Harvey Nichols

The highest of Bristol’s high end fashion retailers, Harvey Nicks is actually not as impressive as I first thought it would be when it arrived in Quakers Friars a year ago. I was expecting a large, dominating building with snobbish shop assistant but the Bristol branch of this fashion empire is actually quite small, and dare I say it, friendly.
It’s worth pointing out that you will get treated a heck of a lot better if you dress nicely and run a brush through your hair when you come here — it does make a difference, especially to the staff (perhaps it makes you look richer, I don’t know).
Most of the clothes in here are well out my price range but I do like browsing the accessories and perfume/​beauty counters. There is also a pleasant café on the second floor, which is a great place to treat a friend or mother when out shopping — the afternoon tea is a sweet idea but starts at £15 per head.
There are few visible price tags on the clothes here but if you have to look then it’s probably going to be too expensive. Still great for a browse though, and even better on pay day.

Despite being brought up to be confident enough to feel I can fit in anywhere, I still feel a pang of self doubt whenever I enter a high-​end store. I’m all to paranoid that the shop assistants nonchalant stares are really saying «you’re not welcome here… don’t touch the things, you’re making them dirty». All this self consciousness lifted when I walked into Harvey Nichols.
As the doorman pulls back the door and welcomes you with a warm smile, you can’t help but feel at ease even though you know in your heart of hearts (if you’re anything like me) that you can’t afford the bags their lovely products come in. All the staff are wonderfully cheerful and laid back; no pushiness to force you to make a purchase — but again, maybe because they know in THEIR heart of hearts you won’t be making a purchase.
To call it a department store is probably unfair to properly sized ones, with this Harvey Nicks feeling like a taster of what you’d get in one of their larger outlets. But there’s still enough for you fashionistas to gawp at and long for including Moschino, Chloé and Vivienne Westwood.
Not a realistic shopping venture, but a great place to play «when I win the lottery I will buy…»

I was really excited about this store coming to Bristol and now I have mixed feelings. What it has done is bring a whole new set of shoppers into the city, and their money of course, which can only be good for Bristol. It also holds up Cabot Circus with its central spot on the main stretch.
However with its bouncers outside it really intimidated me and it took me weeks to go inside after it opened! It has the sparse layout of you-can’t-afford-this and even some areas have the we-don’t-even-have-price-tags level of you-can’t-afford-this. Needless to say with my budget that I haven’t been back…