American Rag

I love American Rag, they always have a great selection of John Elliot; I am hesitant on 5 stars only because they lack seasonal clothing. It seems to stay (spring) all year. But I enjoy the store. Great designers for an okay standard price.

Very overpriced, especially the «vintage» clothing. Staff is rude, unhelpful and pretentious. The «no returns or exchanges» on vintage is ridiculous since ALL vintage clothing stores in OC allow at least a store credit!!! I will never shop at this store again due to high prices and rude staff, and I would not recommend this store to anyone!
Good Job American Rag… You managed to hire unprofessional, obnoxious salespeople and your prices are «through the roof»!!!

Worst customer service ever! This place could actually make some great money if people there cared. Left without anything. Denim dude sucked. I asked for some sizes of jeans… He never came back. So 10 minutes later I went to leave and he was at the cash register just chatting it up with another employee. Never brought the sizes I asked.

AMAZING product in this store that you can not find anywhere else in one stop. The employees are extremely helpful in finding my needs. I have shopped here countless times and have never been disappointed. Absolutely a must when shopping in Newport Fashion Island.

Went in here this evening, Sunday at 5:50 pm. Looked at the men’s wear for my boyfriend and to just browse the selection for a little before our dinner. At 6:05 I was approach by a rather haggard older women who I’m guessing is the manager. She was extremely rude and off putting. Telling me that the store was closed and that I would have to leave. We didn’t think anything of this before being approached because we watched two people ask for several shoes and did not honestly look like they were leaving anytime soon. I informed her that the door was opened and she said «yeah well I just closed it». What kind of customer service is that? My boyfriend and I will never go back.

Lots of Vintage and special goodies.
A really fun place to shop but only if you have a fat wallet. I would best describe this place like the Urban Outfitter with a fashion brand and price tag. From Alexander to Vince the shirts, blouse, pants, shoes, accessories, there is a definite gold mine waiting to be dug up.
Service was fair. Not a lot of people on the floor and they kind of let you do your own thing. I got a guy to get my shoe size. when he came back, he got exactly what i wanted and kind of let me do my own thing. He did check up on my afterwards and personally I liked that instead of the eager sales trying to say how fabulous those shoes are on you.
I would definitely shop here again.

Beware. All sales final during the holidays. Exchanges or a gift card is your only option. Ridiculous but it explains why the place is such a ghost town. Take your $ elsewhere.

This store is truly awesome! Not only are the clothes and the accessories unique and fashion forward but their employees are very very helpful. I have to give a shout out to Jordan, the manager of this store!!! He hopped up from clearly being on his break, and dropped everything to help me find exactly what I was looking for. Excellent customer service and a fantastic store! Thanks Jordan!

I found a great pair of J Brand jeans that I was told we’re marked down. Price didn’t ring up properly so the staff set them aside to call me when they straightened it out. After a series of follow up calls that I initiated I was told they were sold. Hmmm…

I make an effort to visit this store everytime I’m in Newport Beach. American Rag has super cool clothing brands that you cannot find in any other store! You can find some really great deals here as well. However, there are a few downsides to this store. They hardly ever get new shipments of clothes, so it’s a bit depressing seeing the same shirts and what not when I travel all the way to fashion island from LA (yes I know there’s one on La Brea, I just like the mall). American Rag also has terrible customer service. There is one friendly blonde girl who works there and always helps me, but the other employees seem really bored and pissed off; they don’t even say hi when I enter the store! It’s usually pretty dead inside the store as well, which is fine for me, but maybe if they had better customer service it would be more popular! I love the clothing here so that’s the only reason why I’m giving it a four!

I’ve always loved this store but I feel that in the past few years, it’s gotten pretty strange. I’m not really into the new layout; however, it really does make the World Denim Bar stand out on its own.
I usually buy my vintage blouses here and have noticed that they’re not stocking nearly half as much as they used to anymore. I haven’t found anything special the last few times I visited. Womp.
Shoes are also kinda strange. When I worked here, there was an overall rad, classy, and wearable selection. Now, I feel that the shoes are a bit more… funky. Lots of glitter, zippers, and laces going on. I dunno. Just not my thing. I do love their Docs though.
Despite my cons so far, I do have to give it to AmRag. They carry a ton of brands that are hard to find elsewhere in Orange County (Wings + Horns, Levi’s Made and Crafted, up-​and-​coming artists, etc.).
Be sure to visit Maison Midi before you go; there are lots of little treasures to be found. Also, their restaurant is the effing best (read my last AmRag review for that!). And although I find their outdoor coffee section a bit odd and/​or out of place, I have yet to try anything from there.
Final thoughts: I’m feeling the LA location right now.

I came in here for the vintage section only looking for a Vintage Levi Trucker Jean jacket.
Their selection all had nice wear on it with good color, but the prices were insane! The cheapest was 300 – 500 $
If you are looking for good vintage don’t go here, instead go to Swellegent Vintage on Newport Blvd. I found the same size and Color jack at swellegent for 32 $!

I don’t get it. I really don’t. This place is so overpriced. In this economy who is paying $ 140 for a regular ass sweater or hoodie?! Bananas! I saw a pretty much identical sweater at H&M for only $ 30. Please tell me you have something better to spend your hard earned money on.
I came here for the first time ever with my gf and looking at all the prices it was ridiculous. I’m giving 2 stars because the place itself is cool. The layout, what they sell, and that they have a café attached is dope. But the prices for the clothing is astronomically overpriced. The employees were nice enough and checked in if I needed help so all was good on that front. But back to the prices — you can go to other stores that sell similar items for SO much cheaper and the difference in quality is not significant enough that I would pay 2−3x more for it here.
Be smart with your money and spend wisely!

American Rag has one of the best selections of high end denim in Orange County. Especially for men’s dry/​selvage denim. They carry a lot of brands that are hard to find locally.
They also have a great selection of shirts as well. The prices are about average.
The service i’ve gotten here was excellent. They answered all my questions. Helped me out with the fitting room. And held some things for me to pick up later.

What do you get when you put great style, amazing sales people and excellent music all together? AMERICAN RAG. I was in this place last week and i was jaw dropped at the merchandising of the Denim at «the world Denim bar» sunday afternoon a good looking well dressed guy with a sweet tattoo of an anchor on his wrist helped me find a pair of jeans. He was sweet and seemed to really want to help me. I went to the other side and was helped by another really well dressed young man as well.
As the guy below this comment mentioned (ignorantly) The prices were not comparable to Urban Outfitters, the style and the people werent either. It was a great experience and i would go back any day.

Absolute WORST shopping experience ever. The entire staff couldn’t be more rude, how they stay in business is beyond me. Their job is to be accommodating and help people have a nice shopping experience. That doesn’t exist here. They do realize that they’re sales people in a clothing store making probably less than 10 dollars an hour right? Right ! ;))
My wife and I stopped in at 6:30 on a sun night (they close at 7) I’m well aware of the closing time and would never keep someone late. You could sense right away they were annoyed. The little sales
Wannabe hipster dude came up and rudely asked if he could help me with any thing before they close at 7 (emphis on closing at 7) dude — it’s 6 freaking 30. The music shut off at 6:35 and it was like crickets in the store for the next 15 minutes .My wife was on one side of the store while i was on the other and told the 9 dollar an hour retail guy that she was excited and that it was her first time here … his response, «really ?? we’ve been here 5 years .» WT* !!! Here’s how his respose should of sounded like … «really? Wow, very cool, let me show you around and i’ll get a dressing room ready for you … oh and take your time .» I wonder if they realize that they’re a close brother in style and selection to Urban Outfitters with crappy service ??? We actually headed over to Urban after and were well taken care of. It’s too bad that American Rag is more concerned about how cool their employees look rather than helping customers.

I don’t know… I don’t love it here… okay, they have a new denim bar. There is a lot of denim. I guess if you need some jeans and want to try on a bunch of different kinds, you will like it. Don’t expect to find any bargain denim though. Only top of the line brands here. Then there is the whole vintage section which is just… blech…no one who wears REAL vintage is going to go to Fashion Island and pay $$$ to buy from American Rag. I don’t get it. Then they have the mens section, which is pretty good. I can usually find something for my guy there. The home section is an eclectic mix of French stuff and gifty stuff. Again, prices are high here.

I’m giving this place 5 stars mainly for the denim bar. I confess I’m a sucker for Prps denim, and this place is one of the only places that I’ve found to carry them. Not only that, they have them on sale sometimes, which almost never happens in my experience. They have a great selection of denim here, different from your usual Sevens and True Religions and Diesels. Not to say that those brands don’t put out some quality denim, because they put out awesome jeans, but if you want a different type of variety, this is a great place to start looking.
The only bad part is the organization. The denim bar is really aesthetically pleasing, but I have the hardest time separating what’s made for guys and what’s made for girls. The worst part is also the best part: the sale table. I love this table and hate this table. I’ve found amazing deals here; I’ve also tried to put on girl’s jeans by mistake. Yep, they’ve got no separation at all between the genders that I can make out. The full priced stuff seems to be at least separated even if it’s not labeled. The sale table on the other hand has female jeans mixed with male jeans, sometimes in the same pile.
The side of the store that isn’t full of denim is pretty cool too. I noticed a lot of Obey stuff. I found some Shipley and Halmos shirts for a great deal, but sadly they XXLs and I had to pass them by. In fact, most of their sale stuff seemed to have X’s and L’s in them. The sales people are really enjoyable though. They actually seem to like talking to you. Plus, they can tell you about some of the cool (and kinda weird) stuff the store has. For example, Ramen chocolate bars.

So I received notice that the World Famous Denim Bar’s official grand opening is this week!!!
I cannot wait to check it out!!! =))))
I’ve heard from my other friends that have shopped the store in the last week that the store looks so different (better) and that the Denim Bar is like the one in LA, only better (newer)… and if that’s the case, I feel bad for whoever works here that has supervised this entire project, because it seems like it has sprouted up overnight… and being in construction in the past, I know the long hours necessary to build something like this out that quickly, especially in a retail location after the customers are long gone and the store is closed… so good work with the hustle, AmRag!
My last review still stands: 5 Stars for management and helpful salespeople who have always been grand and accommodating — the service never fails me. Looking forward to tearing up the Denim Bar and checking out the new vintage duds. Also hope they have some good food & drink for me at the grand opening… but no crappy bands please.

In August 2010, I was looking for a unique dress for my birthday and happened to find one here. It was a beautiful dress but I was undecided because the style was too dressy.
The sales associate was aware of how undecided I was because we both were thinking of ways to dress down the dress. Not once did the associate tell me of their return policy. $ 167 later I bought the dress.
I tried the suggestions given by the associate which did not work and went back the next day to return the dress. Then I was told of their return policy. I was only able to get store credit. After going back and forth with the store manager, I was given the number of the corporate office. I have called numerous times and have not received a call back. Very bad business practices… I will never shop here again and unless you are 100% certain of your purchase, you shouldn’t either.