Bare Necessities

Back in about 1990/​1991, I was at my girlfriends house in Belmont and while I was there I kept getting light ‘whiffs’ of the most incredible fragrance… When I asked what it was, she told me it was an oil called ‘rain’ and that she had gotten it at Bare Necessities in Burlingame.
I went to the store on Primrose and met the nicest people who work there, who were amazed that I drive there from Concord, Ca just to buy what I now call «my» rain. I’m from the Peninsula, and I get the chance to
Come over to that side of the bay whenever I need a «fill up» of rain… and if I can’t make it over to Burlingame, they will mail me my order which since 1991 I’ve ONLY had to do one time! I’ve even tried Rain from other stores over the years, but I keep coming back to the sweet little shop on Primrose.
I Love the store, the owner, the people who have worked there and best of all … The Rain perfume oil. THANK YOU Bare Necessities! Because of you, I always smell great!

Bare Necessities new location:
1423 Broadway Avenue
open Monday through Saturdays (call for hours)
650.344.3700
Wow, what a great inventory of beautiful and affordable gift items!
They stock amazing clothing and accessories and the easy to wash and wear clothing line made in San Francisco «CutLoose» Clothing for the real world
What a great Sale rack, too!
This is one of several shops that has been open in Burlingame for approximately 40 years!
and remember «All that Glitters» is across the street! We Love «All that Glitters»
And if you really need something else to motivate you to go to Broadway; I also noticed a new Shoe Store has moved in on the same block of Bare Necessities.

Went into stored today and tried on a few pieces. The clerk was very curt and rude and seemed annoyed, while putting back the pieces.
Won’t go back again.

Wow– am I impressed! I just came back from Bare Necessities where I bought two beautiful tops. I noticed an item in their window yesterday and thought it was perfect. When I called today to see if they might set it aside for me until I could get there next weekend, she offered to come back to the store and reopen it tonight for me. Since I work in the city I couldn’t get there til 7:30, but she said no problem, I’ll meet you there! Talk about a personal shopper… Danelle suggested all kinds of things and was honest about what looked best on me, without the hard sell. How wonderful to have that kind of attentive customer service. And their selection is unique and well made with the environment in mind. Very cool all the way around! Love this place!

This is a great shop. I think the woman who runs it is quite nice. I have bought a lot of clothes here. This is one of the few places in the Bay Area where I always find something I like. The last person who wrote the review wanting to return something is not reasonable. Lots of people use Unilocal as a way to vent. Please find a therapist and stop disparaging perfectly good shops.

I like this little shop because the owner has clothes for real women over the age of 30 that are actually flattering and stylish and not matronly in appearance. Merchandise like this is very hard to find. I have been very frustrated by most boutique shops which carry nothing over a size 8 in pants and tops that are too skimpy for anyone who is not skinny. The owner has a good eye for the clothing she sells. I found her to be helpful and not too pushy, if I really didn’t like a particular item. My only problem with the store is that it seems that the owner is the only clerk and she is sometimes not there. The sign on the door says «Be right back.»

Bare Necessities is an ecclectic little shop that carries women’s clothing, jewelry, lingerie, and fragrance products (candles, massage oil, etc). The target market is clearly a bit older but there are some nice little finds, too.
Three weeks ago I purchased a blouse. I wasn’t crazy about it, but the owner kept nudging me and I kinda felt sorry for her so I gave in. Well, I’ve tried this blouse on several times since purchasing it and it just isn’t me, so today I attempted to return it.
When I walked into the shop, there were two customers in the shop and the owner didn’t even make eye contact with me. She seemed frazzled and a bit disheveled and she was giving the two customers the same hard sell she had given me. I looked around and then waited patiently at the register/​counter until she had a free moment. As I was waiting there I noticed the return policy — no returns beyond 7 days (a bit unusual in the retail world). Just as I was reading the sign, the owner acknowledged me, I commented on the policy and left the shop.
But, it was bothering me. Here is a little shop I’d like to patronize. I’m a small business owner myself and I also have a refund policy in my business (which I bend and break all the time). In my opinion, good customer service means building a relationship and that means making the customer happy.
So, about 30 minutes later I returned to ask her to at least offer me an exchange. When I entered the store the second time, the owner was sitting at her desk in the back of the shop, chatting on the telephone in what appeared to be a personal conversation (yeah, I was eavesdropping). I waited at the counter for about 10 minutes before she put the phone down (not hanging it up, but simply excusing herself from the conversation for a minute) and asked me if I needed anything. I said that I wanted to discuss her return policy with her and asked if she would accept an exchange or a return with a 20% restocking fee. She said no and immediately returned to her telephone conversation. I tried to continue the conversation with her, mentioned that I owned a business myself and tried to discuss customer service. As soon as I said that, she verbally attacked me, told me that I wasn’t the type of customer she wanted anyways because I didn’t like her shop and thought it was matronly (I had actually said that the blouse I purchased looked matronly on the hanger before I had tried it on, but had complimented her on her shop).
Whew! I guess she doesn’t need me as a customer, but now I have a brand new blouse that I will never wear. Since most retail clothing stores have at least a 30 day return policy (if not more), it sure would be nice when the shops that have an unusual policy like her’s would bring that to their customer’s attention at the time of the original transaction.