Classy Fashions (a.k.a. the Wig Shop near MARTA) Closes
Decatur Metro | April 29, 2010 | 5:26 pm
View Larger Map
Bill writes in…
Classy Fashion is no longer Classy.. nor is it fashion.. actually.. its not anything.. Just watched the Closing unfold before our eyes.
Bummer. Where will I go now for my preternaturally colored hair pieces?
So much for the drag ensemble I was assembling for the opening night of “Sex in the City 2: Estrogen Boogaloo.”
Where will the zombies go now?
It was a bit bizarre.. I must say. One minute they were there.. the next the entire “store” is emptied out. Well.. when we left at 6.. the manikin heads with wigs were still in the window..but imagine they are gone by now. And.. I did have my eyes on a very handsome red wig that would have been smashing with my green pants suit this Christmas. Oh well.. such is life.
It was recently under “new management” I remember…so I’m kind of not surprised.
But now that strip is even emptier, eh? Something good needs to go in there ASAP.
That just leaves Bada Bing and the Quicki Mart. Are we starting a pool to see who goes next and when?
Did Taste close too?
“Taste” is an entirely different story, as they all are, and I guess the jury is still out. As someone said above, businesses close up shop for all kinds of reasons. I don’t know if our economic woes are behind us or not…, but.. at least in this instance it was a matter of practical business decisions. I don’t know if the same landlord owns the space that Cakes and Ale is going into, but it seems that it basically boils down to this. Cakes and Ales is leasing 2 “store fronts”.. really 3 since the Wings place wraps around Metro PCS in a “U”. So, the Wings place and Metro PCS need someplace to go. Hmmmmm.. someone makes “Classy Fashions” an offer they can not refuse.. so they clear out before the end of the month. Whether they are looking for someplace else, or if they decided to go just close up, it was still their business decision. We hated to see Hoopla and The Pottery Place close/move and hope that the strip between Taste and Badda Bing attracts some new, quality, businesses in the near future.
Decatur loses another business and the responses from some of you are smart ass comments? So you don’t need a wig; that’s no reason to treat this closing as less important than other business losses in the city. Real classy.
High horse alert: And since when do smart ass comments actually hurt someone? Perhaps they only hurt people that lack a sense of humor.
I’m not trying to be on a high horse, and I really do have a sense of humor. But I’m looking at this from the business owners’ perspective. Maybe they don’t “fit” into today’s vision of downtown Decatur, but they were at one time a taxpaying part of the city who hoped to provide a product/service to customers. The economy has taken its toll on yet another business, and I believe these comments really ARE harmful to people who are currently experiencing a very low point in their lives. Whether or not you liked the business or never went there is irrelevant; all I’m asking for is a bit of sensitivity.
I agree. I did buy some products in this little shop and often found ordinary things there that I couldn’t find anywhere else. When my niece wanted big hoop earrings for Christmas, I knew just where to go to find them. Their hosiery selection was also very good. Why make fun out of someone else’s business failure? This is a rare occasion (for me to agree with DTR), but this time I really do.
Gotta go with you there, DTR. It’s not a business I patronized, but I think we could all be a little more sensitive to the fact that it was somebody’s dream that they poured their sweat & hopes into, only to see it fail. It’s sad for the business owner, and sad for that strip of shops that is rapidly becoming totally empty.
Do we know for certain it’s closing out of failure? Businesses do close voluntarily from time to time — retirement, new location, etc. Elevating everyone to the level of *victim* before getting the full scoop can be condescending in its own right.
Of course, the assumption could also be right. Just sayin.
Elevating everyone to the level of *victim* before getting the full scoop can be condescending in its own right.
But that is the Republican way Scott. Even though studies and polls show that Republicans are better off than the average American they are always victims of something.
Dean,
Please re-read my comments. I believe you are responding more to my blog name than my message, and that message is not about political party affiliation. So you despise Republicans – I can live with that. I just ask you look beyond what someone chooses to call themselves and read what they have to say rather than make snap judgements based on politics. Nelliebelle, Chira and Cuba can do it, and I respect them for it.
Scott is correct in pointing out that we don’t know the cause of the closure, but chances are, someone’s life is just a bit poorer now.
Que triste.
OK, I don’t see where my comments set the business owner up as a “victim”, but since there’s no sign indicating that the business has relocated anywhere, it’s a safe assumption the shop simply went under. I don’t know how that connotes into me setting it up as a “victim” in any sense other than that it just didn’t make it. My statement was more agreeing with DTR on it being a bit sad whenever a business has to shut down– for whatever reason, that person’s dream didn’t work out. DTR’s comments were also directed at some of the snarkier posts earlier that seemed a bit mocking, and I thought he had a good point.
I was responding to the term “the economy has taken its toll on yet another business” used by DTR, not something you said. It may be true; I was just trying to determine whether or not it was known either way. If someone’s voluntarily closing or moving a business, I’m sure DM could provide us a new topic much more worthy of our passionate disagreements!
Ah– but your post did appear to be replying directly to me. I still agree with Token, tho.
Other people’s cats pooping in your yard.
Go.
Heh! A good Decaturite would say to use the poo as fertilizer, after carefully turning it with some nitrogen-rich compost.
Cuba: Maybe we are being a little too sensitive already. Somebody’s dream aside–because it’s information we don’t–a lot of folks take comments on a blog a little too seriously as it is. I don’t think we need to be more sensitive.
that is, …information we don’t have.
Gibbetts, seriously, sugar-lumpkins– when’s the last time anyone accused ME of being sensitive? Heck, I didn’t know much about the place, but it hardly seemed like a meth lab. Just sayin’. Maybe the crazy Cuban in me is feeling a little nostalgic today. But no worries– I’m sure it’ll pass… 😀
Could not agree more. I felt like some of the above comments were very insensitive. The store didn’t fit in with some of Decatur’s boutiques, but I’d gone in there quite a few times — especially when I found myself in desperate need of inexpensive sunglasses while hanging out on the square in the afternoon. They had customers that appreciated their business too. The sarcasm is uncalled for.
shame! Shame!! SHAME!!! on those who mock closing businesses! your jokey-joke smarty-pants attitude shows no compassion!
Come, come now, Brad Steel– aren’t you supposed to be somewhere filming with your shirt off?? 😉
I will probably get slammed for this but here goes. The business community in Decatur is a very close one. We believe in contributing to the community and supporting other each other when we are able. In short, a business that I have never seen contribute anything to the community other than possibly paying their taxes isn’t going to be missed by me.
We were sitting in Yogurt Tap (their Orange Honey Zest is so yummy!) last night and watched them pack up their red pick-up truck with bags and bags full of wigs and stuff.
I kinda have to agree with Token; and Bill, sorry, but I disagree. That business was contributing just by existing, even it wasn’t supporting your causes. How long has that store been there? Seems like forever to me.
I must say though that the wigs made Baby Nellie scream in zombie like horror last Friday.
(and KC, the orange honey zest didn’t do anything for me, but I am still bitter
about the lack of cranberry or acai lately )
No apology necessary :). It only costs $50.00 to join the Decatur Business Association though.
I wish the wig shop owner(s) success and happiness in another location, but I’m not sad they’re gone from that particular spot.
I know the perils of baldness better than most. I also know that the public transit gateway to Decatur should ideally be occupied by a gathering place or destination (like a restaurant, pub, gallery, creative retail) rather than something mundane and low-end like wigs.
Another of putting it – I’m frequent Wal-Mart and Auto Zone customer, but I don’t want either store anywhere near the square.
The sacred Decatur square?
I wholeheartedly vote with Decatur’s Token Republican on this one!
And ask: Is any downtown without a wig shop really a downtown?
Hee! How did I miss this comment?!?
No, Deanne, it can’t really be a downtown without a wig shop. The main drag of the small town I grew up in had a very elegant little wig shop, and the day it closed seemed like the end of an era. Classy Fashions wasn’t exactly in the same league as Miss Roni’s, but still.
Tee-hee-hee, you said “main drag”.
You have to grow up in a small town to know what “dragging main street” is all about. It was all about seeing and being seen, sometimes trading rides and cars. Really small towns didn’t have much entertainment for teenagers, unless you “went parking.”
Yes, indeed. My parents grew up near Chanute, Kansas. Ever heard of it? Summers I would hang out with my teenage cousin in small town Kansas–I know of what you speak, er, write.
It’s not public knowledge yet, but that little strip is going to be cleared out for a new location of ALON’s bakery which will go head-to-head with Cakes and Ale’s new venture.
Oops, I submitted that last comment before I could add the “Just Kidding” part!
Has AN given voice to a subset of NIMBY ?The NBBIMBY ( no big box in my back yard ).
For all your wig or fake-hair needs, go no further than the place in Suburban Plaza. When my ballerina daughter claimed she needed a “fake bun” because her real bun is way too small (short hair!), we made our way to the wig shop in Suburban Plaza. I was shocked by how many fake buns can actually be stocked in one store. You never know when you’re going to need a wig store! Trust me!
As another example, wigs are in high demand when chemo takes away your own hair. I went with my cousin who is bald from chemo treatments, and we had fun trying on the wigs. She is a natural blonde, but said she had always “wanted to be a red head,” so she ended up buying two wigs, one blonde and the other red. Everyone said the RED wig was “the best,” and she is still wearing it. People laugh at wigs and wig stores until they need or want one, and then it occurs to them that there is a real place for such stores in our market. Whatever the reason this little shop closed, I wish the owners well in the future.
We shape our communities by supporting what we want to be in our community. This is especially true of business. Obviously this establishment was not receiving enough support to remain in that location. I wish we still had a bookstore on the square, but that did not receive sufficient support either. I know I’m belaboring the obvious, but commercial entities should only succeed to the extent that they serve the needs and desires of the surrounding community. If they do not, and fail to adapt, then I think it is perfectly appropriate to wish that they disappear.
Hmmmm.. well.. no worries.. our favorite cellular provider.. Metro PCS, who is being ‘displaced’ by Cakes and Ale, is going into the the space. I’m certainly overjoyed. Evidently, “Classy Fashion” left of its own accord. Stay tuned.
On the bright side..rumor has it that some kind of ‘art coop’ is going into the space vacated by our old friends at Hoopla or the Pottery Place.
Rumor also has it that the Wings restaurant.. also…displaced by Cakes and Ale.. are looking for new space.. Any takers?
Got you beat DM – Feral cats pooping in your yard.
Cats suck.
There is nothing wrong with cats that isn’t wrong with the rest of us.
Cats are the most useful of all domesticated animals, especially in an area that would otherwise be overrun with rodents.
But Brianc, there IS a bookstore on the square! Little Shop of Stories isn’t just for kids!
That’s a good point. There’s always been a small, good collection of adult books. Now that LSOS doesn’t have to worry about sharing the turf politely with other bookstores right in town, since Indie and Wordsworth have closed, they may have expanded.
Yes, I forgot about LSOS, which I tend to do because they are mostly a children’s store. I haven’t been there in a while. Maybe, as Karass said, they have expanded the adult section. I have to say that I liked the old location better, when it was next to Jakes. I enjoyed going there for ice cream, and, even though I don’t have children, browsing the shelves. I even bought a few books there from time to time, for a nephew and once or twice for myself. The new spot just doesn’t seem to be as inviting, ice cream aside.
I have to agree. There was something about the couches and tables that had a more open, come-sit-down type of feel. I’m sure the move to front side of the Square was a good business move–probably more new business is attracted there compared to the back side of the Square. But I think regulars may have enjoyed the back side location more.