Jane Norman isn't what it was (Jane Norman)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Jane Norman
Date:	04/08/08 (109 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Strong brand appeals to pre-teens and teens

Disadvantages: Expensive, shoddy quality

Jane Norman is a store I used to shop at frequently when I was younger - back then it didn't have a national presence and I loved some the dresses they did - they weren't cheap but the quality was fantastic.

As the years passed my interest in them faded somewhat and it went out of the window altogether when their sale refund policy wasn't explained to me and I wasn't able to get a refund on an unsuitable item bought in the sale.

However my daughter is now of the age where she is taking an interest in choosing her own clothes and she has decided she is now a Jane Norman fan - something that started when she wanted to get a Jane Norman bag for school, to be like her classmates.

She also wanted a dress from there for a fancy do she had at school so I went with her for this.

I was so disappointed - the quality is really poor. The dress she got cost £35 but was made of cheap polyester and nylon. They use fabrics that even Primark would turn their nose up at and they clearly only get away with it because the younger shopper isn't experienced enough to see past the branding, like my daughter.

She also loves their carrier bags - she seems to like them almost as much as their regular bags - and as a middle aged woman I can see the cost of these is clearly factored into their overpriced clothes but my daughter sees this as a free "perk" of shopping there.

I also don't find the clothes to be particularly fashion forward - other stores seem much better than Jane Norman for quickly incorporating catwalk styles.

The store does have periodic sales and I would recommend you visit then but even at sale price I find the items overpriced!

Overall I find Jane Norman in its current incarnation to be very disappointing, but of course I am fully aware that I am not a member of their target customer - but my daughter certainly is.

Summary: What used to be a great brand is slipping