Today I did something which I haven’t done for years: I went shopping in Miss Selfridge. I used to like Miss Selfridge when I was about 16, but of course the fashions then were a lot different from now. Two Miss Selfridge purchases during my formative years which particularly spring to mind ... Read review
Advantages: Good prices, fashionable casual clothes with reasonable quality Disadvantages: Hoardes of teenagers, communal changing rooms, some tacky items, inept assistant on my visit
...years: I went shopping in Miss Selfridge. I used to like Miss Selfridge when I was about 16, but of course the fashions then were a lot different from now. Two Miss Selfridge purchases during my formative years which particularly spring to mind were a long, flowing skirt with flowery print, and a baggy denim shirt with white press-studs up the front. Lovely!
Well, times change, and so did Miss Selfridge – quite drastically in fact. ... ...I was forced to enter Miss Selfridge by a friend who regularly shops there. Not only did I go into the shop, I went in there on a Saturday. Yes, I braved the crowds of teenagers and took the plunge. And, on the whole, I was pleasantly surprised!
Yes, the shop was crowded with the usual Saturday groups of girls in their short skirts, platform shoes and too much make-up, chattering excitedly into their mobile phones. Yes, there was an ... more
Today I did something which I haven’t done for years: I went shopping in Miss Selfridge. I used to like Miss Selfridge when I was about 16, but of course the fashions then were a lot different from now. Two Miss Selfridge purchases during my formative years which particularly spring to mind were a long, flowing skirt with flowery print, and a baggy denim shirt with white press-studs up the front. Lovely!
Well, times change, and so did Miss Selfridge – quite drastically in fact. For years I was put off going in there by the hoardes of 12-16 year olds who congregated inside, the sparkly T shirts with slogans like “Babe” on the front, and tales of communal changing rooms – bad enough at the best of times, but even worse if your fellow changers are cellulite-free stick insect teenagers!
Anyway, today I was forced to enter Miss Selfridge by a friend who regularly shops there. Not only did I go into the shop, I went in there on a Saturday. Yes, I braved the crowds of teenagers and took the plunge. And, on the whole, I was pleasantly surprised!
Yes, the shop was crowded with the usual Saturday groups of girls in their short skirts, platform shoes and too much make-up, chattering excitedly into their mobile phones. Yes, there was an awful lot of tacky stuff in there. But there was some nice stuff too.
I would say that the clothes are aimed predominantly at the 14-25 market (I have to say that so as to include myself in there for at least a couple more years!), but anyone who is fashion conscious and on either side of that age bracket would probably find quite a lot they liked in there. Indeed, anyone who is not fashion conscious could also find at least the odd garment which suited their taste, because there are the odd few classic styles and a few good basic garments.
The Bournemouth shop is fairly well laid out, with casual clothes at the entrance (hooded tops, plain sleeveless T shirts, knitted jumpers, jeans and casual trousers) , “smart” clothes in the middle (tailored trousers, various styles of black skirts – no suits though, and nothing lined, so not really suitable for the average working woman!), and “going out” clothes at the back (sparkly tops, dresses, tiny little skirts and sparkly trousers). There is also a shoe section, selling mainly boots, strappy sandals and platform shoes, a sale rail with reductions and various accessories and make-up. Some quite dubious accessories were available, including rainbow leg warmers, school ties and a selection of pin badges with various “slogans” on them. I made a mental note to revisit the accessories section if I was ever looking for the finishing touches to an outfit for a fancy dress party.
Prices are very reasonable. On my visit – yes I DID buy something – I managed to pick up a pair of bootcut jeans in a lovely soft denim for £22.50, a hooded zip up sweatshirt with “Harlem” logo and little rhinestone detail across the front (it’s nicer than it sounds, honestly!) for £25, and bargain of the day a warm winter three-quarter sleeve jersey top for £10. The quality appears to be good and is comparable with most shops at the lower end of the High Street range.
The changing rooms are no longer totally communal and there were around 6 cubicles. However, they let in an unlimited number of other people to change in the area in between these cubicles, so do prepare yourself for the sight of people stripping off when you enter the changing room, and if you are brave enough to join them in the communal area, prepare yourself to be in close proximity to them as it is quite cramped. At the age of 23 I felt ancient when I walked into the changing room, and on a future Saturday or school holiday visit would seriously consider buying and running, and trying things on when I got them home, to be returned if not suitable. Fortunately I was able to get a cubicle this time.
I was pleasantly surprised by the sizing. As I had thought that the shop catered almost exclusively for teenagers I wasn’t expecting great things as far as the fit of trousers was concerned. I assumed that at worst they would be designed for people with no waist or hips, and that at best I would end up wearing a size larger than I do in shops such as Next. However, as you already know, I was able to buy a pair of jeans, and was happily able to fit into my normal size 10, so full marks there as well.
The shop had been doing well in my estimation until I came to pay, and this is where it really loses points (although not too many as hopefully it was a one-off unfortunate incident). The sullen teenage assistant rang up my purchases, swiped my credit card, gave me the receipt to sign, which I did, then took the receipt away said “Oh, it hasn’t gone through, I’ll have to do it again”, screwed up the receipt and put it in the bin! I immediately queried this, as I had no proof that it hadn’t gone through and that I wouldn’t get charged twice for it when my credit card statement came through. She very grudgingly went to get a manager for me, who basically just explained the same as the assistant, but to her credit did give me the old receipt and wrote her name and phone number on it so I could contact them in case of any problems, before putting my purchases through the till again. However, the whole incident left ME feeling uncomfortable for having made a fuss about it, and now I will have to wait until I receive my statement before I can be sure whether or not I have been charged twice.
As I said, that was hopefully just a one-off incident, and I won’t let it put me off shopping at Miss Selfridge. I think, for me, the casual clothes were the best thing in the shop, although I might consider looking in there on the rare occasions that I have a night on the town planned and am desperately looking for something fashionable to wear, although I have to say there are a lot of things (tiny tops, micro skirts) which, fortunately for everyone else, I wouldn’t be seen dead in! As with the majority of lower price high street shops, the smarter clothes did look a bit cheap and nasty, so I wouldn’t ever buy anything like that from here. It’s closest competitors are probably New Look, Top Shop and possibly River Island.
I can’t wait for my next shopping trip, as a whole new shopping opportunity has arisen for me and I will definitely be making a regular visit to Miss Selfridge when I go shopping from now on!
(Please note that despite my general enthusiasm, on averaging out the ratings I am not able to give any more than three stars, but I would still recommend the shop, so long as you don't expect TOO much from it!)
Advantages: Good range of clothes at an affordable price Disadvantages: Shops are small, they could be bigger with even more clothes in them!
...have made several trips to Miss Selfridge in the last few months and think that it is now one of my favourite shops. There are several shops around the country, in fact there is pretty much one in every major town. However, there is not one in Cheltenham, which is my current home town and that is disappointing.
The range of clothes stocked is very good, however it is probably aimed at people under the age for 30, although I have seen older women ... ...seem to be long enough. Miss Selfridge currently has various different styles of jeans including skinny, boot cut, straight leg and flair. They also do a variety of leg lengths which I love. They have small (which is about 30 inch), regular (which is about 32 inch) and long (which is about 34 inch). They normally have a variety of sizes in all leg lengths.
The clothing range also includes leggings, in various different styles, tops, skirts, dresses ...
wolfey59 13.09.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Selfridge (Shop)
Advantages: large range of products, casual and 'going out' type Disadvantages: 'Small' sizing guide
...tight size 6 trousers.
Miss Selfridge actually caters for sizes 6-16, more than many high street retailers, does a petite range and also longer lengths for taller girlies.
My advice to you? Take a good look, if you see some 'tarty' dresses in the window, look further and you'll find perfectly respectable long dresses and high neck tops.
Also, if you can't find-ASK. That's what the assistants are paid for, and they can telephone other branches ... ...Try taking a trip to some of the bigger towns, they're much more likely to do petite and larger sizes.
My final point is that the most useful thing to do is tell these companies so they can ALL have a new size chart for this century, where curvy girls are most definitely here to stay. ...
Luce_16 16.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Selfridge (Shop)
Advantages: there make up is good stuffish Disadvantages: everything except make up and staff
Miss Selfridge is or should i say USED to be Highly trendy, it used to have clothes for females ages between 13-25, it had loads of sizes. But all of a sudden Miss selfridge has turned to a old fuddy duddy shop, with most of the clothes in really small sizes (which is actually good for me, being a teeny weeny scrawny 8), but not for alot of my friends and family.
it sells clothes which are coming away at the seems, the colours are getting worse ... ...hill. i used to rate miss selfridge, loads of trendy clothes at cheapish prices.
it now seems that Miss Selfridge are losing out on that much money that they are shutting down a number of stores, and eventually closing them all down wether this is true or not is another story.
i think the prices are way too high for the quality of clothes the clothes they sell at the moment arent even worth a fiver.
miss selfridge also sell a range of make up ...
zoelou 13.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Selfridge (Shop)
Advantages: Great cloths Disadvantages: mainly 14-30 bracket
...i just love shopping.
Miss Selfridge has to be my favourite shop when it comes to cloths and shoes.Miss Selfridge has been around for years offering stylish and trendy cloths.
There are several chains scattered around the U.K and why there are not more is beyond me. Anyone who has shopped at Miss Selfridge will already know that this shop has a wide range of cloths,shoes,jewellery, and other superb quality items to offer its customers.
It mainly ... ...first class. Another reason why Miss Selfridge is a favourite of mine is that they hold some excellent sales you can come away with some brilliant bargains.
Some stores have cafe`s or small restaurants where you can shop at ease and take in a nice cappucchino(not sure if i`ve spelt that right).On the whole Miss Selfridge is a store that is able to compete because of its attractive,stylish and trendy cloths on offer.It is value for money and i highly ...
Monkey-Tree 25.07.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Selfridge (Shop)
Advantages: Stylish Outfits at Reasonable Prices Disadvantages: Queues
Miss Selfridge... what can I say, from clothing to shoes to accessories and make up, you can find an entire outfit for any occassion here.
When people walk past this shop, they often assume it is for teenagers as the front is usually displayed with funky tops and mini skirts etc. Once you enter though you would find that they cater not only for everyday outfits for the younger generation but also things like smart suits for work and glamorous tops ... ...too long, thank god for Miss Selfridge, they have a section for the more petit girls like me!
The problem with this store is because they are so popular, you could be queuing for hours for the changing rooms as especially on weekends, they are packed with teenagers. The store is not very brightly lit and so it could have an effect on whether you actually look good in the item of clothing that you try on! The only other negative thing I have to comment ...
Cici_Ying 16.05.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Miss Selfridge (Shop)
Value for money
Layout & presentation
Selection & range
Availability
In store customer service
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