When I first arrived in the UK, many of my friends introduced me to Primark - THE place to buy affordable, fashionable and trendy clothes. Having been to Primark quite a couple of times, I have to sadly say that I just completely don't get why people even like Primark!

THE STORE
My local Primark is the one at Bond Street (London), so just imagine how crowded it is, and how long queues always are. I never ever even think of trying on clothes at Primark because the wait for the changing rooms are ridiculous. The one at Bond Street I think has two levels, and to be honest, having visited a couple of times I still feel like I'm in a maze wherever I'm in there, and it's just SO difficult to remember where you've seen something that you liked because there's just too many people around for you to actually properly navigate. It's also quite sad in my opinion how the clothes are mishandled -- whenever I pick up a piece of clothing it feels like so many people have touched it, and thrown it back onto the rack and that really spoils the shopping experience for me. To be a little positive though, I like the way they decorate the shop front because it's always very inviting, and the trends are usually spot-on. I also like how brightly lit the shop is.

THE ITEMS
Primark stocks a supremely wide range of items, from your day to day casual wear, work wear, pyjamas, travel pillows, make up, body soap, tights, etc. etc. I absolutely adore their jewellery section though, just because the jewellery are all reasonably priced and there's such a wide range that you will almost definitely find something that you like. But of course, the jewellery can look cheap, so select carefully! I also highly recommend the facial wipes - they're pretty awesome in removing botched make up.

THE CLOTHES
The clothes do seem trendy at first glance, but I am often disappointed by the quality of the material used. I only buy basics or things that people won't see me wearing on the exterior at Primark (tights especially, are quite a steal). Also note that clothes sizes start from 8 onwards, which is a big problem for me because I am a 4 or 6 - so that's another reason why I never really buy clothes at Primark.

CHECKING OUT
As I mentioned, the queues are long but Primark cleverly lines the checking out queues with small items like socks or other interesting things ;-) I've never had once experienced bad service, but often I see customers arguing with the lady/guy at the counter.. tourists? I'm not sure.

THE VERDICT
Sure, Primark may produce trendy clothes, but for the price and the poor shopping experiences, I think I'd rather head somewhere else. Only tights and facial wipes make the cut for me here, sorry!