Oasis (Shop)

...we used to peek into Oasis in awe, back then it seemed sooo expensive and grown up, plus a size 8 simply drowned us! But in the past few years Oasis has become one of my regular haunts, for clothing and accessories alike.

** The Brand **

Oasis currently has 218 stores across 12 counties with the UK being responsible for 180 of these stores as well as trading within 107 concessions e.g. Debenhams.

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The typical Oasis customer is stated as being “fashion conscious, twenty something women.” And they pride themselves on keeping the brand “colourful and fun!”

** The Store **

One thing that always distinguishes a “good” store from a “bad” store in my mind is the amount of clutter present when you walk in, without meaning to sound harsh or condemn a store I’ll let you into a little secret – New Look positively ... more

As any of you who read my reviews regularly will know, I’m a complete shopping addict – I don’t even have a problem admitting it and apparently that’s the first step to reform! I’m always choosy about where I shop though, strictly speaking I wouldn’t say labels are important to me although I do have this sort of secondary complex in my head that believes people are staring at my clothing – when I’m wearing my worst items in public, we’ve all got them, the top you wear to paint your kitchen, or the trousers you wear to walk the dog – oh yes I hear you all say. But when I’m leaving the safety of my four walls I always like to look my best, as do all girls of course and that’s why it’s important for me to be dressed comfortably (and unnecessarily expensively my bank manager would argue)!

I’ve always been a fan of Oasis, ever since I hit the age of 12 or so when I started going shopping every Saturday with £10 in my purse and a gaggle of giggling school girls – we used to peek into Oasis in awe, back then it seemed sooo expensive and grown up, plus a size 8 simply drowned us! But in the past few years Oasis has become one of my regular haunts, for clothing and accessories alike.

** The Brand **

Oasis currently has 218 stores across 12 counties with the UK being responsible for 180 of these stores as well as trading within 107 concessions e.g. Debenhams.

The Bennett family founded oasis back in 1991, in 1995 it was purchased by Mosaic Fashions Ltd and in 1998 they also bought the brand Coast. More recently (June 2004) Whistles and Karen Millen have also been acquired by this group, giving them quite a hefty footing in the world of womans-wear.

The typical Oasis customer is stated as being “fashion conscious, twenty something women.” And they pride themselves on keeping the brand “colourful and fun!”

** The Store **

One thing that always distinguishes a “good” store from a “bad” store in my mind is the amount of clutter present when you walk in, without meaning to sound harsh or condemn a store I’ll let you into a little secret – New Look positively makes me feel claustrophobic! Everywhere I look there’s stacks of clothes, all piled up on top of each other, no order and just simple chaos – if chaos can ever be called such! But Oasis on the other hand is a refuge from this.

Décor – in every Oasis store I’ve ever been in (and believe me I get around) the décor has always been rather plain but calming in a sense, with simple tiled or wooden floors and pale cream or yellow walls almost.

Order – it’s a sanctuary for people like me, there’s never much clutter around and everything seems to be set out in some sort of fashion. All eveningwear is kept together, as are all casuals and accessories so you know straight to which part of the store to go to. Hangers have a little round size tag at the bottom of the silver metal bit giving the size of the garment that saves time rooting around for the cardboard tags trying to find your size. There’s rarely ever a pair of jeans to be found hanging amongst a row of dresses for example, it always seems to be kept relatively tidy with plenty of space for walking around in between rails.

Dressing Rooms – I’ve always found them to be rather spacious with seating in, a real positive when taking my old mum shopping! Most of them seem to have a call button to get help from an assistant save you dashing back into the store for a size smaller in just your bra and the lights are rather flattering – be that good or bad!

Oasis stores seem to strive to maintain the affordable and fashionable clothing yet trying to embody the feel of a classy boutique within the store – a great mix in my opinion!

** The Goods **

So what exactly does Oasis sell? In simple terms, everything a woman needs for her wardrobe really - clothing, accessories and shoes!

~ Clothing

Eveningwear – Oasis never lets me down when I’m looking for that perfect clubbing top or a jacket to wear with some fancy jeans on a night out. I’d say this is probably their best selling category and comprises a selection of tops, skirts, dresses, jackets and trousers. Some examples of their current stock include: -

Plaited Halter Truffle Top £25
Dot Mesh Corsage Top £25
Jet Beaded Camisole Top £32
Rouge Jacquard Dress £65
Muse Black Trousers £45

Casual Wear – they also stock a range of comfortable day wear that still retains the feeling of almost being “boutique like” and fashionable at the same time. I’ve always found the tops and jeans to be of fantastic quality, always washing well (very important my mother would say) and lasting beyond their days too. Some examples of their current stock include: -

S1 Crease Bootcut Jeans £40
Denim Tiered Skirt £38
Price Point Hoody £25
Cap Sleeve Scoop T Shirt £25
Guaged Polo Jumper £25

Underwear – The latest addition to the Oasis range comprises some simply to die for sets of underwear, it really is divine! Again the price tag probably isn’t the best but you pay what you get for! Bras typically retail at between £15 and £20 while bottoms are slightly more pricey (for what you get) at around £8 to £15.

New launches to this section include the Odille lingerie range, the New Vintage clothing range to offer vintage style to modern woman and the Lova Rosa range comprising mix and match separate underwear garments.

~ Shoes

There’s quite a limited range available at most times, averaging around 20 different styles at any one time. The current collection comprises of boots retailing at around £80-£90, heeled shoes retailing at around £40 to £60 and pointed ballerina style shoes retailing at around £40. I’ve never actually purchased any shoes from here as the sizing doesn’t quite seem to accommodate my size 7-8 feet but they always look pretty good!

~ Accessories

Now this is where Oasis really does come into its own, I’ve never really considered going elsewhere for a bag, belt or a piece of going out jewellery. I always find things to be reasonably priced and of a great quality for the money. Jewellery starts at around £5 and can go up to about £20 for a necklace while belts retail at around £15-£20 too. They’ve always got the latest trends and colours in so it’s really worth a visit!

~ Sizing

The only problem that my friends have found with Oasis is that the majority of clothes are made for slim people - one of my friend's always frets that she's too large chested to even enter this store!

Clothing sizes go from a size 8 up to a size 16 while shoes are size 3 to 8. Sadly there is no petite or tall range, but these may appear in the future so keep a look out!

** The Staff **

This is another major selling point for me with any store, if the staff look moody or aren’t friendly they sure as hell aren’t having my custom! Thankfully I’ve yet to experience a moody or sullen looking sales assistant in Oasis, I always seem to be greeted as I walk in and treated pleasantly and accordingly during my visit – thumbs up from me!

** Complaints / Customer Service **

When returning an unworn garment I’ve found the procedure to be pretty much the same as anywhere else, you have a month to return it with a receipt whereby they’ll simply refund. Without a receipt you’ll be offered either an exchange of a credit note. On the one instance I did have a faulty item I was offered the chance to exchange it for a brand new one and also given an address to write to if I so wished – I received a reply within 3 weeks enclosing £20 worth of Oasis vouchers. I’ve also ordered over the phone when I couldn’t find an item in the store in my size, this arrived within a week and was sent to me at no extra cost – what more can you ask for!

** Store Card **

A bad, bad idea but if you insist on having one (as I do) then you’ll be pleased to know there are some hefty little bonuses complete with this baby!

~ Upon opening your account you can be given £500 instant credit.

~ Exclusive shopping evenings with new stock, freebies and nibbles – believe me these events are worth going to!

~ Offers exclusive just to you, the current one at the moment is 15% off all jeans whether or not you actually pay with your card or with cash, what more can you ask for!

29.9% typical APR.

** Student Discount **

All students can get 10% off here with a valid student card – and with prices like this you’ll probably need it just as much as me!

** Website **

For details of your local store and to view latest stock you can check out the website at www.oasis-stores.com. Sadly you can’t order off the internet though.

And can you buy your complete wardrobe from Oasis? All in all I'd have to say no, their ranges are still quite limited sadly and I don't think you'd find a garment for every single occasion here.

But all in all I’d give Oasis the thumbs up – slightly pricey but you really do seem to get what you pay for. On an average outfit (bottoms, top, jewellery and bag) I’d say you can expect to spend around £100 but the items have always lasted me well and come on girls, we want to look good this Christmas!

Thanks for reading!
 

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