Evans Above! (Evans)

Member Name: gothiron

Product:	Evans
Date:	18/09/01 (631 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: choice, value for money, shoes in big sizes

Disadvantages: standard varies from branch to branch, online catalogue is hard to use, costs me a fortune at sale time!

(Spelling corrected!)
I'm going to add my voice to the choir of approval that Evans is at long last getting -and also as a nah nah nah-nah to those shops that seem to consider a size 18 to be faintly grotesque (yes Next we mean you!) and anything above that requiring access to dictionary for definition "Size 18 - probably the standard size in the UK"

But back to Evans, like many other Ops on this subject, I too remember the horror of walking home clutching the Evans OUTSIZE bag to my chest, hoping that I wouldn't meet anyone from school, as I was still trying to kid myself that the sage coloured skirt and blouse (100% polyester - because we want you to suffer!) were really quite nice and not at all gross. In fact the accurate description of Evans range at that time was "frumpwear". The exception being "Occasion-wear" where you could pass yourself off as a Christmas decoration, that is if you could actually move under the weight of satin, bows and sequins. Evans must have had the copyright on pleats and sun-ray pleats at that. These being second only to the PE skirt in being the last thing a tubby teenager wanted to be seen in. Evans stayed in this timewarp right through the 80s and it was the one place I dreaded going to - but usually ended up being the one place I ended up.

But no more, I guess there must have been a radical management change or else a director married a plumpcious female but come the 90s, Evans arrived. Gone were the tiny changing rooms with the yucky orange curtain and mangy hooks, hello to big spacious changing cells, brightly lit with lots of mirrors (although the wall to wall reflection you get when trying on trousers sometimes makes you long for the one mirror and the disapproving glance of the some old girl to let you know you looked like a Zepplin!) and best of all a choice! No more,"I'll have because it fits" -now it's the case of "I'll ha
ve that because I like it!"

Our local branch still has it's share of comfortingly big bosomed assistants who wouldn't bat an eye at being asked to clothe a mammoth but it also has a nice sprinkling of younger assistnts (big) who genuinely appreciate the stress big clothes shopping can cause, as well as stick insects who I think they employ just to prove there is no discrimination (or else are used for retrieving hangers from the back of the shelves) Best comment I heard from one of this waifs was "well it wouldn't suit me, but you'd look great having all those dreamy curves"

The arrival of shoes was a blessing having big wide feet may be great as an indication for easy childbirth but makes shoe buying a nightmare and the lingerie range is usually very tastefull - exceptions arise at Christmas but then again, this happens everywhere (just look at the returns line Boxing Day in M&S!)

The 1647 range is great but too pricey for me usually but is the first area I hit when the sales are on, Evans actually has really good bargains in the sales and probably accounts for 60% of all purchases Imake from them. The range includes all ages and styles from the t-shirts and joggers to smart workwear and jolly nice formal wear - without recourse to the bacofoil on acid approach from a few years ago.

With Evans bucking it's ides up so much, it is little wonder that more traditional smallsized companies such as Mark-one and New Look now also have a reasonably priced "Real sized" range.

Branches vary from location to location but I can't complain about the Ilford one. It's friendly, well stocked and the staff are helpful. They will always ring round sister branches to find stock and are happy to order something it from other areas if you want.

Maybe the market will eventually wake up to the idea that men are big too (my dad's biggest complaint) and start catering f
or them in the aminstream alos. High and Mighty is all very well but everyone knows it means Big & Fat!

Go on Evans - branch out!

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