Limited, Express, Zara, Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein mixed in with the Kmart (yes that Kmart), Fashion Bug, Walmart, Lane Bryant stuff. They are usually pretty good at keeping this seperated when they first arrive but as days go buy it all gets a bit mixed up.
But think of it like a treasure hunt — where you can buy a Zara Suit for 14.99 and a Express dress for 16.99.and that my friends is what makes Famous Brands priceless!

The love the price and the deals you find in this store. It can be a little unorganized at times but the staff are helpful and will help you sort through the madness.

I am a Plus size women and I just love it the prices are great you cant beat this store on plus sizes and they have a big stock. I there maybe two times a week, and I always go home with a bag of something good!!!

I would give this place 2.5 stars, but you can’t award ½ stars. This is a «family» clothing store just off the N/​Q Broadway stop. It’s not a cheesy «dollar» store like the Conway chain, but it by all means does not carry ‘Famous Brands” unless you consider overstock or out-​of-​season merchandise from Macy’s store brands, JCPenney, Sears, NY&Co, Fashion Bug, or Lane Bryant «famous brands.» They occasionally have decent pieces from better mall brands like Express, the Limited, and Ann Taylor but these are always at least a season old. (Nothing you would find in the actual stores’ current lines.) The few current styles they carry are usually worn-​in display items or mail-​order returned items like bridesmaids dresses or shoes from Ann Taylor. Prices are ok compared to *FULL* original retail prices, but they are terrible compared to sale prices. For example, they frequently carry Ann Taylor shoes marked at $ 29.99. This a good deal if the shoe is brand new, but not if they are worn“display” cast-​offs or store returns. To add insult to injury, Ann Taylor recently had a sale where some of the same «perfect pumps» at Famous Brands were discounted to $ 40. Compare the $ 10 savings you get by buying used shoes from Famous Brands that innumerable women have already sunk their fungus-​feet into and it’s not a great deal. They should re-​price their merchandise based on quality and condition. They also have a disproportionate amount of plus-​size clothing. These parachutes take up ²⁄₃ of the floor space and are mostly very unfashionable and ugly — ok if you’re 40 years old, not cool if you’re actually plus-​sized and want to not look a hot mess. Don’t get me started on the 1990’s costume «jewelry» — huge tarnished chains, awful beading, tons of feather accents, oversized bangle bracelets. On the flip side, if it’s emergency and you or a guest staying with you need to pick up a casual sundress or passable work skirt really quick and can’t go to a real store at Rego Park or Manhattan, this is a good emergency alternative to the frumpy, socially-​unacceptable clothes offered at the dollar stores in the neighborhood. I also managed to find a nice wool work dress here once, so ½ star extra for that. Emphasize «once» though.

I get a little closer to Heaven each time i walk into this store!
Who ever heard of walking out a store with all name brand clothing for little to nothing$$. I get a kick out of telling all my friends about the # of items i purchased and what i paid for them, and you save even more when you use the store rewards card, lol, lol, lol. Make sure to bring a shopping bag with you b/​c you will need one. In the summer you can buy fall clothing, what a deal, in the winter and spring you can buy summer clothing. I hope to never arrive and find out the store has gone out of business, i would just fall out! I am a plus size woman and when i am in the store i see other women and they ask my advice. Now i live in Co-​op City and travel to Broadway b/​c its convenience and is closest to me. When i lived in Lefrak City years ago, i missed the one on 99^th St. when it closed. What woman don’t like a bargin and a good one at that.

You walk out of a department store or boutique with an expensive, brand-​name or luxury item. If your conscience is berating you, you rationalize it, you call it an «investment.»
Bargain stores and consignment shops are, perhaps surprisingly, an investment as well — what you’ll be investing, in exchange for some serious savings, is a lot of your time. And I mean A LOT. Haven’t you ever walked into a discount store and wondered from which decade 87% of the merchandise was dredged up? Shiny elastic crop tops? I thought those died with the crimped hair and brightly slathered eyeshadows of the early 1990s! Shoulder pads on a polyester blazer? Where’s the matching mullet?
You get the picture. These places are probably where time capsules go to die. But if you’re cheap enough to spend the time, some nice surprises can come your way. Or some weird ones, since the entire fashion industry has thrown up in one place:
My friend hands me a delicate solid-​colored jersey dress. «Try this on!»
I do, sighing heavily. Dresses are usually a miss. A hit still means I’ll need an alteration. I go into a changing stall («fitting room»), and am immediately suspicious. I walk out.
«It fits perfectly!» my friend says, pleased.
«Yeah…something is not right.»
She and I discuss the impossibility that a dress can fit my chest without making me look pregnant, and a light bulb goes off. I offer: Maybe this dress is for pregnant people? She laughs dimissively. Then stops. The tag does, after all, read MM. The saleslady thinks it just means it’s really, really medium. (Really? That’s the best you’ve got?) I’m certain the second M is damning, and stands for Maternity, much like P is for Petite and T is for Tall.
I Google it later, and much to my chagrin/​bemusement/​irritation, I am correct. Apparently the first noticeable change/​call for maternity clothes when you are pregnant is a cup size increase, prior to any utero-​expansion. My friend called her mother, a seamstress, tickled by this information — all the women in her family are As.
For the record, there’s no chance in hell I am pregnant, but I totally bought the dress anyway. I wasn’t going to pass it up for $ 16.99. This is, after all, the only time I’ll be able to pick up a maternity dress surreptitiously. Imagine going into a regular store for mommies-​to-​be. Someone smiles at you, and asks, «When is the baby due?»
You flinch, because a stranger is not only smiling at you, but also effectively asking when you were last gettin’ busy. «Never.» Then you scurry away. Nothing after the first 5 weeks would ever fit you, anyway. You didn’t need Thanksgiving pants.

I just walked out with 1 pair Ann Taylor pants, 1 pair Talbots jeans, 2 t-​shirts, 2 work shirts, 1 velvet Speigel shirt, 1 skirt, 3 necklaces and an underroos set (for the kid)
I paid a grand total of $ 85. Where else can you do THAT in this neighborhood?
You have to sift through the racks and know the better brands or at least what looks good on you so you don’t waste your time trying on crap.
Good luck.

Sorry, short review…50% off! Lol theres nothing else I can say…

I LOVE going here for business-​type clothes. NY&Co and Express button up shirts a-​plenty! I also got a NY&Co blazer for like $ 15. There are defects on some of the clothing (obviously), but I haven’t run into anything unmanageable.

For plus-​size gals, this store is a find.
Today, for instance, the place was brimming with clothes in a size 14 and up (they sell standard sizes too – mostly NY&Co.). It’s mostly Lane Bryant togs from seasons past, but that’s not a bad thing when you’re looking for basics or you’ve got a limited clothing budget. There are other brands, I’ve seen Torrid (very rarely), some random brands sold at Macy’s, and lately, lots of CJ Banks (which I don’t like, but my mom would dig).
It’s NOT the store to go to if you really need something specific. It’s a random surprise store. Today, for instance, I left with a 2-​piece LB dress, a casual cotton shirt and a shrug I desperately wanted when it first came out from LB but balked at the $ 50 price tag. All of that was $ 25. I’ve gotten winter coats, bras, lingerie, dresses – all for super cheap. The folks who work here are lovely and helpful. All that and it’s only 5 blocks from my apartment. Still, it’s worth a train ride from anywhere.