Zeb L.
Yelp
Tigertree is the kind of store that Urban Outfitters pretends to be. Knicknacks, wallets, women's clothes, men's clothes, decorations, cards, notebooks, shaving paraphernalia, perfume...in essence, all of the gear that the young and not-so-young hipsters of Columbus need to fully outfit themselves. There's a lot of places like this that have sprung up now, but Tigertree manages to do it a bit better than the other places. How?
Well, for one thing, it doesn't bend over backwards trying to cater to millenials. Urban Outfitters always had a touch of this, but has progressively grown into a marketing schema based around "YOU'RE YOUNG THIS IS HIP/CAMPY/IRONIC BUY ME NOW" as an aesthetic unto itself. The clothes are little billboards, the paraphernalia is meant for your dorm room, and everything is meant to be a billboard.
Tigertree neatly skirts (har har) this by being less about the brand on the clothes and more just about how the clothes look. A lot of their stuff is expensive to be sure, but a surprising amount of it is well-fitting and well-made. As a 6'3" man with a slender build and long arms, buying button downs that fit me well is a task suited to disappointment. But Tigertree has a number of long button-downs with really nice patterns that also happen to fit me like a glove, almost as if the shirt was tailored for me. Their Hawaiian shirts are the same thing. Are the shirts pricey? Yes, so shopping here is a treat and not a regular occurrence. But with that in mind, when I do get something from here, it is something that I wear frequently and really enjoy.
Also, the general atmosphere the sale staff create is a good one. Upselling is one of the most obnoxious things salespeople can do, at least to me, and it actively makes me want to purchase fewer things or leave altogether. The people here, in my experience at least, do not do this. They'll point out things I might like, but I never feel like they're pushing expensive shirts into my hands. I've also heard them recommend people go to other stores if they can't find what they're looking for. Overall, Tigertree is a worthwhile establishment in the Short North.