Goodbye, Anthropologie

The Boylston Street Anthropologie is finally closing, either today or tomorrow. (I didn't have the heart to ask.)

It will reopen in the former Prince School at Newbury and Exeter Streets next week:

I'll be going through a painful withdrawal in the meantime. (At least there's free shipping online through September,)  I find it depressing to shop in most stores, as I've said before, but I think of this space as my mood-lifter — retail therapy that usually doesn't cost me a penny. I've always loved this particular Anthropologie because of its serene, airy, industrial-loft openness, which lent itself to hundreds of whimsical, creative displays over the years. I often admired them more than the merchandise.

Little birds were welcome to come in from the cold; they'd fly around, chirping, for days, adding even more charm to the environment.  For years, I've been stopping by a few times a week to see what's new, usually between errands — often with grocery bags in both hands. Dropping in always lifted my spirits and I didn't have to spend a penny. The stores in Chestnut Hill and Cambridge simply don't have the sprawling, gallery-like personality this store has. Or had. Some of the Manhattan stores come closer, so I guess there's reason to hope.

Here's what the top floor looked like last week:

And this week, emptied out. Farewell, sale room.... much of my wardrobe came from you.

The employees say they are happy about the move. The new store will have a working bathroom for them and the roof won't leak, according to the personal shopper. There will be space to sell shoes. But the space, which I know intimately from its days as a Banana Republic, years ago, lacks grandeur. No soaring ceilings or enormous arched windows. It's pedestrian; I suspect that the charm of the current store will not be recreated on Newbury Street.

Naturally, there's been a moving sale: 25% off items that were already marked down. I was not so distraught that I failed to check that sale area almost daily. I scooped up this big Moroccan lantern at about 70% off, for our future garden:

And this straw fedora with blue-and-white grosgrain ribbon was $15, down from $78:

I wonder what the Boylston Street space will become next. It had better not be wasted on yet another bank — or the city's largest nail salon! Maybe it will house another interesting, irresistible store that I will spend countless happy hours exploring... fingers crossed.