Bargains Galore (Matalan)

Member Name: topsyturvy

Product:	Matalan
Date:	24/07/06 (1427 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: new trendier items, well laid out, cheap

Disadvantages: -

I am a girl who loves to shop and definitely loves a good bargain. I like to buy expensive clothes but everyone knows that you can’t buy designer all of the time so I like to mix high street with it. I like cheaper shops like H&M and Primark but I was persuaded by my friend to visit Matalan. I used to go here but didn’t like the clothes much as I felt they were a bit frumpy for my liking and they didn’t have a lot to offer.

I have noticed lately that Matalan have been advertising a lot. I seem to get a monthly catalogue from them that has their latest offers and styles in it, some not bad items. They also have a lot of adverts on the television and one had Melanie Sykes in it modelling I noticed. The clothes modelled didn’t actually look too bad so I decided to give Matalan another chance and I went to visit. In Edinburgh I’m sure we only have 2 stores but on the website http://www.matalan.com you can search by postcode to find your local store.

All of their stores that I have been in are really big and take a while to have a look around. The bright red lettering symbolises the store, so walking in I see so many clothes ahead. At the front they had children’s wear and then I noticed a lot was separated into different sections. One was for casual wear such as plain tops in a wide range of colours and sizes and these only cost £4 so I quickly lifted many up. The top didn’t look cheaply made and looked like any t-shirt that would be bought in somewhere like Top Shop just the label is probably cheaper.

There is then the office wear section which consists of many different pairs of black, grey, beige, pinstriped trousers and suits. Also it has shirts and skirts. The prices again not to bad for suit jackets. These can be anywhere around £20 and up and again well made. They then have their nice summery clothes and tops for any occasion and nightwear. They don’t tend to have as much party clothing though but that didn’t bother me as I would jus go elsewhere for fancier items.

They then have nightwear which has all of their nightdresses, flannel pyjama sets and underwear. Their underwear range is better now they have a lot of nice bras in stock and a big size range. The pyjamas suit all ages there are childish ones but then there are fancier ones too.

They have a shoe section too which has a big range. They have slippers and then they have sandals, closed shoes etc. I haven’t bought a pair of shoes from them before to say how good the quality is but they look to be very good.

They do a home ware section which has definitely improved since I last went. They have cushions, vases, candles, frames, bed sets, flowers you name it everything that a home could need. They have lots of colours too and are very reasonably priced. They also have prints for the walls and mirrors.

The staff at Matalan seem to be friendly enough. When asking them for help they always seem to know where everything is. A lot of them are students but there are older staff too and they are easy to find because they are in their black and red uniform. I have also found whenever I need to return things they will easily change the item and if it is not in stock will happily give a refund with no problems.

The shop is definitely well laid out. Menswear to one side, women’s wear to the other. Everything can be found easily and it is all spaced out so that you are not knocking anything down. They also have sale items too which can actually be ok, they reduce the items well. It is a nice bright atmosphere and seems very spacious to look around.

Of all of the clothes I have bought from this store I have found them to last a long time. The tops have never gotten bobbly after a few washes. The quality seems good and this is where they stand out because a lot of cheaper stores have items which are not made or finished off well and start to tear whereas my Matalan buys are washing up well, not fading and sticking around for a while.

The shop has clearly gotten new fashion buyers for their range as my former opinion of them as being frumpy no longer stands. I can happily say that Matalan’s newer image has done them a lot of justice and I no longer squirm when walking into the store but gladly scan the rails looking for the latest trendy items. If you want to keep in fashion with Matalan you can as you are not having to pay ridiculous amounts of money to keep in style and it is a saviour for many of us.

For more information on your nearest store, you can visit their website http://www.matalan.com here they list the latest bargains, styles, news and jobs.

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