Downstairs Apparel

If you read the New Yorker and you're a grup, yinnie, or yupster, this might be where you find your next duds.

Downstairs is owned by the same guy who owns Upstairs men's clothing, which has been reviewed elsewhere on Yelp. This shop features women's and men's clothing in the urban style that's become the norm south of the river within the past few years (refer to the New Yorker article "Up with Grups" for a tutorial on this look).

If the jean fits, wear it!

**Update as of February 2008:***

I am bumping Downstairs to 5 stars. Why? Because the stock has gotten better for women. And because Jeff understands customer service better than about 98% of local business owners in Austin.

The last time I was in I found a selection of pieces that would work across contexts--work, school, and going out. All were reasonably priced. All were beautifully cut. Not too much. Not too little. This is very important to me, because I am not someone who needs a lot of clothes. I am someone who needs the RIGHT clothes. There is a big difference. Jeff Strange understands that difference.

Jeff has an eye for that artsy edge, as another reviewer has said. He understands that cut and fit are not incidental but extremely important. I appreciate the lack of enormous bling or labels on his merchandise. I really really appreciate the fact that he's saving me from having to go to Strut or Emeralds--experiences I tend to dread.

Not all of us women over 30 want to look like Westlake moms with money to blow. You know: highlighted hair, Pilates, nervously cute in tight jeans. That ain't me and I would guess I am not the only one who feels this way. Unfortunately, most of the local boutiques cater to exactly this population. Bless you Jeff for doing something different.

Threads of splendor and delight.

Interesting shirts and quality denim from labels outside the norm. Cool t-shirts. FUNKY t-shirts. T-shirts with tigers and robots and weird swirly patterns that will hypnotize people and cause the following conversation to take place repeatedly:

"Where'd you get that shirt, man...?"

"Upstairs."

"Wait... where'd you get that shirt, man...?"

Recommended.

Upstairs is one of my top two stores to shop at in Austin.

I don't know the owner personally, but I think his name is Jeff. Anyways, these guys always have an excellent selection of bohemian, unique, modern, and certainly not common clothing.

A small number of his lines are ones that I had never heard of when shopping at Upstairs, but later found in other stores somewhere around a year later. Based on that, shopping at Upstairs will outfit you in nice clothes that few others will have access to for atleast a year.

An item in particular that still stands out is this belt buckle that I bought at Upstairs a year or so back. This buckle is crafted out of wooden plaques with an etched skull in it. That shit is unbelievably unique, and a cornerstone of my wardrobe. Much respect.

Lastly, Upstairs often has exceptional sales, and they are always communicated via email. I am not in Austin very much these days, but I always know when the hot sales are when I am in town. Gotta love it.

You know what I love about this place... the prices and the staff. Every time I check this store out they have new merchandise, great prices and the staff is eager to help me find something that is just right. I never feel profiled, overlooked, or oversold. They also have parking... thats another plus!

My favorites - Jediah clothing and the cool local jewelry!

Thanks Jeff for supplying Austin with such a hip store.

The impulsive buyer in me loves this place. Downstairs is a men's and women's boutique with a flare for urban chic. The women's selection is fairly limited. Though I am a sucker for a pretty top, which they have a lot of, I would have liked to have seen a little more grit in their selection. The men's selection ranged from casual shirts to smart button-downs and all the denim looked pretty fab.
But what's really great about this place are the accessories: really dope hats, and ILL to the third degree necklaces and chains. I just picked up a multi-layered chain necklace, complete with bottled killer bees!

In men's clothing there exists a very delicate balence between douchebag, rockstar, and cool. Downstairs manages to perfectly stradle that line with a selection of clothing which at it's loudest would be a purple velvet jacket suitable for a rock star or anyone who sings "I would die 4 U" and at its most subtle can have clothing you can wear to lunch with your father. And by "your father" I mean "My father". The one who offered to take me grocery shopping because he thought I was poor because my distressed jeans were old jeans with holes in them.

Downstairs is a small store and will obviously not have the selection of some place like Nordstroms or a huge department store, but they have very little wasted space and very few items which don't belong in the store. Overall prices are average to slightly lower than comparable retailers and the owner is usually in the store and is always VERY nice and helpful.

At this stage I buy more clothing at Downstairs than any other store due to the fact that so much of their clothes is something I would be comfortable wearing when I go out. I recommend it highly to anyone.

This place is great. They really stock a great selection of local artisan jewelry and cool clothes that you won't see on every person walking by. They also carry a selection of hats for men, a little too big for us ladies, but cool non-the-less!

Everyone who works here is nice and if Jeff Strange is in, say 'Hi' and ask him where he's DJing, he's the owner and great guy. You'll enjoy your shopping experience if for nothing else than conversation.

OH, and when you stop by, look for large ball of brown fluff, the honorary store pup. He's sweet and enjoys love while you shop.

Downstairs has a little bit of everything, it's all rotated out pretty frequently, and you're well guaranteed to not see someone else in this town wearing it.

Jeff and his wife are always incredibly helpful and very nice.

Even if you don't plan on buying anything, stop in and see their resident mascot, Zuka the poodle. He's a large fuzzy ball of awesomeness.

Downstairs has great clothes that are not your typical brands. I think that is what I like about it.
I found a cool suit in here and he is ordering me the pants in my size since they did not have them. The customer service was good and it's good to support local business.
Go check it out.

Everybody deserves a second chance and one incident doesn't make a trend: so maybe the bearded guy behind the counter at Downstairs Apparel will realize that customer and service can actually go together and make a handsome offering and a solid business model; therefore, I'll extend a gesture of two stars instead of one...