H&M

H&M is to the British what Tim Tams are to the Aussies in that everyone loves em. H&M has landed to Australia and Macquarie Centre places host.
The store isn’t as big as the Melbourne one though but still offers two levels. One level is the ladies clothing and the second level is split between kids and men’s. They aren’t offering homewares like the Melbourne store does.
They have some good options for men and the quality is better then what you are going to get for a similar price in the likes of Cotton On. I stocked up on some much needed items to get me through the winter months.
Overall the store is a miniature version of what H&M offers and they are due to have a CBD store at the end of 2015 which will be a similar size to the Melbourne GPO store.

I have to eat my words.
I shopped the end-​of-​season sale here and walked away with 4 tops and 4 dresses and some AWESOME jewellery for $ 165.
And no crappy stuff here. Its really nice. The material is not cheap and shitty or basic whatsoever. No one would guess in a million years how little I actually paid for my fabulous outfits… which is my shopping goal in life, generally, lol.
They had a much better range in-​store in general than when I last visited in October-​November. And really great prices. I find the clothes fit really well too. Total winner. Absolutely worth a trip up here at least twice a year. The clerk told me the one in the city is opening at the end of this year and will be 3 floors in the Glasshouse complex! Woo hoo!!!

They simply have a MASSIVE range of clothes for all ages and both sexes.
Spread over 2 levels to say I was surprised by the pricing is an understatement. I’ve become used to the reality that overseas brands come to our shores and jack up the prices dramatically. But, like my wife likes pride herself with I WAS WRONG.
There were some great kids clothes from $ 7 and if i’d remembered the credit card I could have increased my personal debt to ridiculous levels… and had PLENTY to show for it
Well worth the 45 minute trip, more worth it if I had brought the card to get the clothes. Note to self for next time. Plenty of styles and ranges to shop.
The reason I didn’t give them a 5^th Star? Staff appeared to be rarer to find than a $ 5 bill in the gutter out the front of my house…

This is a budget clothing store that stocks Mostly womens clothes (bottom level). It also has sections for men and children (top floor) and sadly does not have their great homewares section (I would give it more stars if it did) .
In the ladies section, there is sportswear, casual wear and some office attire. There are also lots of accessories and it did stock cossies when I was there in summer.
You get what you pay for here so please don’t expect Dior. There is the occasional good quality garment but these are the exception not the rule. There is a lot of current fashion wear for a small pricetag. The stock seems to turn over quite quickly so you need to buy it when you see it. I did see a sign in the shop saying they have a 30 day money back period, double check on that to be sure I haven’t misunderstood. When I went in last week I was looking for a winter coat, but they all seemed to be made of some horrible material that felt scratchy to wear.
best finds in the store
nude/​pink coloured jeans for winter $ 30. fine/​thin knit back jumper $ 30. change purse $ 8
I used to think Forever 21 was better than this store, but have now changed my mind

It was my first visit over the holiday season, but I’m looking to go back already…
It was super packed when I went. I didn’t have time to really go around, but I picked up some affordable basics (black and white tees for under $ 8 each). Didn’t have time to fit them because of the crazy lines but thankfully they fit well. Looking to stock up on more basic items here!
There’s an H&M website but they don’t have online shopping, you can peruse it to find the stuff you like before going to the store.

So here’s the thing: I’m a big ol’ H&M fan. A big one. Whenever I go overseas I hoard and pillage, I drop plastic like it’s poison and rack up debt like the housing bubble never happened.
Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by the giant flagship San Fransisco store which has the world’s biggest mens section (men: the forgotten sex, who get about ¹⁄₁₀^th the fashion women normally do), and there’s some pretty schweet new athletic range, but what I really wanted was the experimental range, the avant-​garde stuff with long asymmetrical T’s, zips in weird places, stretched necks, all that kind of thing. And the nicer suit-​y garb, the wool jackets and cream suits and such. But most of it is like a glorified Cotton On, sadly. And where’s the big homewares section that Melbourne gets?! It’s super cheap though, which is great.
I’m holding out for the CBD store. That has to have all the cool stuff, surely.

Oh H&M, what’s happened over the years? You’ve really let yourself go…
I fell in love with H&M 6 years ago when studying in Canada — cheap, great designs and oh so much choice. I couldn’t walk past a store without going in, and I’d never leave without a bagful or four. But on my last few trips overseas, venturing into H&M I found that the quality of the clothes were starting to reflect their price and would be lucky to walk out with even a handful of purchases. With the arrival of H&M right near home though, I felt the pull of old love and couldn’t help but to battle the crowds to check it out.
The new Macquarie store is spread over two levels with ladies on level 2 and mens and kids on level 3. It was absolute madness this opening weekend and the racks of clothes didn’t help at all — jam packed together leaving aisles that were only one person wide, making it difficult to either browse or move. Interestingly, it was much more spacious in the men’s and kids’ sections, and even the quality of the clothes seemed better.
I still managed to find a few gems in the rough, yes all at bargain prices but I’m not sure I’d bother to make it a regular shopping haunt, particularly if the crowds keep up. Unless I turn into Benjamin Button or have some sort of immaculate conception — there was the cutest toddlers strawberry onesie there…