Dear friends,

In March, my partners and I made one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make as business owners. For the safety of our staff and community, we closed The Garment District and Boston Costume before and throughout the Governor’s Stay-At-Home Order. It’s been almost 12 weeks now. We’ve really missed seeing you.

We are happy, and appropriately cautious about reopening to the public. Our ability to operate and still stay healthy and keep our community healthy depends on you.

On Monday, June 8th The Garment District and Boston Costume will reopen to the public.

Our number one concern when we reopen is the safety of our staff, customers, and community. We are excited to see you shopping here again, but please only come into the store when you are healthy. If you have the slightest inkling that you might be sick, or if you’ve been in contact with someone who is sick, please stay home. Our staff is doing the same.

I’m writing to outline the policies and procedures we’ve put into place to help you feel comfortable shopping at The Garment District, because we really appreciate your business. As a local, small business we need your support more than ever before if we’re going to survive this crisis. All these months of continuing to pay our bills with no income has been a challenge and without enough ongoing income it will be tough to survive.

We have made a number of physical layout and policy changes to protect you, our staff, and our community. We are likely to continue making changes in the future as we all learn how to operate in this new environment and we will share any changes with you. We also welcome your thoughts and feedback in this process – because we’re all learning as we go along.

1. The Garment District and Boston Costume will be OPEN from 12 noon to 8 p.m. every day of the week.

2. By The Pound will be CLOSED for the foreseeable future to help facilitate proper physical distancing in the store.

3. All costume rentals will be by appointment only. Please contact bc@garmentdistrict.com to set up an appointment.

4. You must wear a mask – covering both your nose and mouth – while you are in the store.

5. Only 150 people will be allowed in the store at a time. We have a very large store. With the exceptions of special events or late October we are unlikely to approach this limit. In the short-term we will not have any in-store events to ensure physical distancing can be maintained.

6. Because our entrance on Broadway does not provide enough physical distance for people to pass while one is entering and the other is exiting, we have created an exit onto Davis Street. Please enter the store as you always have, but when leaving the store, follow the signs to the new exit.

7. The line and checkout desk have been reconfigured to allow everyone to be at least six feet apart while checking out and to provide additional protection for our staff with a plexiglass screen. Please carefully observe the six foot marks while in line.

8. There will be hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the store for customers.

9. There will be regular cleaning of high-touch surfaces like door handles, railings, and credit card machines throughout each day.

10. Dressing rooms and public bathrooms will be closed until further notice.

11. Because of the dressing room closures, returns will be accepted. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you may bring it back within 30 days – with the receipt and attached sales tag – and we will provide a full refund to the original payment method.

All clothing in the store has been heated in a steam cabinet at 212+ degrees before it reaches the store. This temperature is higher than the temperature that kills viruses. This is something we have always done for your safety.

Because of the size of our store, which allows customers to be a safe distance apart, combined with the safety protocols we have adopted, we feel The Garment District can provide as safe a shopping experience as possible while minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Thank you, again, for being our customer. We are wishing you and your family health and safety now
and always.

We’ve really missed you and look forward to seeing you in the store.

Sincerely,
Chris Cassel
President