Accessorize Me! (Accessorize)

Member Name: cazkins

Product:	Accessorize
Date:	22/11/08 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous designs, good range of jewellery for different styles and tastes

Disadvantages: Some things are a tad pricey

Some of the nicest presents I've had at Christmas have been from Accessorize, nicely wrapped up in tissue paper, because for some reason buying treats from these makes you feel quite special.

Originally Monsoon started out with it's initial clothes line, then added a small selection of their own brand Jewellery. The jewellery and accessories line grew and in the early 80s they decided it deserved its own shop. And voi lat, along came Accessorize! Since the opening of the first store in 1984 it's become very popular and has expanded to over 240 stores in the UK (plus some internationally). Because it's so popular it's easy to come by an Accessorize in most cities, and in a lot of larger train stations too like Paddington.

Accessorize has a large focus on jewellery and so there's a great range to choose from catering for lots of different tastes and styles. It depends on the size of the store as to how much of a range you get, although most are relatively small and still seem to offer plenty to choose from. In addition to jewellery they also sell accessories such as :

> Bags - big bags, small bags, evening bags...they produce great designs though I find them a tad pricey (but that's coming from a Primark girl!)
> Hair accessories - from the basics to evening and wedding bits & bobs
> Seasonal - eg. in the summer there's some sarongs and flip flops, in the winder some snuggly scarfs and mittens
> Purses
> Trinkets - these are usually by the till and make good gifts, such as stationary and little novelties
> Umbrellas
> Small selection of underwear - I wouldn't advise going underwear shopping in here all the time as you can't be guaranteed to find something you like in your size and it may be a bit expencive, but nice as a treat

The designs are wonderful for both jewellery and accessories, with designs that are currently in fashion or more traditional, to quirky. I think it serves a good age range and different tastes, plus it's all pretty well laid out (ie. they tend to group jewellery together in colour). I find the staff to always be polite, friendly and helpful so it's always nice going in there, I've never had any problems.

The only slight downside I would say is that some things can be a bit pricey. It depends what you're used to paying for accessories really; some are quite average (like £4/5 pair of earrings), but it can go up in price quite quickly (I saw a lovely bangle in there last week, not made of anything fancy, but it still cost £15). That said, when they have a sale in there it's fantastic! If you see a 50% off sign, or more sometimes, that's definitely the time to have a look and pick up some gorgeous accessories. :o)

I'll rate Accessorize 5 stars because I do love the things in there and always enjoy going in (except when it's packed and you can't move!) but I don't necessarily think the pricing is the best. More expencive items don't seem to be made of anything extra special or fancy (not necessarily even stirling silver for example) but the quality seems to be good and I've never had any problems with any purchases.

Summary: It's a great place to go and treat yourself or a friend to make them feel special :o)