Banana Republic

This isn’t the San Francisco flag ship and they’re not charging by the USD. Besides that it ain’t too bad. Just don’t look too close at the quality and you will be fine.
Service is always first class.

I have to agree with Erica U. that the cloth are great for work. Nice materials and unassuming cuts for everyday office wear… if you’re not asked to crawl under desks to check on the cable management… like me.
The shop is rather large, with three floors and looks neat and tidy. I find that I only buy when they have promotions on and I especially find myself tempted when they give out free bubbly. it doesn’t happen all too often, but I normally walk out with a dress or a top on that occasion. «Get them drunk and they will buy!» seems to be the strategy.

Cute new line of purses and accessories, the clothes are great for work.

I always find Banana Republic promises so much and delivers so little. Two reasons:
— The sizes are excitingly wrong, so I am always smaller here than in UK-​based brands. Hurrah for being a size smaller, boo to sizes which mean they fit on the waist but not the thighs or the bust. I can generally find things to fit elsewhere, but here they are often just not quite right.
— The prices are too high. Having been to BR in the States, they seem higher than there — and the sales aren’t as good.
The store itself is nice and spacious, the staff friendly and helpful. I do like that they’ve adopted the classy US-​style changing rooms — vast halls with plenty of hanger space, locks that work, people to fetch sizes. Not tiny grubby cubbies a la Topshop.
I went recently to see the Mad Men range and it was a huge disappointment. Not very Mad Men-​y? And I still had sizing issues.
In short, some nice styles if they fit, but it’s debatable whether they are worth their pricetag. I do have a couple of items from BR in the States that I adore — tellingly, I bought them all in sales!

For the most part I am very happy that Banana Republic decided to come over to the UK as I have bought their clothes for many years on my trips back and forth from the US on business.
Their Dollar to Pound conversion has been quite fair, unlike Abercrombie & Fitch down the road, where an $ 80 pair of jeans seems to translate to £80 by the time they’ve crossed the Atlantic.
As more branches have appeared, the better the distribution of product. Once upon a time when it was just Regent Street, when something ran out of your size, that was it. No more.
Add in their (excellent) mail order service and the cash back deals that QuidCo put on and those size and availability issues become less pressing. My only criticism is the UK/​European range of clothes is still a just a selection of what you can get in the US in my opinion.
Although they continue to impress with special shopping events, and as I now own three suits that I got in the UK, to call them a posh GAP is doing them a disservice. But now that J. Crew (another US favourite of mine) is shipping to the UK and potentially setting up shop, I think Banana Republic will have to up their game moving forward.

Gap’s (pricier) big sister has officially hit London, swish Regent Street to be exact, and what I believe to be Europe’s first Banana Republic is a corker. The building is extraordinary and Banana Republic itself nothing short of grand.
Laid out over three floors and selling the kind of quality basics to be found in Gap but made out of slightly more luxurious fabrics — ergo, at significantly higher prices — Banana Republic is the place to go if you’re in the market for a classic trench coat, a simple shift dress or a blouse for work.
Some of the designs do jar a bit, being not as fashion forward as British high street shoppers have been led to expect, but Banana Republic is worth a visit nonetheless. Oh and there’s even a very welcome petite section for the vertically challenged amongst us. What more could you want?