Barbara Bowman

I think anyone who received bad service here was just having a bad day themselves and mis-​read Barbara or any of her sales people. She is one of the most genuinely kind, honest people I’ve met. She has amazing style and sells really great pieces. Though it does seem to be for a slightly older woman I still find great things there and I’m 32 so I think it’s for everyone! Love this place.

I go there every time in Ojai and not only love her clothes, scarves, etc. but am very well treated. Yes, it is expensive, but her clothes are beautifully made and last for years, always stylish.

Sorry the person above had such a bad experience. Barbara Bowman, in my mind and several of my friends, are so glad to have there, even if she’s inOjai and we’re in LA. Come here twice a year to buy a few things to round out my spring-​summer and fall-​winter wardrobes. She’s the only person i know who carries fabulous, exciting clothes for women over 50. I have always found her judgements extremely honest, telling me when something works for me and when it doesn’t. I am a size 12 and «have a stomach,» by the way. There’s no one on LA’s westside, where i live that carries clothes so sophisticated yet casual — and that cost far less than the rest of what’s available in sophisticated styles at other stores. I always find fabulous things when I go there.
Karen B

My mom had this to say about an experience at Barbara Bowman while we were on vacation for a week in Ojai:
I had a shocking experience at this clothing store. I was staying across the street at the Oaks at Ojai, and a fellow visitor said there was a very good sale at Bowman’s.
After a hike, I stopped by to check it out. First, I was totally ignored by the person who was waiting on a customer, for a very long time. It is a very small shop, and not hard to see new people arrive. Then I looked at the racks she noted as having sale items. I was looking at a shirt to see how it was imprinted, and she came over and said, «Oh, you would need an Extra Extra Large in that.» Now, I am admittedly chubby, not fat, and I wear a 12 – 14. So normally, I can wear Medium to Large depending on the manufacturer. I was so shocked, I did not realize what she was doing. I have never, ever in my life needed to wear even an Extra Large, let alone XXL. Then she grabbed out of my hands two of the three items I had decided to try on, and put them back on the rack saying, «Oh, those will be way too tight on you, and the one you have in your hand, I don’t think a Medium will do for you. I tried it on and did not like the cut of the hem, and said so when I came out. So she «graciously» said, «Well, you won’t find anything unless you look at the good stuff.» This shop is very overpriced and the sales prices are about ¹⁄₁₀^th of the original prices.
Please note, I was very casually dressed, having been on a hike, and I wasn’t pencil thin, and she probably didn’t think that I had money that she would have liked me to spend since I asked about the sale. Whether it was classism or sizeism, it certainly was not professional or very smart business ethics. I have told everyone I know about the incident, and made special note to tell the staff at the Oaks. I was informed that the person who did this was not just a sales clerk, but Barbara Bowman herself and that they have received many similar complaints about her personally, for the same rudeness, and snobbery.
Browser Beware, unless you wear a size 1, and unless you come in radiating «I have Money» you may get similar treatment. Other sales people there, I have heard, are very nice.