Topshop, UK

[susie_bubble]

^^Ok...I finally get you ppl's pain!
Yes...Topshop, H&M, Zara etc have produced clones on the high street, Topshop in particular.
Pucci_Mama: I agree with you about Topshop prices, they have become rather exhorbitant of late. I mean now that they've branched out onto the catwalk with their Unique collection, it seems to have given them license to hike up the prices too. At the same time, I'm grateful for Topshop's presence on the British high street because I really haven't seen any other lower end store in any other country turnaround catwalk copies with such speed and variety.

I tend to stick to the TS Boutique and Unique stuff....coz it's much nicer and you're not as likely to bump into 'clones'. Going into Mango once in a while can bring up pleasant surprises. I used to raid Urban Outfitters a lot because they carry a lot of very good mid-range labels like See by Chloe, Lux, Pinko etc. The advantage of living in London is the vast array of individual boutiques that carry lesser-known but affordable labels. Public Beware, No-One, The Dispensary, Pinacle Eye are my faves.

 

[Stylephox]

^^Ok...I finally get you ppl's pain!
Yes...Topshop, H&M, Zara etc have produced clones on the high street, Topshop in particular.
Pucci_Mama: I agree with you about Topshop prices, they have become rather exhorbitant of late. I mean now that they've branched out onto the catwalk with their Unique collection, it seems to have given them license to hike up the prices too. At the same time, I'm grateful for Topshop's presence on the British high street because I really haven't seen any other lower end store in any other country turnaround catwalk copies with such speed and variety.

I tend to stick to the TS Boutique and Unique stuff....coz it's much nicer and you're not as likely to bump into 'clones'. Going into Mango once in a while can bring up pleasant surprises. I used to raid Urban Outfitters a lot because they carry a lot of very good mid-range labels like See by Chloe, Lux, Pinko etc. The advantage of living in London is the vast array of individual boutiques that carry lesser-known but affordable labels. Public Beware, No-One, The Dispensary, Pinacle Eye are my faves.

Where can I find some of these lesser known but affordable labels?? I live in SE England and when I do occasionally go to London for shopping I tend to hit the centralised areas like Oxford street so I save time...what other areas are good to check out? Thanks

 

[susie_bubble]

I've posted loadsa London boutique shopping tips in the Fave places in London thread:
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f54/favourite-places-london-9026-12.html?highlight=shop+london

 

[msminicooper]

On the clones..yes! Im sick of practically everyone wearing skinny jeans tucked into boots And the boho trend this summer

I have been wearing skinny jeans for years because I hate bootcut but I am not going to stop wearin them just because others have jumped on the bandwagon!
I do hate seeing these girls wearing them when it blatantly is not their style and doesn't suit them....thats annoying

 

[vintage_princess]

^ yeah I agree..I dislike bootcut jeans a lot or very flared ones because they make me look worse rather than flatter my size.

 

[vintage_princess]

The topshop vintage section is a rip off! They overcharge so much...

 

[pucci_mama]

I know! I looked at this vintage cape, that I really liked there, and it was like £90!!



What??

I like Topshop vintage section though, for the reason that have never been much of a vintage shopper myself.

I mean, I don't have it in me going through piles and piles, of stuff that is way to big and smells bad... I have decided to change that though, specially with me not liking Topshop that much at the moment.

I think they charge that much, becuase of people like me, I mean you get vintage stuff, without the smell, and it's quite warm there..

BUT, I don't agree with them charging over a £100 for dresses! It's outrageous!

vintage is supposed to be cheap!

Do any of you shop Topshop vintage?

 

[vintage_princess]

I love vintage shopping for one-off shoes that no one else will be likely to have & I love the fact that most things are cheap!! Theres nothing like getting a unique pair of shoes that are under £20!!

But I agree..vintage shopping can be quite disappointing though when a lot of things are quite umm dirty & havent been cleaned
Most places that sell vintage items bother to dry clean their clothes first before selling them to the public.

Speaking of vintage..I dont like topshop vintage, i think its way too expensive at topshop. Clutches bags were like £40 when I buy them usually for £2.99!! Also, Beyond Retro is another vintage place...way overhyped in my opinion!!

 

[pucci_mama]

I don't mind vintage shopping...in the summer I hang so much around Portobello Market, that is summer for me, and my friend loves vintage shopping so...

I personally never seem to find anything though Im really small in the sizes and also petite, and everything needs to be tailored and that adds up.. but ive decided to do it, i love one-off items!

But, I bought some black ankle boots from topshop today, and i am actually quite excited they never seem to have anything in a size 3. ops..

Maybe topshop is trying to destinguish (sp?) themselfs from the high street with putting up their prices, having a catwalk show, designers at topshop, etc.

Because there is not really a place you can compare topshop to on the high street?

I never buy jeans at topshop though.. i hate their 'moto' range.. with that logo.. I remeber it used to be everywhere!

BUT, with that said their skinnies aren't that bad even though, they are everywhere, and if i couldn't afford anything else....

 

[a984mel]

I know! I looked at this vintage cape, that I really liked there, and it was like £90!!



What??

I like Topshop vintage section though, for the reason that have never been much of a vintage shopper myself.

I mean, I don't have it in me going through piles and piles, of stuff that is way to big and smells bad... I have decided to change that though, specially with me not liking Topshop that much at the moment.

I think they charge that much, becuase of people like me, I mean you get vintage stuff, without the smell, and it's quite warm there..

BUT, I don't agree with them charging over a £100 for dresses! It's outrageous!

vintage is supposed to be cheap!

Do any of you shop Topshop vintage?

I have a couple of bits from topshop vintage but it is WAY overpriced. I got a pair of boots about 3 years ago, before the vintage hype had completely started, they were only £35, but the next time I visited the Oxford Street branch, about a year later their boots were all like £80, absolutely ridiculous!

I also bought an absolutely beautiful fuschia pink strapless cocktail dress, to be honest, it didn't have the price label on it, and if it had I wouldnt have even bothered trying it on, because all of their dresses are like £90-100. But I fell in love with it when I put it on, and just found a random vintage label on the floor for £40, took that to the till and they just used that no prob! YES i screwed the system! serves them right for charging extortionate amounts!

vintage shopping up here is mostly crap to be honest, but I would still rather trail around our limited selection of shops and find maybe one piece that no-one else will have, than go to topshop to find everyone and their mam owns the same top as you next week! The only half decent place here is Attica, but it is mostly evening wear, really reasonably though, I found some vintage Dior shoes in perfect condition for £10!

 

[susie_bubble]

^I think vintage clothes in general, Topshop or otherwise is very overpriced in London. Compared to thrift stores in Mid-West or LA, the prices have been hiked up ever since vintage was advocated as the 'hot' way of dressing.

I still get bargains from Beyond Retro, charity shops and Ebay tho. The stuff in Topshop is from the Peekaboo stall in Portobello road and it's actually cheaper to buy it from the stall than in Topshop....corporate money grabbers.

 

[pucci_mama]

Yes... that is true.. but what can we do about it?

At the moment there is no fair competition to Topshop, so they can pretty much set the price they want and people will still follow, like sheep.

It's sad.

 

[vintage_princess]

Pucci, you are lucky to be a size 3 shoe size imo, because Im between a 4 and a 5 and shoes either are a little too small for me or a little too big! Its so annoying...size 5 are also the first size to be sold out anywhere.

 

[pucci_mama]

vintage_princess, I have so small feet you can't believe it.. I think Im like a 2 and half.

I can never fit into designer shoes..!! I wanted a certain pair so any times, but designer shoes in a 2.5 is still to big! My boyfriends just laugh at me when I try on shoes at Selfridges, etc. It's ike: do you think they are small enough?

How sad is that?!

I find that my shoe size is always sold out on the high street! I blame it on all the japanese, we all know they are savy shoppers with (relatively) small feet.

Do they make designer shoes in smaller sizes in Asia, they must do? I have considered ordering from there several times, but I guess I have to do it pre-season.

Do you know anything about that?

 

[vintage_princess]

Im pretty sure they do designer shoes in small sizes Pucci! They cant exclude you from being able to buy any because you have small feet! maybe next time they can order a pair just for you?
I know that Hong Kong and Japan do really small shoe sizes like size 2. Its quite embarassing to admit this actually, but once ages ago I bought a pair of shoes I thought were size 5 but actually they were size 2!! I couldnt even fit my feet into them. I forgot the sizing was different in Hong Kong because im so used to buying shoes over here that what looked like 5 were actually a 2!

 

[pucci_mama]

Aww.. they must have been tiny..

anyways, we are spamming this thread: back to the subject of topshop, which we all love!

Have you bought some shoes from there this year? I do think the design team at topshop is good at picking up trends, but when something first becomes popular they over-produe it..

Like stripey sweaters.. the look was cool on Edie, but if people wear it now, they look like a fashion victim, in most cases.

(the latest candids of Sienna need I say more?)

 

[vintage_princess]

We have hijacked this thread but at least we are discussing TOPSHOP

The only shoes I have from topshop this year are the red patent flats. My sister bought them for me as a birthday present because I love red shoes especially glossy ones.
I have only worn them once because they are not that comfortable for the back of my heel and Im trying not to wear them everyday because I dont want people to recognise that they're from topshop.

Im glad I didnt get that stripey jumper dress anymore, I made the right choice..for once! I was shopping the other day and saw loads of women wearing similar stripey jumpers and in topshop my bf pointed out that 3 women all had the stripey tops on and worst of all, they were standing next to each other. *cringe*

 

[pucci_mama]

Ewww.. I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth.

I love ballets flats with skinnies but it feels slightly 'dated' at the moment, but I can't wear heels around london on a normal day.. and im sick of the boots with jeans look.

I remeber I was looking for patent ballets flats every where!!!
during pre-summer and all the way through summer!

I could not find any, apart from some Chanel one's they were cute but £300 for a pair of flats... I could not justify it.

anyways, congrats, that is really sweet of your sister

I saw them on the website they are really pretty, I would have some in black, but you know when you want something for almost 4 months, because your feeling that you 'have' to have it, when it comes after that period you don't want it anymore.

Right now I want some white ankle boots, I feel that would be hot for summer.

What did you think of the Topshop runway how (on the Vogue site) I was actually impressed, I can't wait to get my hands on a few things from there! Like the high waisted shorts! High waist is so cool!

 

[vintage_princess]

I was wondering when the topshop catwalk stuff is going to come out. Next year? Also if it will be available online..I cant be asked to go down topshop oxford circus (where all the good stuff will be!) I dont want to be caught in a stampede like with the whole Stella @ H&M thing

I like some of the grey drapey jersey stuff..but I have a H&M top very smilair shape and style for £15. Tosphop will no doubt charge a lot more! The shorts are nice, and I actually think the green jumpsuit thing is cute.

If you're still looking for patent ballet flats, they sell some in Kurt Geiger.

 

[pucci_mama]

There are def. some cute stuff there, i like the colours, theyve used, id love that for summer, with white ankle boots, if you see some white ankle boots, anywhere in London give me a shout!

You got that top with a ribbon on, from H&M? which it almost lika a puffball top?..don't know if that sounds right.. If that's the one I got that, but unfortuanly the fabric has stretched so it's kinda big.. but it's a cool top!

yeah, I tried on the Kurt Geiger one's too big..

Do you think they will get the catwalk stuff out all at the same time? And make it a big fuss?

To be honest. What I thought they would do, is just get some clothes out week after week, as the summer is approching. After all it is topshop unique, and most topshopper's don't seem that interested in it, when I go shopping at Oxford there are never that many people there.

But if theyre going to make a big campaign about it, and it's going to be like the Stella thing, I a ready to fight for some pieces, this is much better than the stella stuff!