During the course of 57 years in business, retail clothing store Dressbarn has woven itself into the lifestyle of the working woman.  

That is exactly how founder Roslyn Jaffe envisioned it.

"You could get something very dressy there," said Amherst customer Sara Brown. "You could get casual clothes and really nice outfits for work so, I'm gonna miss it!"

Brown is one of many loyal customers who stopped and browsed in the retailer's Amherst location Tuesday.

Four of the retail clothing chain's 650 shops are located in Western New York. Customers like Veronica Kelley are now looking for clearance deals.  

"They are reasonable prices and I love shopping here," she said.

Some 6,800 associates nationwide are getting help in transferring within the retail company, which also owns Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant.

The chain is one of many brick-and-mortar stores to close its doors in Amherst in recent years.

A.J. Baynes, the president of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce said not all customers have turned away from plaza and mall shopping.

"People like to point the finger that Amazon is killing retail. Amazon is challenging retail," Baynes said. “When you look at competitors like TJ Maxx, over the last year their stock’s almost up 25 percent. For retailers, the challenge goes to them to really re-invent themselves and make sure they're not a boring store anymore." 

Brown said positive customer service and good deals help stores compete with online shopping and get repeat business.

"Today everybody's busy, but I'm a shopper that wants to try it on. I don't want to have to try it three, four times through the mail before I actually get my outfits," she said.