Friday, November 10, 2006

H & M Store Review

Yesterday I went to the newly opened H & M store at our local mall. Here's the 411.
  • Spacious layout, clean, modern look, and good neon-lit soffits.
  • Racks were stuffed with merchandise (major pet peeve).
  • Ridiculously low prices.
  • Lots of disposable trendy clothes. I found the clothes to be edgier than Old Navy and Gap and not as expensive as Urban Outfitters.
  • Sizing was inconsistent across items.
  • Poor-to-okay quality. The sweaters I tried on were quite itchy. Lots of excessively thin & flimsy shirts.
  • Unimpressive staff. With about 10 pieces in my hands, I ran into the only Sales Associate on the floor and asked if she could start a dressing room for me. (big pause) She looked at me like I had three eyes. "Sorry we can't do that. (pause) Oh, but we can put it on hold for you." Never mind, I'll keep the garments. Shopping can count as a light weight-bearing activity, right?
  • Now onto accessories. Quite disappointing. In the words of Laura Bennett from Project Runway #3, there's a lot of "serious ugly" going on in this department. Not my taste.
  • Nice-sized dressing room with a great wrap-around mirror.
If you accept H & M for what it is i.e., a store with a mix of basics and trendier of-the-moment clothes at bargain basement prices; then you'll be shopping responsibly. One of H & M's strengths is its ability to stock trendy items while these items are still fashionable. On my quality scale the clothes are better than Wal-Mart not quite as good as Target; although H&M has a lot more stock and I do like its European-inspired collections. No online U.S. shop yet. Bottom line: Did I buy anything? Well, actually, I did. I purchased a houndstooth-patterned cotton mock turtleneck ($12.90)and a soft, black turtleneck ($19). Post your own review. D.

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