BhS (Department Stores)

...for the past 70 years, BHS stands for British Home Stores. It is a retail outlet that sells ladies, gents, babies and children’s clothes. They also sell house wares but not on the scale of Ikea.
Here’s a bit of useless information that will ultimately change your life – the first store was opened in 1928 and it was in sunny Brixton. They have stores from Scotland all the way down to Staines.

WHAT ARE THE STORES LIKE?
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...depending on whether you buy BHS own or a brand name. They sell a good sports bra for £22. It doesn’t get much use with me, but its there incase of emergencies.
The knockers (whoops I mean knickers), are thong, bikini or up to your arm pits style. They come in packs of 5 for the everyday ones, but the sort of sexy range sell singular. Prices are from £5. The knickers are not as good quality as M and S or Next and if you put them in a wash ... more

WHAT ON EARTH IS BHS?
In case you have been away on a different planet for the past 70 years, BHS stands for British Home Stores. It is a retail outlet that sells ladies, gents, babies and children’s clothes. They also sell house wares but not on the scale of Ikea.
Here’s a bit of useless information that will ultimately change your life – the first store was opened in 1928 and it was in sunny Brixton. They have stores from Scotland all the way down to Staines.

WHAT ARE THE STORES LIKE?
In my opinion they are bright, airy and very clean. The stores I have been in always have enough room for prams to manoeuvre in.

IS THERE DISABLED ACCESS?
They have lifts and a disabled toilet. Like the teacher used to say, “Could do better”. I don’t know how disabled customers are meant to order from the restaurant for example. The aisles are wide though, enough space for a wheel chair or pram.
Changing rooms I would give 3/10. its hard getting a buggy in there, so doubt a disabled customer could get inside. They have staff buttons in the larger rooms if you need help which is a bonus.

WHAT ARE THE CLOTHES LIKE?
My local store in Uxbridge sells clothes according to the age. In other words, as you enter the shop, the first racks are for what I would describe as the thirty something’s.
At lot of this range are made from stretchy material or have full or part waist elastication. A must if you have had kids and you don’t have the metabolism of Gwyneth Paltrow. This is my bit!
I love the jeans. They have elastic on the side of the waist bands but do up just like normal jeans. They come in 27” 0r 30” inch leg and fit up to size 20. The colours are blue, black, khaki, light khaki, racing car green, dark mauve and beige . . .. I have the lot. They take an awful lot of battering as I am always on the floor with the kids and the colour doesn’t fade from wash to wash. These are extremely comfortable and very slimming. However, I wish I hadn’t bought the beige ones, Yuk! If you have a tan that resembles varicose vein blue and a bum that wobbles in places, don’t buy the beige. I have since deposited mine in the charity shop. Good luck to the person who wears them.
Next to that display you hit the slinky size 10 and teenager stuff. Needless so say I bypass this bit and walk away just wishing I could get into that little t strap top. Saying that, if you aren’t that fazed about that spare tyre sticking out, then they still sell up to size 22. It’s all rather trendy but not tarty, like some down market stores sell.
Further down there is the PETITE RANGE, so if you are small 5 footer this is the bit for you. I am not petite and no size 8 so I walk away from this bit pronto.
On the opposite side of the store you have the sport range. Once again very comfy and meant for everyone. The tops wash and hold shape well as do the tracky bottoms. They are great for lounging in as well as doing that work out that I hardly ever get round to doing. Shame!
Next are the 50 plus range, my mum likes this bit. Sensible blouses that do up round your neck, just as my mum likes them.
Then tucked away at the back is the lingerie. Don’t expect Ann Summers or Agent Provocateur here, you’ll find Berlei or Cross your Heart with extra uplift. They sell sizes from 34A to Jordan size and prices are from £15, depending on whether you buy BHS own or a brand name. They sell a good sports bra for £22. It doesn’t get much use with me, but its there incase of emergencies.
The knockers (whoops I mean knickers), are thong, bikini or up to your arm pits style. They come in packs of 5 for the everyday ones, but the sort of sexy range sell singular. Prices are from £5. The knickers are not as good quality as M and S or Next and if you put them in a wash more than 40 degrees, they will shrink. Either that or I have put a lot of weight on since I last put a wash load in.
To be honest I don’t like the socks. They don’t last if you wear boots and before too long you’re toe will show through. Not too expensive so I suppose you pay for what you get, but I don’t expect to see my toe nail peek at me after only a short while. I don’t wear tights so cannot comment on these.
The Bridal range is at the far end, next to the shoes. You can get a complete bridal set here and it’s not too pricey. It’s just as good as the Debenhams range but a fraction of the price. The Uxbridge store has a separate section for the Brides to be to change, which is a great idea. They change the colour scheme to match the season and I particularly liked the burgundy range at Xmas.
The shoes aren’t too bad. Practical and a but dull, but if you want everyday shoes not Jimmy Choo, then they are a good buy. Word of warning, if you have a foot that is wider than Kylie Minogue’s, you will find them a bit tight. They don’t have much for wider feet. Here again M and S win hands down with their FOOT GLOVE range. Prices are from £15.
I don’t like the fashion jewellery, its cheap and cheerful and will tarnish after a short wear. The watches are a good investment. From only £11, you can get a practical bangle watch that stands the test of time.
Lastly are the handbags and purses. I buy all mine from here as the leather is from £20 and it’s so strong. My bags have to be big and take some battering and BHS bags beat Next for value and performance. The purses come in two types, girlie or mumsy. I cannot abide anything less than 8 inches long and I mean purses here ok! The small dinky pink fluffy girlie ones are only good for keeping cotton buds in for me.

GOING DOWN ::::::::::::
The Uxbridge store has two floors and on the ground floor are the children’s section, men’s clothing, house wares, restaurant and toilets.
I love the kid’s range, a bit over priced in sections but it’s durable and washes well without loosing colour.
My hubby doesn’t like the men’s range apart from the chino like trousers at £25 a pair. He says it’s the sort of stuff he would buy his dad, so that says it all.
The house wares covers lighting, bed sets, towels, dinner services, candles, pot pourri and batteries. I love it all, cannot complain about anything here. I have BHS on my bed, it lights up my kitchen, makes my hallway smell like Vanilla and honey and I eat my food off its Mediterranean range (which you can buy separately). Full marks here for sure. Prices aren’t too steep, they start at £1 for some pot pourri refresher oil up to £50 for a full bed set.

WHATS THE RESTAURANT LIKE?
To be honest, awful. The Uxbridge store has youngsters serving up cold slush. The food never resembles the pictures on the wall, the portions are small which is just as well as it taste’s quite foul.
The cakes and pastries are all open to customers breathing, I saw this spotty teenager sneeze over the Apple Slice once and that’s put me off for life. Very unhygienic and this should be looked into.
The kids that serve up always have straggles of hair showing, appearance and cleanliness are foremost when it comes to handling food. If the Environmental Health pays a secret trip there on a Sunday, they will certainly be able to make a few pointers.
About the only thing I will purchase here is a cup of tea, that’s not too bad with a shortcake biscuit (these come wrapped so no chance of any extra nasal deposits here).
The kids lunch box is £2.50 and they get a small cheese or ham roll, a petit filous, a manky Satsuma and a packet of walkers crisps. They also receive a small plastic toy. These aren’t too bad apart from the fruit that is so past its sell by.

TOILETS AND BABY CHANGING
These are excellent, a bit smelly at times in the baby changing, as the bin obviously doesn’t get changed that much during the day. They are clean though and I would say these are better than the Chimes loo’s. The baby changing room has ample room for a pram and two little ones to wait (I can verify that). There’s always enough loo roll and a good padded unit for babies bums.

IS THERE A CREDIT CARD?
Yes of course. It’s the gold card and even though I have one, I never used it apart from the first time I took it out. I prefer my Alliance and Leicester card with money back than receiving discounts through out the year. The more you spend the more discounts you receive against future purchases.
As a gold cardholder you receive invitations for members nights but as I have three children and my local store has members nights on a Wednesday, its mission impossible to get out.
I only took it out because I couldn’t get the cashier to shut up. Anyway it comes in handy as a ruler for my son.
It doesn’t cost anything to get one but the interest rate is a bit steep. With the country’s debt spiralling out of control, ask yourself if you really need one!

WHAT ARE THE STAFF LIKE?
The store staff are very friendly and helpful, always smart and greet you with a smile. The restaurant staff are friendly but just look so scruffy and unkempt. Perhaps its because they have had a hard day making kids lunch boxes, but that’s no excuse. Harrods wouldn’t tolerate such standards in their restaurant after all.

WHAT ABOUT AFTER SALES?
Not too bad. They have a separate section for returns and refunds and as long as you have your receipt and dont wait months till you return an item, you'll get an exchange or refund.

TO SUM IT UP.
A good store bit of a poor man’s M&S. That isn’t an insult just a description to emphasise that the King of the Stores, Marks and Sparks are a tough act to beat.

Debenhams against BHS in terms of value, its BHS the winner here.

BHS against M and S for quality, its Mark’s I’m afraid.

Most towns have a BHS but check out the website for exact locations and for the latest range. Its www.bhs.co.uk.

They don’t have an Internet ordering service, perhaps that’s something they could look into in the not too distant. Anyway, hope I didn’t bore you to sleep. Thanks for reading.

Debbie
 

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