And the award for most expensive catalogue goes to... (Next)

Member Name: crazyminx

Product:	Next
Date:	27/09/08 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well made clothes, good value accessories

Disadvantages: Ridiculously priced catalogue

Ah, Next. What town doesn't have one? Go to the main street of any city/town/hamlet and you will usually find Next alongside New Look, the bakers and the local hardware store. It is ridiculously popular, and in many ways I can understand why. However it has a fair few disadvantages too, which I shall tell you about in handy list form...

ADVANTAGES:
1. Next clothes are usually made pretty well. Of course this isn't the case with every item, but the majority are pretty hardy and will last you a long time. I have a couple of jumpers that I bought four years ago and wear almost every day over my pyjamas whilst I'm having supper (too much information?!) and they are still going strong.
2. They have a decent selection of basics, in particular work wear. If you want a suit, shirt or skirt for any gender or size then Next is a pretty good place to start. You can usually find some plain jumpers or vest tops too in various colours, and often with some sort of 3 for 2 offer or similar.
3. You can find most things you need in there. Well, obviously not if you are shopping for something slightly odd like a civil war reenactment party, but if you're just looking for male/female/childrens/babys clothes or housewares/furniture/soft furnishings then Next will probably have it.
4. They do some really great accessories for very good prices. The clothes in general aren't cheap but you can get some great bargains in the accessories section. They do lovely watches from about £12-£25, some stylish and affordable jewellery, decent and fashionable shoes for around £25, and a great array of bags that are priced well, look very high quality if you pick the right ones and last for ages. I recently bought a gorgeous white leather-look handbag which was beautifully lined and had various pockets etc for £22 and it's been holding up pretty well under the weight of all the junk I carry around.

DISADVANTAGES:
1. Their range seems to have dropped in standard and variety recently. They don't seem to have been keeping up to date with fashion as much as they did a couple of years ago and the place was filled with combats and logo tshirts last time I went in. Also, they seem to have developed a habit of choosing a couple of colours and producing all their clothes for the season in varying shades of those colours which is annoying.
2. Prices are not extortionate but they could be a bit cheaper. You can often find similar clothes of only slightly lower quality a lot cheaper in George at Asda.
3. Their big new year's sale annoys me! Now I know lots of people love it but I find it sooo disorganised, with clothes just randomly shoved on huge long rails all around the edge of the store in no particular order - I don't have the patience for it, especially because it usually involves committing GBH to get near the clothes.
4. Their catalogue costs £3.75. Now it's a nice hardback catalogue, I admit, but I'm sure it has no more in it than the Argos catalogue and that's free! I refuse to pay for a catalogue on a matter of principle. I could buy, like, 10 packets of malteasers for that money!

So - Next has its pluses and minuses, but it'll probably always be one of the shops I visit when I'm looking for a new outfit. The quality and variety of clothes tends to override the other niggles and it'll remain one of my shopping stops between Dorothy Perkins and River Island!

Summary: Worth a look if you need a new outfit