Zara

I hate shopping for clothes because I try to be a perfectionist when it comes to the right fit. Large stores like Zara provide a headache for me, since it’s another high street store which is big on the latest fashion.
As soon as I approach the first floor (being the men’s section), I’m spoilt for choice whether I’m looking for casual or formal wear. Zara doesn’t fail to disappoint in terms of variety which is probably why it is so popular with locals and tourists. The store always has customers, even at quiet times which is an encouraging sign.
As prices are concerned, they do vary from moderate to high, so it does take some patience to look for quality and value. When you do hit the target though, you’ll be certain to add more favourites to your wardrobe (with nothing too flashy or branded that it’s going to make you skint).

I always have the feeling that I will find something new and dapper in Zara only to invariably be let down once I have walked around the shelves. In its defence this is often only the case if you are looking for casual wear, as I don’t think that this is Zara’s strong point.
However if you are looking for smart and affordable suits, shirts and accessories then Zara’s not a bad place to find an outfit for a special occassion — well maybe one that you want to look good at but really don’t want to fork out for… like a distant relatives wedding.
There lines are quite limited so there’s less chance of coming across somebody wearing an identical outfit but once you venture in to the casual items it tends to get a bit ‘Next’, slightly middle aged but trying really hard to be cool.

Zara are pretty consistant about presenting tastful casualwear, I have friends who are addicted to their effortless form of styling. It is fairly guaranteed that at least a few items in the shop will provide a subtle outfit without the in your face-​ness of big named brands stamped accross the centre with logos and promotion gimmicks.
Prices are also fairly reasonable with t-​shirts around £15, shirts £20−30 and suit combinations for around £140. Zara also subtly updates its product lines meaning that you’re not going to be stuck in ‘yesterdays’ fashion, so as long as the quality of the item is up to standards then you’re pretty guaranteed some decent wardrobe additions.

I have a love hate relationship with Zara.
I love their designs, their quality tailoring, their choice of fabrics and and their eclectic selection of smart, casual and stylish clothes. I hate the fact they only go upto a size 14 in the UK and consider this a Large to X-​Large. I know its fashionable to be a size zero these days but c’mon, guys. Not everyone wants to starve themselves or work out four hours a day just to fit into a pair of skinny jeans or certain tank top!
For those women who are naturally skinny or have a long-​term eating disorder, Zara have a great selection of womenswear this season. The floral playsuits and pastel blouses are both tip-​top but it’s the striped blazers that I fell in love with. I have a handful of friends that I know would love them equally but unfortunately, they’d need liposuction to fit into them.

Considering Zara’s pedigree as one of the foremost high street brands of Europe you might expect the range available here to be a little more stylish. Much of what is available here though seems to be the sort of stuff you might imagine a Spanish gap year hitchhiker to wear; metallic trainers, brightly coloured t-​shirts with meaningless slogans and padded gilets (and this apparently is true for both the women’s and the men’s sections).
There are classic styles to be found — tailored jackets and trousers, basic shirts and blouses and a decent enough selection of leather shoes, boots, belts and bags — but these need to be hunted out. Once you find these items though you have the makings of a great work wardrobe.
This branch, with women’s wear on the ground floor and men’s and kid’s on the first, is itself spacious and done in nice dark wood but there is a tendency for clothing to be strung on racks with little attention and thrown out on tables in piles (particularly if there happens to be a sale on). The staff are generally a pretty friendly bunch even if at the weekends they’re pretty keen to process you through the till quickly.
On a final positive note — there are some brilliant fedoras available here. Unfortunately I am cursed with a head like a beachball but I feel some people need to benefit. Wear one for me.

Zara is one of the biggest clothing stores in Europe and probably one of the most popular to. It is a modern and airy shop which is white and silver in decoration.
The clothes here are beautiful and well designed. I would say the clothing is usually on the small size so i would go for a size bigger for more comfort. They stock women’s, men’s, children’s and home products.
The staff are lovely here and are very professional, they are always well dressed and it is obviously company policy that the staff look tidy and clean all the time, The only think i do not like about Zara is that they use those terrible brown paper bags to put there clothing in and the rain they get ruined and the clothes get wet so you have to protect them.