Claires.... not the shop I remembered (Claire's)

Member Name: MEL0611

Product:	Claire's
Date:	22/08/09 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good choice and range of products, ideal for special occasions

Disadvantages: You could find many of the products on offer cheaper elsewhere

When I was told that a friend was going to be having a fancy dress party for their birthday the panic soon kicked in, however when I heard that the theme was going to be 60's and 70's fashion I though great, not only are the shops full of the retro look anyway but I new exactly what I wanted to accessorise my outfit... big black circluar earings, a massive piece of bling on my finger and some chunky beads, having had a look in Primark and Dorothy Perkins I found myself wandering into Claires.... a shop I had not visited for at least 5 years.

Claires is a reatail chain that sells products, mainly for girls. The store now has over 3000 stores worldwide and when I was a teenager it was where I went for all my jewellry and hair accesories. As I wandered into the shop I had a browse through the earing selection, sure enough I found what I was after, (the black hooped earings, very sixties!) but rather than having a £2.50 price tag, they came with a rather more expensive price tag of £4.00, but having had no joy elsewhere I reluctantly added them to my basket.

I then went over to look at the large selection of necklaces and beads that were hanging up on the wall, there was a fantastic choice and there were colours and styles to suit everyone, again I found what I was looking for but again, it was more pricey than what I had wanted to pay, a long set of beads being £6.00, if only I had found the in Primark! I decided not to bother with these for now, in the hope a friend might be able to help me out.

I then went for another look around the shop, I found a ring, big, round and black, this was priced at £5.00, I found this alot more reasonable and so added it to my basket.

Whilst I was in the store I had a look round at other products on offer and in my opinion the prices have really increased, I appreciate that I have not used the store for a few years but it always used to be affordable, the prices for the products would not be what I could call ones that you could buy with your pocket money!

What I also noticed was that other products such as the selection of handbags, seamed very reasonable. I found a black leather bag, small in size and sits accross you for £7.00, you would pay £20.00 in Next for something like that!

Other products that the store had on offer were:

~ Hair Accessories, including hair pieces, hair bands,bobbles etc

~ Bracelets, ranging form bangles to dainty pieces

~ Cosmetics, nail varnishes, lipbalms, blushers etc

~ Belts

~ Seasonal gifts, you can buy different products at christmas time and valentines day to halloween and hen - do's!

Claires still offers its ear piercing service, it is free if you purchase from a certain criteria of their earings, there was at least 3 people in line for this when I popped in! The staff were very helpful and friendly, even asking if I wanted a mini manicure set for a £1 when I went to the till to pay! ( I politely declined!)

In conclusion, although I am making comparrsions to the store from over 5 years ago, I was shocked at how much the prices of some products had increased yet the prices of what I would have expected to be high were the opposite! You could no longer go along and spend your weekly pocket money there and the shop really is designed for girls of a younger age (especially with the High School Musical and Jonas Brothers stock I spotted!)

You can not really fault the quallity of my purchases but unless I have a party where I need something like this again I will stick to getting my costume jewellry from elsewhere.

Summary: Pleanty of Accesories on offer, shame about the price!