Critical Shopping

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Times Critical Shopper Jon Caramanica really, really hates the Converse All-Star. "It is my least favorite shoe," he writes, "lower even than Crocs." But his review of the new Converse store in Soho suggests that even die-hard Chuck Taylor fans will find something to complain about. Like the service: "The store’s current shoe-retrieval system involves clerks scribbling on pieces of paper that are handed to other clerks, who then don’t go anywhere." He does slightly better at the Dr. Martens flagship a few blocks, where the focus is on Soho's trendy clientele rather than Doc's old-school devotees. "A man with a fully tattooed face and gauges in his ears was being let down gently: 'We don’t carry a lot of the industrial boots because of the neighborhood,' a salesclerk told him." [NYT]