Replacing my shoes, New Look style (New Look)

Member Name: mrsgladwin

Product:	New Look
Date:	13/06/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great value, large range

Disadvantages: Not always best quality

When my husband and I were moving out of our flat into our house 12 months ago, we'd packed up all our things (it's surprising how much junk you didn't realise you had until you move) and transferred the billion boxes into the living room of our new place. There were still a couple of boxes in the flat, including a box full of all my shoes and a couple of boxes of rubbish to be skipped. My hubby told me he'd go back the next day to sort it out, we'd done enough to-ing and fro-ing for one day. The next day he came home telling me he'd sorted it all, all done and dusted. What a star! It was only when he said he'd thrown everything in the skip that a sense of unease descended. "Um, what about my shoes?" The look on his face and the "what shoes?" reply were all I needed to know.

That's right people, he'd thrown ALL my shoes in the skip! He thought everything I'd left was to be thrown away. If he had a brain he'd be lethal.

So, what has this got to do with New Look? Well, of course, I had to replace said shoes. I obviously couldn't afford to buy the best considering I was now down twenty pairs of shoes so I went on a hunt for a bargain. I have little but wide feet and knew New Look had a wide fit section so I toddled on down (in my only remaining pair of shoes!)

~Background~

New Look is a high street store that has been around since the first store opened in 1969, and has branches in the UK, France, Belgium Dubai, and as of this year, Russia. They pride themselves on "delivering those fashion gems - at just the right time, in the right fit, the right colour and at the right price".

~Clothes~

Most people who go to New Look go there for their reasonably priced fashionable clothes. They tend to stock fashion trends in a similar way to Dorothy Perkins - fashionable but not quite as daring and "out there", as shops like Topshop and Miss Selfridge can be.

They range anything from basic t-shirts to winter coats and always seem to have an extensive "going out" range, perhaps an indicator to the type of customer they hope to attract. Having said this however, they also stock a range that seems appropriate office attire and some other smarter items of clothing.

They have a great jeans range, selling bootcut, skinny, slouch and flared jeans from as little as £12, which is amazing considering you can pay up to £60 at River Island. OK the quality may not be quite as high, but for those on a smaller budget they're a great buy.

I also find it great just for picking up basic items, such as vest tops and summer dresses for my holidays at quite a low cost.

They also have a maternity section which I thought was great, as the majority of maternity clothing from other places tends to verge on expensive, particularly when you consider you're only going to be wearing it a few months. I found the maternity range fashionable (a lot of the items were the styles sold in the rest of the shop but had been modified to compliment "the bump"), reasonably priced and of good quality.

They also stock a plus sized range (up to a size 24) and a section for children and young teenagers. In some of the bigger stores they also offer a men's range, but I have no personal experience of this

~Shoes~

Well considering my husband's "mishap" (or idiocy, take your pick), it was the shoe section I was hunting out to try and replace my now destroyed beauties. As I said earlier I have small but wide fit and find it a struggle to get pretty shoes to fit. In the majority of shops wide fitting shoes are only suitable for an 80 year old. This is not the case in New Look. I bought two pairs of wide fitting pumps, a pair of wedges and some really pretty going out high heels, and it cost £55 for the lot. I was very impressed. In shops such as Faith, it would cost more than that for one nice pair!

So the quality must be pretty rubbish considering the price, right? Wrong. I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of my shoes, the heels intended for nights out have particularly stood up to the test considering what they have to go through on a typical night out. I also have found them to be really comfortable, another achievement as usually cheaper shoes leave me with no skin on my toes and heels.

They obviously don't only stock wide fitting shoes, they stock regular sizes too, in anything from a size 4 to 8 (some bigger stores may offer a bigger range of sizes).

~ Jewellery and accessories ~

They also stock low cost jewellery and accessories such as hats, scarves, gloves, and hair accessories. I have bought quite a few hair accessories from here and at times (not all the time, they do sell some tat), it can pass as coming from somewhere more expensive like Accessorise.

They also sell gifts and beauty products such as toiletry sets around Christmas time, always at a reasonable cost.

~Underwear~

They stock a range of underwear and nightwear, including pyjamas, bras and knickers. These range from the basic t-shirt bra to the more sophisticated, including Kelly Brook's own range. My only criticism is that they don't stock bigger sizes, the largest they go up to is a DD cup, although this isn't unusual for a high street clothes store.

~Customer service~

As with any store, it depends on what your particular local branch is like, every one is different. I have never had a problem with them, they have a good refund policy (just keep hold of your receipt) and I have never had issues with taking things back.

The majority of the staff I find to be quite young, but I refuse to see that as a bad thing. Young can equal enthusiastic and cheerful, not surly and rude as some people automatically assume.

~Store card~

When paying, the staff may try and persuade you to open a store card. Beware, the APR is high so if it's going to prove too much of a temptation as it did to me (before I had to get the scissors to it), don't bother. However you do get special offers, discounts and vouchers through the post, so if you can trust yourself to be sensible, it might be worth it.

~ Online shopping~

New Look also have their own website where they stock a larger range that what they tend to have in store. I've never used the website personally so I can't really tell you how good it is.

~ Price ~

I find the price really reasonable and competitive especially when you consider how much you can pay for equivalent items in places like Topshop and River Island. The quality can be hit and miss, some of the stuff you can tell isn't going to survive being washed a few times, but I've had quite a few bargains that have lasted.

Clothing prices range from about £5 for a vest top, to £40 for a coat, whereas jewellery rarely costs more than £10 (usually more around the £5 mark).

~Summary~

1) Low cost
2) Reasonable quality
3) Great for shoes
4) Great for maternity
5) Large range of stock
6) Cater for plus sizes, younger girls and men

Summary: Shoes glorious shoes