Iguana Vintage Clothing

Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE REVIEW 2016 — ¹⁸⁄₁₀₀
Iguana Vintage Clothing is Noho’s very own gem. I definitely go in there once in a while to check out whatever they have. The store is bigger than you think. They even have a little section upstairs for shoes. The prices are reasonable and the employees are very nice. Definitely check it out if you’re in the area.

AMAZING!!! The prices here are great and more than reasonable. The staff here is SOOO knowledgeable and all have great personalities. One of my new favorite vintage spots.

Hands down, Rebecca is amazing. Very helpful and resourceful when it comes to selecting clothing. As an Indie Filmmaker, she is a godsend! Definitely check out the Noho location for vintage clothing!

So pleased that they have an Iguana up in the Valley. My son and I were down in Hollywood recently and passed up getting a hat at the Iguana there which he really liked. So now we were able to wander close by and find something else to fill the gap. We were having all sorts of trouble finding just the right ensemble for him, and then Rebecca swept in to save the day. Perfect hat, perfect blazer, happy teenager. Thank you!!!

Fun place from wigs to hats to used clothes to newish things. This is less of a standard vintage shop and more of a vintage/​costume/​nick-​knacks place. They do have some steam-​punk stuff. And a great and inexpensive selection of men’s hats.
Service is good here. Not enough mirrors to try on all of the scattered hats, unles one scurries across the room.
Pants and suit sizes don’t go very high. X-​Large is about as big as it gets here. I saw a couple of pants hitting 40″, but the inseams were for giants.
Wigs go from $ 20 on up. Hats start around $ 30
The bigger Iguana is in Hollywood

Rebecca is all you need
The best I’ve ever had #hankeybut don’t expect her to know what that means but you guys can Google it

Loved the new NOHO Iguana, great atmosphere, clothing, and acessories, most importantly great customer service! !!!

Wow!!! I stumbled across this store last week on my usual morning trek to Starbucks and fell in love! It was actually their first day. The sales people are so friendly and will go out of their way to help you find what you want. If you’re anything like me when you’re looking for clothes and accessories, the last thing you want is some cheap, run of the mill item you can find at any mainstream store these days. I’ve been hungry for a place where I can find good quality treasures from the past like denim bell bottoms and tie front blouses authentically from the 70s!!! This place has such a wide variety of clothes, hats, shoes and accessories. It’s soooo unique. I’m never shopping anywhere else!

Found this gem on a Saturday stroll through NoHo! They just opened a week ago so I was told and it’s amazing… So much stuff to look through and amazing staff. I needed several outfits for a play and they had everyone fitted and happy very quickly!!! I will use them over and over again!!!

Even though I consider myself a vintage aficionado due to my having my own online vintage store, friends who own brick-​and-​mortar shops, having done vintage modeling for over a decade, and CONSTANTLY fielding vintage clothing store questions in my messages on here; it doesn’t take an expert to be aware of Iguana Vintage. Their locations (both in Hollywood and Sherman Oaks) are staples and well-​known even to those who don’t care about the fashion. Personally, I am not an Iguana fan and haven’t had the best experiences at their stores. So you can imagine my mixed reaction (curiosity plus a groan) when a vintage shop (Larry’s) within steps of my apartment was shutting its doors and I saw that Iguana was moving in. Regardless, I had to visit now that doors have opened…
The most important noteworthy factor of Iguana is what it has done with the real estate. As noted, I was a customer at Larry’s and am aware of the business space and Iguana completely turned it around in the best way possible. The store is cohesive with its other locations but it totally revamped the esthetics in the space making it airy and open with exposed duct work and cement floors giving it that loft-​like feel. Speaking of lofts, there are even two floors (shoes are upstairs). Kudos to Iguana for giving the building a makeover.
In terms of product offerings, Iguana stays true to its formula of what feels like a combination vintage/​thrift/​costume shop. The store was divided into men’s and women’s and has a little bit of everything: dresses, tops, skirts, jackets, blankets, lingerie, skirt slips, costume pieces, hats, purses, jeans, etc. Pretty much everything you can think of. Add to this some shoes upstairs (Chucks, gogo boots, cowboy boots, and saddle shoes) plus some jewelry, makeup, and stalkings. The selection is vast and I’m sure each category will be expanded (they did just open, after all). Strikingly, the goods are racked more per size than color (ahem, Sherman Oaks store) which is a good thing.
The prices are in-​line with most vintage stores in LA. Dresses were tagged around $ 30 – 40, purses at $ 5, skirts at $ 15, etc. However, one should be careful because many of the pieces were NOT vintage and are either vintage-​inspired or simply costume pieces. My biggest pet peeve is vintage stores calling themselves vintage when they are not. I am only saying that some of these items can be purchased elsewhere for cheaper.
So far, Iguana was solid-​enough. So where does it flop? Customer service… or lack there of. Upon walking into the store, I was NOT greeted or even acknowledged (no smile, no nod, no nothing). This is terrible in terms of a neighborhood shop which JUST opened and should be focused on building up with the local clientele. There seemed to be three employees on duty and none spoke to me. It wasn’t until I was in the store for some time and near the register that a male employee finally welcomed me asking if I live in the area (good job even if a little late). Annoyingly, he was chewing gum very loudly open-​mouthed which is quite rude when on the clock speaking to a customer. This isn’t a baseball field! Plus, it wasn’t until I mentioned that I am a Gold Elite Unilocaler that I feel like the employees finally paid attention to me (I feel this wouldn’t have been the course of action on their part had I not mentioned this). Long story short, Iguana needs to up the customer service big time ESPECIALLY when they are new to the block. It seems like the customer service at all their locations are lacking so I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised, though.
Overall, this new Iguana location is decent. Clean, well-​organized, and a good introduction to vintage (I say this because true Vintage hunters prefer more hardcore vintage offerings versus costume-​y pieces). Iguana is a good addition to the neighborhood. The only qualm is the customer service. Again, it is something they need to work on across the board but definitely at this new spot. And for the love of God, don’t chomp gum in a customer’s face!