Shopping at Topshop
I was in NYC from April 2-8 and got a chance to visit Topshop on one of the rare days when there wasn’t a queue outside the store. It was about 1PM on April 6, Monday, and it was raining all day. I had attempted to visit the store on April 3 (got lost) and April 4 (lines, forget it) so the third time was the charm for me, I guess. No line to get in the store? Yay!
My first stop was at the Shoe Lounge on the third floor. I love Topshop’s shoes but sadly for me, their smallest size is a size 6 and my feet fit into 5 or 5.5 shoes. Thankfully, I found gray/mauve peep toe mary jane platforms with ruffles on the vamp that I could walk in comfortably when the straps are strapped on tight (I wore them all day yesterday). It took forever to get shoes from the stockroom though. Jackie, the SA who was helping me apologized after a 20 minute wait and explained that the stockroom clerk didn’t know what he was doing and back up staff were soon on their way to help him.
Tsk! I could have bought the black version of the mary janes. But luckily for my wallet, I trooped to the 2nd floor were Kate Moss’ and other designer collections were displayed. Pretty things but nothing that swayed me to open my wallet. There was also a section of 1980s inspired neon spandex outfits that I ran away from.
So onto the first floor where most of the accessories are located. Hmm. The accessories weren’t that impressive. I could do better at Forever 21 or Target. I did pick up a red/orange scarf with round grape like clusters at each end. It reminded me of the “stuffed berries” in this Astrid jacket. Don’t laugh.
I started looking for things that I could wear with my mauve platforms. First thing I saw were mauve/brown harem pants. Yikes! They were cut pretty well though so I picked one up from the rack. Then I saw ruffled sleeved tees and bought one in white and another in navy. There were lines to the fitting rooms so I took a chance and bought these few items without trying them on.
Conclusion: Topshop prices are a tad higher than other high street/fast fashion stores. There’s quite a mark up from the UK prices, as you’ve likely heard. Platform shoes that are priced at £65.00 are $135, when the exchange rate is just under $100. The clothing is most definitely better made than Forever 21 and fits on the petite side compared to H&M. I wouldn’t mind if Topshop opened in L.A. though they should rethink their U.S. prices in this price sensitive period and offer smaller shoe sizes.
Shoe Lounge:
What I got: (sorry, no photo of the harem pants)
