Brenda Muir

I have been shopping at this boutique for many years and absolutely love it. The staff are extremely helpful, actually serving you while you are in the changing room, instead of the usual offhand service, is any, offered by high street stores. The quality of the clothing is great and I have many pieces five years old which are still being worn and I feel great in them. Their jewellery is admired whenever I wear out.

What an appalling excuse for a business.
My mum and I wandered in here last week, after seeing dresses in the window we liked. Walking in, we said hello to the assistant standing there, only to be greeted with a tight semi-​smile. Mum asked her how much the dress she liked was, only for the assistant’s semi-​smile to turn into a sneer, and she made no secret of looking down her nose at my mum’s Marks and Spencer coat. ‘Oh, that. It’s ONLY £160′. OK, perhaps in ‘high end’ shops you’re not supposed to ask how much things are, but why the hell shouldn’t you?
We looked around and were met with over-​priced garments that were truly nothing special. Our eyes were drawn to the lovely jewellery, however, laid out for you to touch and pick up (which we didn’t actually do). The assistant watched us like a hawk to the point where I felt really horrible and uncomfortable. Kafkaesque guilt! You couldn’t meet a more genuine, lovely person than my mum and, if I do say so myself, I’m not a bad stick either. To be observed like that and treated with great suspicion disappointed me greatly. When you work in a public-​facing role such as retail, you manage to observe people you may think are on the take in a surreptitious manner. If they don’t steal, no harm done. If they don’t steal and work out that you’re ready to pounce on them, you’ve lost a sale, and probably several other sales from people not wanting to give you further custom. I learned that from working weekends in Greggs in my student days, for the love of God! It’s not the most difficult skill to pick up (being polite to rude people you want to poke in the eye with sharp objects is by far the hardest skill to master!!).
As we left the shop, the woman turned her head away from us in a gesture so childish that you almost expected her to blow a raspberry and have a tantrum like a tired and petulant child would, just as we were about to say goodbye. Mum said to me when we exited that she was going to buy the dress and a necklace, but the assistant’s attitude put her off giving them a sale.
I work nearby and have often peeped in when I pass the shop — no wonder it’s never busy. To treat potential customers in such a manner is a disgrace. We don’t live in the precious west end of Glasgow, but we certainly don’t look out of place there. There are extremely messed up people in the west end, just as much as the rest of Glasgow, it’s just that affluence and looks often forgive them, unlike other lost souls in, say, Possilpark. Don’t sneer and judge people, you only come across as a thundering knobhead when you do, especially in such a blatant manner.
As I said before, the clothes are over-​priced for what they are; city centre clobber at west end prices. You could spit through some of the garments I picked up and I didn’t notice many pieces all that different from what you could buy elsewhere. The jewellery was nice and quite unique, but I’d rather make the effort to hunt online for quirky bits (I’m looking at you, Etsy!) than give this boutique my money. Mostly underwhelming clothes coupled with a snotty shop assistant does not make for a good shopping experience.
Anyway, I went home, changed into my Vivienne Westwood shoes and ordered some Stella McCartney trousers that night. So, to use common Weegie patter, get it right up ye, ya snobby bint!

Brenda Muir is yet another classy high end women’s clothing store on Hyndland Road. Conveniently placed just a few doors up from Solo, Jasmine, Rage and Daniel Shoes — why not make a trip out of it?!
Brenda Muir is quite a compact shop — but you’ll still find a great selection of outfits. Like many of the other clothing shops along Hyndland Road, it is aimed at women of 30/​40+, but that doesn’t stop me from heading in and having a browse through some really chic tailored clothing.
As well as the clothing, at Brenda Muir you’ll also find a dazzling selection of costume jewellery and pashmina scarves of almost every colour.
This is a great shop to visit if you’re looking for some sophisticated workwear.