My guilty shopping pleasure. (Primark)

Member Name: Miss-Bee

Product:	Primark
Date:	03/11/09 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, up to date with trends and styles, big range of sizes.

Disadvantages: Dodgy quailty sometimes, can get very busy, rude staff.

Cambridge has no Primark yet, opening this Friday at 9am, and it took a abit of getting used too, as I used to a large amount of time in Primark Oxford Street, London. And as much as I enjoy other High Street Stores, Primark is my guilty pleasure of a shop. I always find something I want, and as I'm studying Fashion, I have to go shopping regularly to keep up with trends (Great excuse, right?!). After going to Primark recently, I decided to give my review on the cheapest High Street Store around, the guilty pleasure of Primark.


-Primark-

Primark is a clothing store, which operates in a range of countries in Europe, such as UK, Spain, Netherlands and Germany. Primark mainly focuses on High Street Fashion, for men, women and children, but sells Household items, suitcases and accessories. The main selling point of Primark stores is the price, as Primark tends to have lower prices compared to other High Street stores, but recently in the news, there have been reports of Primark using Child Labour and poorly paid people, which tends to keep prices of things low, but apparently, they have improved they're working practices.

-Clothes and Shoes-

Primark, like every other High Street Store, follows the fashion and trends of the season, as seen on the Catwalks and Designers, and Primark do follow the trends very well, for example Sequins, Body Con Dresses and Fashion tights are all in style currently, as well as other winter styles, Jumpers, Coats etc, and Primark has all of these, you will be able to find something in style in Primark. As well as having in style clothes, they have all purpose pieces, such as Vest Tops, Skinny Jeans etc, which are always needed, and tend to much lower price then the on trend clothes, for example Black Skinny Jeans are £7, could you get any better! So Primark will have something to suit your tastes, styles and body shape, as they have sizes 6-18, but if you are a smaller size (6, 8, sometimes 10) get to Primark early, as the small sizes go really quickly, and it can be really frustrating.
Not all Primark clothes are wonderful though, there are some absolute Fashion disasters, and things you'd never wear in a million years, so good clothes/fashion needs some serious hunting for, as they tend to be pretty tucked away. Also a small word of warning, it is Primark and the phrase "Primark Quality" was made for a reason, so be wary, it won't last forever.

Shoes. My personal favourite thing to shop for (maybe not with my boyfriend though!), and Primark did not disappoint my shoe obsession, there is a wide range of styles, again dependant of the season and the trends, currently stocking Boots, Uggs and Trainers. Personally, I always find a pair of shoes in Primark I like, and I tend to be hard to please, but they really do have a large range of styles, to pretty much suit everyone's tastes, and shoes seem to be much better quality then the clothes, and last longer. So defiantly the first place to go for shoes.

-Underwear-

Underwear, being the essential of all outfits, is really important to get right, but so easily to get wrong, and in my opinion Primark gets it wrong. The underwear is always in fashion and on trend with the season, and they have a large range of underwear, in a lot of styles, trends and sizes. But the big problem is the quality. I recently brought a large amount of less sexy Primark underwear, which was pretty cheap, and very recently all off them broke, the under wiring came out, fabric ripped and the colours began fading very quickly, this began happening after about 2 weeks, which is not what I wanted, so now I'm running extremely low on underwear, not good! Although, I do think the knickers are better quality then the bras, but do begin fading quickly. Okay, for simple bits of underwear, just don't buy all your underwear from here at once, otherwise they will all break at the same time!

-Accessories-

Primark do have a pretty large range of accessories, jewellery, scarfs, belts, bags and Make Up. The belts, scarfs and bags, are all pretty good quality, especially the bag, as I've had mine for well over 10 months, and its still going strong, even after all the heavy stuff I keep in it! The belts and scarves, are nice and really depends on the trends, but they last a while, and honestly, are what you'd find in any High Street Store, but much cheaper. Jewellery is my biggest problem with Primark accessories, as I brought a fair amount of jewellery from Primark, and after a few days, it began breaking and but a week my necklace was completely broken, and it wasn't because I was rough with it, bits just fell off it, and my bracelets, after being in water, began turning green, along with my wrist, which I was not happy with! So again, I would be wary of the jewellery at Primark, because of the quality. Although saying that, the beaded bracelets and necklaces, are much better as there is less to break. Make Up is again one to wary with, but seems to be pretty good quality, as I have a couple of Mascaras and Eyeshadows, which are okay, but not excellent, so best leave it too Boots and Superdrug.

-Overall-

Primark is a good shop, they provide on trend clothes and accessories, to suit everyone, have decent sizes for more curvy women, which is a definite plus. Clothes are nice, and there will always be something for everyone, and having men's and children's clothes, means you can get clothes for the whole family under one roof. Prices are obviously amazing, with very few places as low as Primark, good in these tough times. Quality of items, is a bit bad, but what do expect for the cheap prices they sell at, so be aware, things may break and rip easily.



-Bee's tips for shopping in Primark!-

1. Get there early. Primark, especially ones in City Centres, get packed so quickly and can become really frustrating, so if possible, get around 9-10.

2. Be in a decent mood, not starving or really thirsty, and fairly awake, as Primark will lower you moods quickly, and it can become really tiring very quickly. Bring water to sip on, otherwise you'll become really hot and thirsty.

3. Think twice about bringing your partner, especially if he's a he. Men tend to have less patience, and Primark tend to only have a few chairs, so no where really for them to sit down, I doubt they will enjoy spending ages in a busy, hot Primark either!

4. Wear a vest top. Fitting rooms can get packed so quickly, so if you wear a vest top, you can quickly try on clothes in a quiet area, saves you un zipping, and un buttoning which may take a while. Also if it gets hot in the store, you may stay abit cooler.

5. Staff are can be rude, but always keep your eye on one, they will point you in the right direction for things, and staff seem to be few in the stores I've been in, so always have your open for them.

6. Don't rush, and make yourself more frustrated. People really under estimate Primark, it is different to other stores, it can become very packed and become more stressful, especially if your rushing around grabbing everything, and it can increase the chance of impulse buys, come on ladies, a Tartan Cat suit is NEVER a good idea!

Summary: Okay for somethings, stay away from others.