Fantasy Frock Land (Monsoon) (Monsoon)

Member Name: flutel

Product:	Monsoon
Date:	16/07/09 (182 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifu party frocks

Disadvantages: Some styles can be a bit frumpy. Too much silk

The Sale in Monsoon is in full flow and at lunchtime today the place was packed and the queues were long. I know. - I was there and I stood in the protracted queue at the tills.

Target Audience
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Monsoon is a high street shop with a target audience of mainly middle class women - also selling some men's clothes, children's clothes, accessories and some decorative homewear. Even with the menswear, I still believe that women may be the target audience - propelling their blokes through the ruffles and jewel colors of the womenswear at the front of the shop through to the small area of guy stuff.

The Clothes
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Monsoon sell many separates (camisoles, tops, knitwear, skirts, nightwear, jackets and coats) for women - these are displayed in colours. This is useful for me because I particularly like purples and I can just make a bee-line for that area. Even in the sale the colours are still generally on a rack together (probably a little muddled by the end of the day) so they are easy to browse. Compared to a shop like Next, this is a much better system; I find the Monsoon Sale almost bearable.

Monsoon, I think is possibly more well known for its lovely dresses - both short and long. It is certainly a shop to visit if you have a posh Christmas party, a wedding or a prom to go to because there are lots of dresses designed for these occasions.

Prom Dresses
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I give this a subtitle of its own because it was the place I bought my daughter's school prom dress. We spotted the pale green empire line long dress (in floaty chiffon with a satin ribbon just under the bust) well before the prom. It was half price in the sale at around £80 (on average, teens spend £250 on a dress). She tried it on and when she emerged in the dress out of the cubicle many of the women who were also trying things on told her how lovely she looked in it. It was very simple and elegant with a touch of 'princess' about it. We bought it. The photos I took of her just before she left for the prom, wearing the dress, are very precious.

There are many prom, wedding and bridesmaid styles in white, ceam, pastels, black and jewel colours. Even if you don't go to any parties, it is still a place to go and try them and live the fantasy. Beware of this though - you could be tempted.

Children's Clothes
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The Children's clothes are in very cute styles - not particularly catering for kids who like street styles - more classical styles. The age range is quite limited - more for babies and the younger children.

Men's Clothes
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The mens clothes or also not particularly street cred - more well cut 'smart casual' in natural fabrics.

Accessories
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Monsoon also operate 'Accessorise' so the shop also has some very nice necklaces, rings, earrings and bangles. They also sell hats, shoes, scalves and purses.

Things I have bought from Monsoon
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I am quite lucky as I took out a Monsoon store card when they still operated their reduced price insurance. If I buy an item and it is reduced in price within 100 days from buying it I can claim back the difference in cost from the insurance company connected to Monsoon. This is great because I can calculate when to buy things so I can check out the reductions in the sale and make a claim a couple of months later. Usually, I can find out when things are reduced by 70% - and claim quite a bit over a few items. This insurance option was removed a while ago - probably because it was so popular. It means I can buy things when I want and in the right size (popular sizes often sell out before the Sale) and still benefit from the Sale.

I have bought over the years a deep blue wide cotton muslin scalf, a purple cross over top, a black and white dress, a purple cotton cardigan (that was so nice it was stolen at school), silver flip flops and some long shorts I am wearing as I write this. Today, I bought a wallet with a polka dot inside in the sale for £7.50. I may be able to get even more off this if it goes down in price again in the next few weeks (likely).

The Downside
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Clothes at Monsoon are more expensive than some other high street shops and this can be prohibitive if you have not got the readies. This is why I would recommend going to the Monsoon Sale.

The other niggle I have is that many of their clothes are made of silk and this was a bit of a pain when I was looking at dresses with a view to buying one. As a vegan it means that I am always lifting skirts (on hangers) to check the 'made from' tag. Often I am dissapointed to find that it is.

Some designs at Monsoon are overly elaborate and showy; too much - possibly too frumpy.

To Conclude
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I quite enjoy the experience of shopping at Monsoon. There is always a person at the door to greet you when going in the shop and the changing rooms are clean and comfortable with just enough room to make trying on not too much of a pain. In my local Monsoon there are also numerous cubicles - which reduces waiting time. The assistants are generally helpful. The Sale reductions are substantial. In other shops I am often frustrated by a measly 20% but Monsoon reduces 50% or 70% - making some beautiful clothes affordable. I have not had many issues with clothes falling apart and having to take them back.

Summary: A few Monsoon items in your wardrobe can add a touch of class.