I hate shopping. I really do. I can't understand why people enjoy doing it, and as such as I never go. Well almost never! With Uni approaching fast I decided that it was vital to stock up on clothes, and at least make the effort to have some semi-new gear to wear when I got there. I'm also the type of person who thinks that you may as well buy a shirt for £20 as opposed to £50, and save the other £30 for beer, or something equally as important. Of course, I could have easily walked in to the local 'cheap' clothing store, and bought as many poor quality shirts as I wanted for as little money as possible, but then why would you want cheap clothes when you can get good quality clothes for the same price?
You see, TK Maxx is one of those shops that claims to discount brand names and designer labels. And as they say, it does what it says on the tin, but only if you don't getting last years stuff. They generally sell last years designs, by all the top names, at about half of what you would've paid last for them. Sounds good? Well I dunnow about you, but I reckon it's a pretty good trade off, as firstly I don't have a clue when I see peoples clothes which year they were made, or even care, and secondly I don't throw my clothes out after a year just because they aren't the latest design anymore. If the stuff was circa 1990 then I may be a bit more wary, but looking through the stuff in TK Maxx I can't see the difference between what they sell and what you'd buy anywhere else.
Can't see the difference in the clothes, I should say, because there is a rather large difference in the layout of the store. In the one I went to anyway (Team Valley, Gateshead) it was more like a warehouse than a shop. Infact looking skywards you could've called the place an unused aircraft hanger. It was definitely more a warehouse feelings than the plushness of M&S (even if they are going bust!). But I can live with Warehouse to get the stuff cheap, and the way its arranged makes it easy to find what you want. Down the left hand side of the shop they had mens wear, and down the other side the ladies. Just a long line of racks of clothes, with a little sign denoting what each row contained. Mens T-Shirts, Mens Cassual Shirts, Mens Formal Wear ...... you get the idea! Each one was then split up in order of size, so it was easy to find what you wanted. By some lucky virtue I seem to fit perfectly in to anything with large written on it (I'm well over 6ft you know!!) so finding stuff to fit isn't a problem.
Infact, in some strange way I find shopping in here easier. There's no 'nice' assistants who continually ask if they can help, and items are all located together so everything is easy to find. You just start at one end of your size section and work along, seeing if there's anything you like en-route. The stuff's all pretty impressive too, ranging from the likes of Addidas and Nike through to some pretty plush designer brands (not that I remember the names). I struggled to find a shirt that cost more than £20, and how about a pair of Calvin Klein jeans for £11!! It's a bit down to luck whether you find something, there's no guaranteed stock, so don't go looking for one special pair of jeans. Savings on last years price range from about 25% to 50%, or even more in the clearance section. I got a Pierre Cardin shirt for £11, which I thought was a good deal. They even had a few pairs of Levi jeans going cheap too!
They stock pretty much the whole range of mens wear, and I would assume the same is true of the womens section, although not being of the cross-dressing community I don't know for sure! They have shoes and trainers too, although finding what you want in your size is about as likely as winning the national lottery! There's also a section of household items, ornaments and cutlery which also seem pretty well priced, and lastly a book section, which isn't up to much at all.
If you want cheap clothes then you could go and buy some cheap crap clothes, or you could come here and get some cheap good (but last years) clothes. The shop may be a bit basic, and finding what you want a challenge, but I still know which one I'd choose. You can't fault 'em!
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