Bea Frugal
Registered Shopper
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2010
- Messages
- 1,623
Yesterday I had to go to Warrington, opposite side of the country from me so not round the corner. So, I absolutely had to include a visit to the outlet store. I was fairly bursting with curiosity to get my mitts on some of the merchandise and check out some of the brands. Unfortunately, I only had about 15 minutes which was hugely frustrating because I could have poked around for ages. I did a quick whizz round and concentrated on shoes and clothes just to get an idea of what the quality is really like.
First impressions were that the place was better than I expected. Items mostly tidily arranged and well grouped. Some had item numbers and qvc price attached. Lots of household stuff and bedding which I bypassed. The bedding was sealed so I'm none the wiser about quality. Also some shelves of things like knicknacks that they sell around Christmas.
There was a lot of costume jewellery and probably some good bargains but the jewellery was in locked cabinets and I didn't have time to get an assistant to help me. There was a lot of Honora, which looked quite nice. Couldn't see much eek though which was a surprise. There were loads of hanbags, some locked up, including a small beige patent Lulu G. for about £135 which was less than half price. It looked a bit squashed though. There was some luggage, including a couple of Lori G. weekend wheelie cases that hold the kitchen sink.
There were racks of dull looking boots but no birkis, another surprise. There was quite a lot of vionic which I've always been curious about so I tried a few pairs on. Happily, I found them very hard and uncomfortable so glad i never risked a purchase.
Then the clothes! Rack upon rack, sorted by small, medium, large, etc. I rummaged a bit, checking out the oh so familiar labels. Marla Wynne was there. Her things were ok if you like the designs. Quite a lot of B&W jewelled tops which were decent quality and around £12. Stacks of Kim which didn't seem worth a second look. Lots of Renee which might have had one or two possibles. In fact, the worst of the lot were the US brands. Quacker was ok quality but Antthony and George Simonton were not. George Macky was not too bad if you like the designs. Plenty of Diane Gilman but no time to try anything on. I'm not even sure you could try on. Biggest surprise was Michelle Hope. Her things look so cheap on screen but the quality is actually quite good. Of course, you still have to choose carefully because some of the colours and prints are dodgy. There was Dreamkeeper at good prices, some thick and heavy Ronni Nichol dresses and some quite nice James Lakeland dresses. There was a coat section with plenty of crumpled Centigrade and some Basso, which was quite disappointing, considering the hype and the prices.
All in all, it was immensely satisfying to handle the goods! There was a lot of static in the clothes section and some things were damaged but on the whole things seemed clean, and no lady stains that I could see thank goodness. I tried on a scarf that smelled strongly of perfume but nothing worse than that. I wouldn't make a special trip to go again but having spent years watching the models strut the qvc offerings it really was fascinating to check it all out. I still won't be buying but to be
fair, it's not all terrible.
First impressions were that the place was better than I expected. Items mostly tidily arranged and well grouped. Some had item numbers and qvc price attached. Lots of household stuff and bedding which I bypassed. The bedding was sealed so I'm none the wiser about quality. Also some shelves of things like knicknacks that they sell around Christmas.
There was a lot of costume jewellery and probably some good bargains but the jewellery was in locked cabinets and I didn't have time to get an assistant to help me. There was a lot of Honora, which looked quite nice. Couldn't see much eek though which was a surprise. There were loads of hanbags, some locked up, including a small beige patent Lulu G. for about £135 which was less than half price. It looked a bit squashed though. There was some luggage, including a couple of Lori G. weekend wheelie cases that hold the kitchen sink.
There were racks of dull looking boots but no birkis, another surprise. There was quite a lot of vionic which I've always been curious about so I tried a few pairs on. Happily, I found them very hard and uncomfortable so glad i never risked a purchase.
Then the clothes! Rack upon rack, sorted by small, medium, large, etc. I rummaged a bit, checking out the oh so familiar labels. Marla Wynne was there. Her things were ok if you like the designs. Quite a lot of B&W jewelled tops which were decent quality and around £12. Stacks of Kim which didn't seem worth a second look. Lots of Renee which might have had one or two possibles. In fact, the worst of the lot were the US brands. Quacker was ok quality but Antthony and George Simonton were not. George Macky was not too bad if you like the designs. Plenty of Diane Gilman but no time to try anything on. I'm not even sure you could try on. Biggest surprise was Michelle Hope. Her things look so cheap on screen but the quality is actually quite good. Of course, you still have to choose carefully because some of the colours and prints are dodgy. There was Dreamkeeper at good prices, some thick and heavy Ronni Nichol dresses and some quite nice James Lakeland dresses. There was a coat section with plenty of crumpled Centigrade and some Basso, which was quite disappointing, considering the hype and the prices.
All in all, it was immensely satisfying to handle the goods! There was a lot of static in the clothes section and some things were damaged but on the whole things seemed clean, and no lady stains that I could see thank goodness. I tried on a scarf that smelled strongly of perfume but nothing worse than that. I wouldn't make a special trip to go again but having spent years watching the models strut the qvc offerings it really was fascinating to check it all out. I still won't be buying but to be
fair, it's not all terrible.
