River Island

I love, love, love River Island at the moment… they are always bang on trend with the latest cutting edge looks… They have slashed their prices in recent times, making it ridiculously affordable compared to the prices they used to charge for a high street store…
Now when any of my friends, colleagues, random punters admire what I’m wearing, I just reply ‘Guess?!’ and they know River Island… Of course there is always the fear of walking into your local and three other girls wearing same thing… But I love the staff in this River Island in particular, they approach you straight away to help, and give suggestions how to mix and match different items to make it that bit funkier. They have a great selection of jewellery, shoes and accessories too! I’m super excited about the boots I got there last Friday, they’ll have to be surgically removed!

If bling is your thing, River Island is probably your favourite shop.
River Island is full of all that glitters — sequins, shiny lycra, neon pinks, glittery jeans — you don’t wear these clothes to slink into the shadows.
Accessories are equally brash — think lots of chunky gold and diamanté.
They have a very small section of casual wear where you might find some plainer items, like those oversized checkered shirts that are fashionable these days, and a few nice wintery coats. They also have a decent selection of casual footwear (alongside massive shiny party heels).

River Island is a VERY trendy store that caters mostly to the young and fabulous. Most of the clothes are fun, flirty and youthful. You won’t see many power suits in here. In fact, you won’t find that much in the way of clothes you could wear to work. Don’t get me wrong, they have some nice blouses and trousers, but the overall collection is aimed at a college-​age girl who’s not quite ready for all that. And that’s fair enough!
I’m not saying that all the apparel is the opposite of work-​wear; it’s not all just party clothes. There are also a slew of everyday wear, from denim to t-​shirts to some really nice sweaters. It’s a bit expensive, but I do get the impression the clothes will hold up, though I could be wrong.
They also have some nice accessories, particularly some really cool purses but they’re on the more expensive side for being fake leather. They have quite a few different real leather jackets too. In a city that, as far as I can tell is overrun by plastic fake leather outerwear, it’s a relief to see the real thing in a store aimed at young people.

It’s strange that the River Island in Ilac Centre should have such awful clothes because I see nice things from the brand advertised in the glossy magazines. Perhaps, it is just this particular shop that stocks bad fashion.
Of course there are some items that are okay. They do sell basic vests and black trousers. But for the most part, I disliked what I saw here. Here’s an example of what they were selling: a black hairy jacket that looked like they skined a gorilla. They also had these leggings that had baggy fold sewn in. Eek!
I didn’t have the courage to check out the men’s floor.