...
None the less I will take you through my opinion on one of the shops almost lucky enough to gain from my custom who trade by the name of Select.
Select has been an active member in Harlow, Essex for a few years now, serving ladies from all walks of life with up-to-date fashion items ... Read review
Select has been an active member in Harlow, Essex for a few years now, serving ladies from all walks of life with up-to-date fashion items as well as some more traditional styles in the suit region which being trendy and affordable are a dead cert for parading around in the office.
The shop itself is fairly small and has only one floor but being well-lit and with white walls and flooring it is an inviting ... ...correct me if I’m wrong) Select don’t seem to cater for the 27” leg lengths needed by myself and alike. This is highly disappointing, as on my recent visits I have found some lovely trousers (made even lovelier by the sale price!) only to discover they were 31” leg. Now I fully understand that a visit to the dry cleaners to have them taken up would be a fairly painful solution but this defeats the object of purchasing a sales ... more
With Saturday not being the best day to hit the town in search of new additions to my wardrobe I wasn’t in the least bit surprised that I came home with my purse full (apart from a quick visit to McDonalds) and empty handed.
None the less I will take you through my opinion on one of the shops almost lucky enough to gain from my custom who trade by the name of Select.
Select has been an active member in Harlow, Essex for a few years now, serving ladies from all walks of life with up-to-date fashion items as well as some more traditional styles in the suit region which being trendy and affordable are a dead cert for parading around in the office.
The shop itself is fairly small and has only one floor but being well-lit and with white walls and flooring it is an inviting shop and easy to navigate in a short time scale. It often has posters in the windows advertising the latest deal which currently stands at trousers for £10 and tops for £7, though once inside you will find various items have also been reduced to half price.
Unfortunately I feel that this shop isn’t particularly well laid out, as it is impossible to get around a couple of the displays with a pushchair in tow. I would recommend you take a willing shopping pal with you and park the pushchair up in the middle of the shop whilst you disappear into the deep, dark regions otherwise known as rails and displays of tightly packed attire. However, you must be aware that you enter these nether regions at your own risk as you may well suffer from sudden attacks from those wire and plastic devices (otherwise known as hangers). They will undoubtedly try to injure you without warning by either jumping on to the floor in front of you, in attempt to trip you, cling on and rip your current clothing in aim to force you to purchase an item to cover your birthday suit or simply make you look like the village idiot by tangling you up and trapping you requiring expert release from the shop assistant, leaving you modestly embarrassed that you simply have to make a purchase followed by a sharpish getaway.
The Harlow branch could (in my view) make far better use of the wall hanging space and so reduce the number of floor displays, as I find the shop has no particular style to what goes where and the sale items are not kept in one area (like Etam) such as to the rear of the shop. This would make more sense as it tempts the shopper to walk through the entire ‘full-price’ selection first before hitting this part and so may entice more impulse buying, increasing sales. In an ideal world it would make clothes shopping far easier and less time-consuming if each item was kept in it’s own section such as all trousers hung according to colour and size and likewise with skirts and tops, but again this would reduce impulse buying and perhaps make the modern world of shopping a little boring and too practical. I guess the hours of trudging from shop to shop trying to find that particular garment you know you want will be with us forever L. So guys, if your girl says she’s off clothes shopping and asks if you would like to tag along, take precious time to consider the endless hours of browsing and trying-on sessions (does my bum look big in this?) and best say no if you can’t take the pace of looking around EVERY shop for many hours only to return to the item she saw in the first shop, lol!
Getting down to the nitty gritty. Right, most of us have some sort of idea what we actually want when we hit the shops for new additions in the clothing department. However, that doesn’t go to say we won’t stray from these guidelines and wait for inspiration or an unbeatable, just got to have it, I spent this much but saved more type of offer. Being only 5’3” I tend to spend what seems hours, days, maybe months in search of trousers and jeans that will actually fit me in the length department. This as you will hopefully understand (as this can be a problem at the other end of the scale if you are tall) is extremely frustrating and a proper pain in the rear as the ‘standard’ length seems to be either 30”/31” WHAT?? So for those of us who don’t fall into the standard category, the search begins here.
Unfortunately (please correct me if I’m wrong) Select don’t seem to cater for the 27” leg lengths needed by myself and alike. This is highly disappointing, as on my recent visits I have found some lovely trousers (made even lovelier by the sale price!) only to discover they were 31” leg. Now I fully understand that a visit to the dry cleaners to have them taken up would be a fairly painful solution but this defeats the object of purchasing a sales item at a neat price when you then have to shed out anything up to £10 to have them taken up (scream). Also, what do you do if you find a pair of bootleg trousers/jeans with trendy embroidery or split sides? No chance here of having them taken up… so it’s back to the drawing board and your old faithful fast-fading jeans until you next syke yourself up to hit the shops all over again.
Other than a few teething problems in shop layout and seriously bias in the trouser leg length department I highly rate Select as you can guarantee good quality at extremely low prices and a vast range of products considering they only have a small shop.
They offer a range of sizes from a (wishful thinking) size 8 upwards although I am not sure of the largest size. A few samples of the clothes themselves are vest tops with ‘whassuuup’ or ‘you are the weakest link… goodbye’ on the front, glitzy backless tops for the clubbers amongst us or for the Summer (whatever that word means, lol), even a range of scratch and sniff tops!?!, shirts both short and long-sleeved of all colours, trouser and skirt suits, jeans both plain and straight legged to embroidered and bootleg, combat trousers of various styles and colours, outdoor jackets and coats in a range of PVC or padded styles and a small selection behind the sales counter of hair accessories and costume jewellery.
You are able to try on every item at your ease prior to purchase in the smart fitting rooms located to the rear of the shop. There are about 5 cubicles here each with a full-length mirror, coat hook and smart curtain to pull across for your privacy (unless like myself you have your practising peeping-tom nephew with you).
The one thing I have to point out that I dislike about this shop and which I have never seen in any other clothes shop is the ‘mega’ sale rail as you approach the fitting rooms. The first thing that will undoubtedly catch your eye is the price tag on the first item. It immediately draws you near for a closer look as either your eyes need testing or somebody has missed a figure out. Unfortunately on homing in your fears will be confirmed that yes the first figure has been missed out and oh yes your eyes do need testing as when you examine one of the bargain bin samples your cheeks immediately turn red with embarrassment as to why you would look at such a garment.
Let me enlighten you. The garments left hanging on this rail are those of the damaged kind. This may not sound that bad as you perhaps have an image of a ‘nick’ on the material or a loop hanging from a woolly jumper, which is easily sorted or hidden. No, no, no, Select choose to offer you the highest standard of damaged goods such as the example I came across, being PVC trousers with a ripped crotch area, hence all material hanging in every direction – what on earth would you want these for? Cutting them down to shorts isn’t even an option. Every item here is almost beyond all repair and albeit priced at £1.50 upwards is an utter waste of money and I’m sure Select could do far better with this needy space than to lower their standards.
Although I haven’t needed to return anything that I have purchased from this shop I find the sales staff very friendly and co-operative, are always willing to help and most of all offer service with a smile, which is a rare thing.
Advantages: Good clothes for the prices Disadvantages: The rails and the changing rooms
...the busy highstreet of Weston-super-Mare, Select cathes my eye with the big sale signs in the window. I instantly think ahhh plenty of bargins so I find myself trying to weave myself though the crowds and eventually I have reached the shop.
I'm standing in the doorway of Select scanning the shop with my eyes deciding in which direction to head. The shop looks crammed with people and the clothes rails look quite close together so the layout to me ... ...As I'm heading for the door, I pass a number of rails with dresses, t-shirts, skirts etc. All look to be a good price. Select also sell a range of accessories so you have everything you could need in there.
A good shop except for the rails!!! ...
jenny_carr 06.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Select (Shop)
Advantages: Cheap good qualtiy clothing Disadvantages: Could do with bigger stores
...VALUE FOR MONEY
Select offers excellent value for money whilst at the same time offering key fashion pieces which certainly do not look low quality, they also wash really well and last as they are made from good quality materials they do not look like they are ready for the bin after a couple of washes, this is what i usually feel is the problem with low cost clothing from places like Primark.
They currently have an excellent sale on which unlike ... ...think the thing that makes Select so amazing is that the items that they sell are often a little bit more eye catching and original than similar items which are available from other highstreet stores, for example i bought a dress ther last time i was in the store which has beautiful hand stiched beading detail to the front, this makes the dress feel and look quite luxurious which is amazing considering how little i paid for it. Another thing i love ...
vonney1967 30.07.2007 (18.11.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Select (Shop)
Advantages: value for money Disadvantages: gets a bit crowded
...and of course it was select , i was so excited i love to shop and it was local what more could i ask for.
Opening day of select we dived in to the shop and i had gone to heaven not only were the clothes execellent value for money , they were execellent quality too,and they had a openning day sale( bliss )
The overall layout of the shop was good but a little bit crowded,as i had my son in his pushchair i found he grabbed quite a few clothes from ... ...spent £37-40 on 6 items which in my book is a good afternoons shopping(apart from when i got home and hubbie found out)
I would strongly recomend this shop to all women out there who want a good bargain and great quality clothes.
Thumbs up from me select well done. ...
rachpauljack 09.11.2001 (12.11.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Select (Shop)
Advantages: Cheap if you want something to wear once Disadvantages: untidy, dirty, no quality in the clothes, rude assistants
...count me out.
When Select first came to the town near where I live I popped in to see what sort of shop it was and whether I would be visiting it frequently. As soon as I stepped through the door the smell was horrid, a bit like a damp sort of smell but mixed with air freshener to disguise it. The floor was mucky and hadn't been washed for a while. The clothes also looked damp and some of the rails were a bit tatty.
I carried on walking round and ... ...them and did not inspire confidence in the shop at all. The shop assisstants were rude and abrupt.
I would not recommend Select but if you are looking for a baragin to wear only once then this maybe your shop if you can put up with the untidiness. ...
rachelm74 09.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Select (Shop)
Advantages: great affordable clothes Disadvantages: see opinion
...where I live called select. Select is a young ladies fashion shop that is very affordable in price, it also sells make up, jewellery, and hair stuff.They had some really good bargins on when I went but I didn't have time to try the jumper on. It was one size so I thought it'll fit, anyway I get home and tried on the jumper to find out it didn't fit at all.
I checked the reciept and it said I could have a refund within 7 days of purchase, so 6 days ... ...In general it's a great store it's got nice fashionable clothes, but if I buy from there again i'll deffinately try it on first.
So just to let any ciao members know that if your shopping in a shop called select be warned, you might not get a refund!!! ...
littlemisssexy 24.01.2003 (29.01.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Select (Shop)
Value for money
Layout & presentation
Selection & range
Availability
In store customer service
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