...that was before I started shopping there of course!
Dorothy Perkins to give it it's rightful name is part of the Arcadia Group which gives us the likes of Top Shop, Top Man, Evans, Burton, Wallis, Selfridges and of course DP's! There are over 600 stores in UK alone and another 50+ stores ... Read review
Advantages: Some great clothes, quality, timeless classics Disadvantages: can be pricey if full price paid....
...course!
Dorothy Perkins to give it it's rightful name is part of the Arcadia Group which gives us the likes of Top Shop, Top Man, Evans, Burton, Wallis, Selfridges and of course DP's! There are over 600 stores in UK alone and another 50+ stores internationally! But this wasn't always the case….
DP's first started out almost 100 years ago! 1909 to be exact when it was first incorporated as H.P Newman Ltd, not a very ... ...to change the name to Dorothy Perkins….after a rose of the same name! 5 years later they had expanded the business to 12 stores, and were famous for their 5 shilling clothes! Just as war was breaking out in 1939 there was 75 stores nationwide, and the company changed name to Dorothy Perkins Ltd. 1966 saw almost every high street having a DP's 250 nationwide stores now open and cash registers introduced to them all too.
I used to look upon Dottie P's as an old lady shop….that was before I started shopping there of course!
Dorothy Perkins to give it it's rightful name is part of the Arcadia Group which gives us the likes of Top Shop, Top Man, Evans, Burton, Wallis, Selfridges and of course DP's! There are over 600 stores in UK alone and another 50+ stores internationally! But this wasn't always the case….
DP's first started out almost 100 years ago! 1909 to be exact when it was first incorporated as H.P Newman Ltd, not a very catchy name huh? 10 yrs later the director at the time's wife had a suggestion to change the name to Dorothy Perkins….after a rose of the same name! 5 years later they had expanded the business to 12 stores, and were famous for their 5 shilling clothes! Just as war was breaking out in 1939 there was 75 stores nationwide, and the company changed name to Dorothy Perkins Ltd. 1966 saw almost every high street having a DP's 250 nationwide stores now open and cash registers introduced to them all too.
In 1979 DP's was taken on by the Burton Group which had also acquired Evans too. The late 80's saw the launch of the Dorothy Perkins account card. From the 90's to today has seen DP's launch a new maternity range, and also a tall and a petite range….something for everyone!
Dorothy Perkins caters for a wide range of styles, from casual trousers and t-shirts to suits and jackets, from trendy up to the minute fashions to the classic cuts that never go out of fashion. I've seen women of all ages shopping in my local store and also in stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The sizes are accurate too which is good, The petite range goes from a size 8-22 and is for women (like me) who are under 5'3" They also do a range for Tall people over 5'8" again from 8-22, and all those in between sizes too. The maternity range is no longer available in my local store as it just too small, but is available in larger stores.
The only problems I sometimes have is finding a size in store, and sometimes have to order an item in…which only takes a few days. As I usually buy trousers/skirts from petite range, and am not exactly petite around the tummy area but need the petite length due to being a titchy 5'1" Again this isn't a major problem unless in a hurry!
Most stores also sell shoes, these are usually all reasonably priced but I have found that they don't do wide fitting so cannot buy many shoes from them. (I have wide feet and no arch…so shoe shopping is not my favourite pastime)
They also sell lingerie by the Secrets range, this is again limited to slimmer less busty women than myself but I like their lovely lacy thongs and girly shorts etc prices range from around 3 thongs for £7 or 3 shorts for £8. Occasional special offers sometimes too. Bra sizes usually go from a 34A to a 38D (no use to me)
Accessories are a huge part of any fashionable women's wardrobe and DP's has got this covered too, selling handbags, shoulder bags, belts, gloves, scarves etc depending on time of year, they also sell some gorgeous costume jewellery too! Again prices are quite reasonable mostly….I usually take advantage of the sales!
The prices of the clothes reflect on the quality of them, A dressy top for a party/evening out will normally set you back about £18 - £25. Jeans anything between £15 and £30 usually too. A suit jacket and trousers though can set you back about £75 for the two! But these are classics and worth it usually! I always try and leave large buys for the sales…..unless of course it is something I really want.
Onto the sales! DP's hold several sales a year and you can pick up last seasons or even this seasons fashions from £5 onwards usually. I've had a few great buys….my most recent was a lovely black cardigan with hood and belt for only £5, original price £20! The sale rails are definitely worth a good rummage through, you may pick up a few bargains somewhere.
So now you have all your purchases it's time to head to the check out…..You can choose to pay by cash, credit/debit card or DP's own account card. Now this is limited to over 18s and is subject to status and credit checks. I use my own card with great caution as it would be so easy to run up to my £250 spend limit….I've had my card about 3 years now and try to pay off my balance every month if I can, as the interest rate would just build up otherwise…..for example, I went a bit mad 2 Christmas' ago and went right up to my £250 limit and when I got my statement in January I was a bit mortified (and skint) and so decided to just pay the minimum amount, which was £10, when I received my February statement the £10 I paid had made very little dent in my balance as I have insurance cover on my account and interest added to that meant I had wasted a tenner! I now choose to pay all of the balance where possible or at least as much as I can afford!
The good thing about the card is that there are special cardholder events in which you can get extra discounts on items. I've never actually attended any of these events but they are there if you are interested! The annual APR on the card is a stonking 29.9%, monthly rate is 2.21% unless paying by Direct debit then it is 2.08%
The other bonus of having the card is that if you buy an item and it goes on sale soon after and you paid for it by card then you can claim back the difference…. (first £5 you pay yourself) this is especially good when you have bought a few things as you only pay that £5 once for any transaction
You can also buy gift cards from any store which can be used in any store! Or if you prefer vouchers they are in £5, £10 and £20 denominations as far as I can remember.
The changing rooms are adequate in my local store, there are about a dozen individual cubicles with a curtain on a rail to protect your decency, there are 3 clean mirrors around the walls, and have a small padded seat in some of them. There are 2 hanging hooks and a rail in each cubicle and they are always kept clean and tidy. There is also an assistant available should you need help, and she is usually only to happy to find you an alternative size if you need. I've rarely had to queue for a cubicle as my local store is a small one, there is a rail just outside the fitting rooms, which you can leave the clothes you aren't keeping and the staff will put them back for you….I never take advantage of this though as the staff have enough to do usually….unless they specifically say "let me take that for you"
Speaking of the staff at DP's…..I have always found them to be very friendly, helpful and go out of their way to make sure you get what you want. They order in items for me regularly and have no quibble about getting money back if I ever need it. The only downside is that the staff seem to work on some sort of commission I think, almost every time I've been in store I hear at least one person get asked if they would like to take advantage of the account card savings….so I expect they get so much commission for every card they manage to get someone to sign up for? This was how I myself was approached to get a card! (The assistant who asked me though, told me quietly that I didn't actually have to use the card, I could rip it up as soon as I received it…but it was just too much temptation for me, and is also handy if I have a special event coming up)
I add as a sub note that the rails are always well co-ordinated and store kept clean and tidy most of the time…obviously when the shop is busy then there can be clothes falling from hangers etc but the staff do their best to oversee this at all times.
If I have missed anything from this review that you want to know about then let me know and I will try to add it in.
Oh and if you're a student you will also be entitled to a 10% discount at checkout when you show your valid student union discount card.
Advantages: Good range of clothes and reasonably priced Disadvantages: Limited sizes in lingerie, having no money!
...I found myself wandering into Dorothy Perkins for the first time in years the other day having been lured by a glimpse of leopard print.
Of the high street fashion shops - Top Shop, Miss Selfridge, Etam, etc - I always kind of associated Dorothy Perkins with "mumsy" middle-aged clothes and classics. This is probably due to the fact that I can remember my mother shopping there back in my pre-teen days and you know how uncool that makes something ... ...was luring me in was Dorothy Perkins! It looked strangely more bright, trendy and appealing than I would have expected. Besides the gorgeous leopard print dresses and tops I had examined there seemed to be a good range including up-to-the minute fashion items, classics, sporty clothes,jeans, evening and club wear as well as lingerie, footwear and various accesories. The displays were well spaced so there was room to move between them and it was easy ...
blurbubble 30.06.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dorothy Perkins (Shop)
Advantages: Reasonable prices, good range of clothes, range of sizes. Disadvantages: Not incredibly trendy, interiors.
...bus home feeling miserable. Thankfully, Dorothy Perkins is not one of those shops. I have been shopping there for a few years now and have found recently that the majority of my clothes come from there. So why is this?
** Reasons why I like Dorothy Perkins: **
They give an all important 10% student discount. Hurrah!
The prices are reasonable. Average £30 for a pair of jeans, £25 for a nice going out top, £10 for a casual top.
They sell a nice ... ...to take anything back to Dorothy Perkins but their policy is that they will refund or exchange clothes within 30 days. The staff all seem to be young females, aged from 16 to 25. I have never had a problem with any of them although sometimes they seem inexperienced. There are branches of Dorothy Perkins on most high streets and shopping centres. I go to the one in Birmingham city centre and One Stop Shopping Centre.
They have a web site at http://www.dorothyperkins.co.uk/promostores/dp/ ...
MissDirect 24.11.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dorothy Perkins (Shop)
Advantages: Well fitting, comfortable, hard wearing, reasonably priced Disadvantages: Dark colours fade fairly quickly
...write an op just about Dorothy Perkins jeans, but for me, that's what gets me through the door into the shop, and it's the only item I consistently buy from there.
All Dorothy Perkins clothes are, I've found, well-proportioned, so that the bigger sizes fit well around ample hips and busts. But in most places that sell jeans I've either encountered the Levi Problem (designed for women with boyish hips) or the M&S Crunch (designed for women with huge ... ...jeans to fellow Ciao-er Anna McNally, and she has twice thanked me for the recommendation as she is very svelte but curvy and finds the cut of the jeans comfortable too. So I feel truly justified in giving Dorothy Perkins jeans the spot in the limelight they have earned! ...
ruth_cole 08.02.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dorothy Perkins (Shop)
Advantages: Larger sizes, low price, trendy Disadvantages: Lack of available larger sizes, not always great quality, sometimes too trendy
If Dorothy Perkins were to morph into a real person, she would look like me! It is my favourite shop, and as I visited last week, now is the ideal time to write an op.
**Location**
Dorothy Perkins is a chain of fashion stores that can be found on a high street near you. They have stores in all the major towns and cities, including London, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow. Everywhere I go there seems to be a branch of Dorothy Perkins, even ... ...bargains like that!
Dorothy Perkins is a great store for those who don’t want to spend a fortune on clothes – even if I had money to burn you wouldn’t catch me in designer gear! The quality is not always that great; but after a shirt shrunk in the wash, I was given a refund.
My only quibble would be that recently they have had too much of the ‘gypsy’ look – sometimes I just want a shirt for work and not a purple, glittery kaftan! In fact, I wouldn’t ...
e_rees3 24.02.2003 (02.03.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dorothy Perkins (Shop)
Advantages: Good selection, offer discounts for students. Disadvantages: Some items can be pricey
I have to say that Dorothy Perkins is fast becoming one of my favourite shops to buy clothes, for any occasion. I can always find what I am looking for and the good thing is that because it is so popular nowadays, there is nearly always a branch on my door step.
There is also a website where you can buy items online. Although I tend not to do this as there is a £3.95 delivery charge and you have to pay to return your items if they are the wrong ... ...correct size, it fits perfectly.
Dorothy Perkin's do a wide slection of clothes, such as different styles of tops (bandeau tops, hoodies, cardigans, jumpers, smock tops), denim wear ( bootcut jeans, flare, wide leg, skinny and straight leg). It is also good for work clothes and outerwear, and in the autumn they stock many coats and jackets.
Not only do they do just clothes, but they also do jewellery and accessories and footwear.
THE PRICES
One ...
lozzy_lou178 29.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dorothy Perkins (Shop)
Value for money
Layout & presentation
Selection & range
Availability
In store customer service
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Advantages: great choice and prices Disadvantages: none
New Look let's you buy fashionable clothes and accessories at a competitive price.
They do not rip customers off like other high street chains such as DorothyPerkins , Top Shop and Etam.
They are also entering a new phase where the management are now concentrating on opening larger stores with more floor space and bargains, in such areas as the Lakeside shopping centre in Essex , and the Meadowhall centre near Sheffield south Yorkshire.
This is a good move and I have got to say I have had some great bargains such as tops and dresses for under a tenner.
They also have mid season sales in the summer offering even better discounts.
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galls 22.01.2001 (24.05.2001)
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Advantages: Very fashionable Disadvantages: Aimed at the very young
Topshop
Topshop is a chain of ladies clothing shops that is part of the Arcadia Group that is also responsible for Burtons, DorothyPerkins, Miss Selfridge, Evans, Wallis and Outfit stores. The shop is aimed at young and trendy women and is also popular with a lot of stars.
Topshop is a very well known store and has been around for a long time, certainly all of my life. Topshop have recently started to stock designer names such as Stella Vine and Kate Moss.
Topshop clothes are definatlety aimed at the younger female with designs in the shop very soon after they have been on the catwalk.
The store sells standard size clothes (6-16) but also caters for petite, tall and more recently maternity. the also sell shoes, underwear, and acessories such as bags and sunglasses.
I shop only occasionally now in Topshop as I often find ...
Advantages: Wondeful staff - lol Disadvantages: some find it pricy
be well stocked departments offering clothes for men, women and children as well as a home department selling everything from designer forks to bed linen. On the designer front, many of the designs from famous names such as Jasper Conran, Pierce Fionda and Antoni and Allison are unique to the store.
there might well be a sports department stocked not only with appropriate attire but also equipment (from dumbells to tredmills) and diet supplements.
there will be a Customer Accounts dept (where I work) where you can pay off you store card (and, at the moment, also pay off cards for stores such as DorothyPerkins, Burtons and Top Shop) and they might well also be a gift wrapping service. If you're from outside the EU (and reading this? Maybe not that likely....) this is also the dept where you can apply for your VAT refund ...
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