Za Zen

I fell in love with some cute tunics and dresses at the Saturday Market but wanted a full dressing room to try them on before purchasing. Lucky for me, the friendly guy at the booth explained they had a shop on Belmont! So I stopped in yesterday and was greeted by a friendly, dark-​haired brunette chick. She made some recommendations based on what I was looking at and started me a dressing room but was not at all overbearing. I ended up buying 3 super comfy dress/​tunic style pieces in soft, sweater-​like material and fun prints for about $ 85. I will definitely be making this a regular stop!

I had driven past this store for years always seeing the cute dresses and tops in the window but had never gone in and I’m glad I finally did. I have been twice since early December. The prices are very fair, the selection is cute and seems to change over frequently, and the staff has been very friendly and helpful both times. Each time I found found dresses I was very happy with and will definitely be making regular trips here to see what’s new in stock.

Love this store! Unique designs that fit and are comfortable. And so affordable you can get that extra little something.
The nice young woman at the counter assured me that they will soon be online. I really hope so.

I own probably ten dresses from this shop. They are comfortable, flattering, affordable, and compliment magnets.
A note about their exchange policy. I was initially disturbed to learn that store exchange credits only last 60 days. But it turns out that if you go in with your credit and don’t find something you want, they will extend it.
I love this shop and have given gift certificates to my nieces who also love it.

I really like the store the woman with the dark brown hair was the coolest. She helped me and my sister in law find the best shirt at another store. Called around and called us back when they got it in.
Really great customer service. I have been there 3 times now.
Dig EM!

This is my favorite women’s clothing shop in alllll of Portland. The clothes are designed by the owner and have the look of being expensive, but they are not. I love the soft feel of the fabrics and the color combinations she uses. The clothes are made to fit all shapes and sizes which suits me just fine, and I always garner many compliments when I’m wearing them. The red-​headed woman who tends the shop is very nice and encourages me to try on as many outfits as I want. I don’t feel rushed and I always find something I love.

I recently went to this shop while on vacation as it came highly recommended. I
found some super cute dresses at an affordable price (found 5 or 6 awesome dresses and a some awesome silver spiral earrings too!) I found the girls there to be super helpful, they helped style me out, and assisted with clothing coordination/​sizing. I get compliments from everyone when I wear these adorable dresses here in Austin. I wish there was a Za Zen here! Will definitely return to your shop when I make it that way again.

Can there be zero stars? So… the first time I ever set foot in this store I was attracted to some cute dresses I saw on the rack. HOWEVER (all caps) I was almost immediately beset by a screechy banchee behind the counter. She told me she was the owner and I left as quickly as possible, vowing never to return. One week later, my bestie and I were strolling down Belmont, Boba Tea in hand, and the sale rack on the sidewalk caught our eye. Though I had made a vow to never enter this store again, my friend wanted to… so we did. This time, t’was not a banchee that awaited us, but the cooing of a red headed dove. She bestowed upon us such wonderfully honest advice concerning the apracticality of ponchos. Who needn’t one?!? Enlightened by our cooed advice but driven to near insanity by the 80’s pop tunes and the shiny red leather of those REPULSIVE TRAVEL BELTS (all caps agayn) we… we skee-​daddled! When we called upon the red-​headed dove, thine holy trinity and sacred saintress of Za Zen, for advice on other accessories, we were dimayed to learn that she had been let go on good behavior. Now who are we to visit for venerable reproaches of fashion no-​nos? At this boutique, only ninnies remain.

First of all, their sale rack out front always draws me in to this shop. While they don’t have many sizes to choose from, sometimes you can eyeball the «one size fits all» dresses and find something that will fit on various body shapes.
But let me tell you why I’m only giving Za Zen 2 stars:
I went in there in Sunday with a friend. I had some time to kill before a lunch date and thought we’d run around to some shops beforehand. We went in to Za Zen and I found one dress I wanted to try on. The woman working in the shop was nice enough… at first… then it all went downhill fast.
She put my ONE ITEM in the dressing room, and I do want to note that this particular dressing room had NOTHING else inside of it. It was just me, a dress and a stool in the corner. As I was closing the curtain to the dressing room she told me that I needed to put my purse (this was a purse, NOT a shoulder bag, NOT a messenger bag… a PURSE) halfway outside of the curtain so she could keep an eye on it while I was trying on my ONE ITEM (the item she put in there for me). It caught me off guard, because I had never been asked something so absurd before in a dressing room. So I said, «What’s the reason for that?» So looked at me, went «Uh!» and then said «You know why.»
Because I didn’t know why (is it their policy to treat everybody like a criminal? Is every customer a potential thief just waiting for their chance to strike?), I said, «Well, I don’t want my purse to get stolen.» (I NEVER let my purse out of my sight.) and she looked at me like I was crazy for even thinking such a thing and replied, «Uh! It’s not going to get stolen.»
Well…if you’re going to treat me like a criminal, then I’m going to assume that criminal activity happens in your store often and therefore I’m not going to let my purse out of my site.
By that time I didn’t even care how the dress looked on me (it made me look like a Mennonite). I handed it back to her and left. The bitter taste in my mouth still lingers. I cringe at the thought of walking past that store, knowing that the owner/​manager (whomever made the policy) distrusts their customers so much that they are willing to alienate and shame them when all they want to do is try on a dress.

This is one of my fave shops, I wear dresses from here on a weekly basis. The cut and fabric are amazing — crazy comfortable and I always get compliments. Of course, it’s one size fits all, so you have to be that size (I usually wear a size ⁶⁄₈)

I’ve bought a couple dresses from Za Zen and I recently went back in with my mom to look at dresses for her. When I went in the first time the clerk was «meh», but when I went in with my mom more recently, the girl at the shop was fantastic.
The dresses are great because they’re mainly one size fits all and they actually work that way, instead of bagging on us small girls. Also, I can’t say enough about how great they are, price wise.
Don’t be scared by how the clothing looks on the hangers, they can look pretty shapeless, but once you get it on they look great.

Za Zen manages to catch my eye every time I am in this neighborhood and it has for years. Their dresses always look unique and there is always an attractive sale rack outside. Because I am usually on some kind of mission when I walk past Za Zen, I had never actually made it in until today.
I walked in with three items I had picked up from the sale rack outside and the girl greeted me but seemed a little sketch. I am not talking sketch like she just got done doing a bunch of blow in the ladies room. I am talking sketch like I made her uncomfortable or she felt like if she took her peepers off of me for half a second, I might stuff 14 dresses down my pants and run.
There were plenty of dresses in the store. CUTE ONES! I scooped up about a dozen and handed them to her to get a dressing room started. I looked around at the other interesting vests, belts and jewelry. All unique and priced competitively. Just before I walked in to the dressing room, she counted out loud, suspiciously, like I was trying to sneak the other two dresses I grabbed past her.
Bitch, Please! The last time I used the five finger discount was on a bottle of shampoo in the 6^th grade and my mom whopped my ass so hard I never felt the desire to touch anything that does not belong to me for as long as I live! Your overpriced, sewn by a 3-​year old in a Thai sweat shop dresses are no exception! PLUS, how am I supposed to steal anything when all that I have on me are a pair of painted on jeans and painted on sweater?
I was annoyed, but I quickly recovered after seeing how nicely the dresses fit. I picked up three dresses and a pair of leggings for about $ 90.00. Oh, and by «picked up» I mean I swiped my debit card, I entered my pin number and all of those boring things that come with not being a thief.
Dear Za Zen, get over yourself. Yes, the products you carry are gorgeous but your overbearing, paranoid staff is going to drive your business away. .
Regards,
Lori F.

margaret (margret? margareqt, with a silent q?), this is one half of the crazy girls who were in your shop on monday. remember, SONG birds? get it?!
we wanted to thank you again for being very sweet, chatting with us, and overall being helpful and attentive. you are a gem.
oh, and the dresses we bought were pretty and nice and freaktastically well-​priced.

I want to like Za Zen. I really, really, do. The fabrics used are all very soft and the designs are interesting. The first time I ever visited the shop I bought a pair of leggings. They have lasted me well all year. They’re soft and stretchy. This fall I went back in to purchase a few more pairs. I noticed the shelves that held the leggings were almost bare. I asked the salesperson when more leggings would be coming in. She told me that she had no idea.
«No idea? Do you get weekly shipments.»
«No. We don’t have a schedule. Things just come in sometimes.»
«Well, could you at least request more leggings for the next shipment?»
«No.»
Wow, guys. Rude employees and no shipment schedule? That’s how you run a business?

My friends from California came to visit and I was excited to show them Portland. I am always raving about how friendly people are in this city. we went into Za Zen and were not even greeted with a welcome or hello. It is a small shop. My friends tried on several belts and were even in a dressing room, it was clear they were serious about a purchase but the sales clerk didn’t offer any service. My friend, purchased a 60 dollar leather belt. Again not much of a smile or thank you when we left the store.
Two days later my friend was getting ready to go to the airport and she put the belt on. One of the leather hoops broke right away. I looked at it and there appeared to be some glue holding it together. i was disappointed by the craft of this leather belt. Because my friend lives out of state I offered to return the belt for her.
When I went back to the store there was a handwritten sign on the door that read «back in 15 minutes» with no stated time when it was left so I walked around Belmont and had lunch, then returned (didn’t appreciate the waste of my time). The same sour puss girl was behind the counter and I saw a sign that said «exchanges only» so I explained what had happened and that my friend would have liked a refund but that I understood now we would have just an exchange.
The clerk said «we don’t do exchanges for belts. I am not suppose to.»
There was no «sorry» or smile or anything resembling customer service or care.
I looked around and saw no sign stated there was no exchange of belts, only one about leggings.
I showed her where the belt was defected hoping she would admit the item was poor but she just gave me attitude and exchanged the belt in a way that was clear that she did not want to.
In this economy the only thing separating one boutique from the other is customer service. I will not return.

Note: The owner of this shop is an acquaintance of mine.
That being said, this is a tiny little shop on Belmont selling mostly women’s clothing and accessories. The prices are very reasonable and the clothes are bright and flowy. It’s a lot of tank tops, and dresses, with interesting straps and lines. There is also funky jewelry made from shrinky dinks, and these fabulous leather travel belts that people really seem to love for their fashion and function. But the best part of this place is that most of the clothes are One Size. Now, I was extremely skeptical of this when I first visited since I am a tall midwestern girl with a few extra curves. Surprisingly, a lot of the clothes fit perfectly. I have noticed sometimes it’s best to try on more than one of the same thing, as the one sizes do seem to have a bit of a variance.
Only drawback: strict exchange only policy.