Akira — Local services in Towson

I've visited this store with my daughter twice. I truly hope that the owner or manager reads this post. The staff in this store should be fired! There were at least 5 associates working on both occasions that we went to the store. NOT ONCE WERE WE ACKNOWLEDGED OR ASKED IF WE NEEDED HELP FINDING ANYTHING! They would look at us and walk right past us without a word! It was done because we did not "look the part"! Because we did not look like we would spend a lot of money, we were snubbed! There's no excuse for rudeness. This store caters to young women of college student age. The staff chased the women who were young and had a certain look: ghetto fabulous. The staff was all over the ratchet customers and the girls that looked like they were trying to be Instagram models. My daughter and I were dresses plainly in jeans and tee shirts, with no makeup. In the eyes of the staff, we were "non-factors". I had given my daughter a budget of $500 as a gift for making the Dean's list a Towson University. We won't return to the store. I refuse to spend my money in a store that has unpleasant, unprofessional staff! It felt like the "Pretty Woman" scene when Julia Roberts went shopping, and the sales associate refused to assist her. The customer that spends $5 should be treated the same as the customer who spends...

HORRIBLE!!! RASCIST & PROFILED. My daughter and I stopped in their Towson location to get her 3 outfits for her Sweet 16 birthday party. The moment our toe touched the front door we were profiled and followed by the security guard. If we picked up an item on the clothing rack he was at the end of the clothing rack every step. If we moved 5 feet he would follow us. We were the only AA's in the store but there were numerous other ethnicities in there - he never followed or paid attention to anyone else but us. We noticed him following us so we went to the other end of the store to shop...wouldn't you guess it there he was 5 feet behind us. It got to the point where I politely said "can I help you with something?" His response, "are you feeling guilty about something?" What should I feel guilty about? I'm 50+, my daughter is 16 but tall for her age. I don't know what we should feel guilty about. He followed us again, I said "hello, you can stop following us." He claimed he was going to the break room which was no where near that end of the store but he never moved. We finally got fed up after 20+ minutes of being followed that we put all the outfits back that she had chosen and went and purchased better ones from a new boutique a few stores down. I WILL NEVER SHOP IN THIS STORE AGAIN! BEWARE. DO...

I was genuinely excited to visit Shop Akira in person after being a loyal online shopper for quite some time. It felt like a fun outing—something I’d been looking forward to. Upon walking in, my fiancé and I were greeted politely at the door, which started the experience on a positive note.

Unfortunately, that moment of excitement quickly faded. As we browsed, one store associate stood out—not because she was helpful, but because she was glaringly and obviously following us around the store. Her demeanor was unwelcoming, and it felt clear that she wasn’t there to assist but to monitor us. What made it especially disheartening was that this woman was another Black woman. I was saddened and uncomfortable to feel so profiled by someone I would’ve expected to understand how damaging that behavior can be.

If theft is truly such a concern, I urge the management to consider alternative ways to deter it—ways that don’t alienate or target customers just trying to enjoy their shopping experience. This didn’t feel like a Shop Akira issue, but more of a Towson Center problem overall. Either way, the experience left a bad taste, and I’ll be sticking to online shopping from now on.

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