I haven’t been doing much shopping lately (with my time and money spent elsewhere), but the summer months have started in the northern hemisphere and with that springs many new collections around the shops. For my first observational report, I thought of making a head to head comparison of these two British high street brands who have also made a home in KL. Debenhams have come, gone and then come back some more, but this time in a new location in Lot 10. There are Marks & Spencers (M&S) in KL, but the one I visited recently was the one in the Gardens, Mid Valley.
Price?
One thing that really impressed me about Debenhams was how affordable many items are. Being used seeing premium pricetags at the Malaysian Marks & Spencers, I was expecting the same for Debenhams. But Debenhams comes out tops when it comes to reasonable pricing, which is a welcome sign in view of the tumbling Euro and Pounds at the moment. Formal shirts hovering around the RM90 mark, khaki shorts for around RM70? Right, even cheaper than some local brands, which makes you wonder…
Design?
I feel that the clothes in Debenhams are alright designwise but not spectacular. Selection isn’t exactly what I would call extensive, but they’ve got all bases covered- casual, accessories, formalwear. Their selection of shirts and ties were ok, but could not beat M&S’ Autograph section. As I was rushing for time, I may not be able to give a fair comment though.
The word ‘design’ is definitely not the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to either of these high street heavyweights. However, I am surprised by how wearable some items in M&S can be. Even though they have an image of being a wholesome family brand (read: not trendy) and sell men’s clothing that tends to withstand the trends, they do have many ‘of the moment’ items that can be considered seriously by the younger guys. Such items include a floral cotton shirt, linen shirts, polo tees, straw hats and swimmer’s shorts. A good range of socks too, but not as great as Debenhams, but more on that later. I am not sure why, but I am waiting impatiently for M&S to go on sale. Perhaps I am getting older..
Highlights?
For Debenhams, socks! I am of the school of thought that supports quirky details rather than blatant flash when it come’s to men’s dressing. And so I was very impressed with the decadent selection of socks here, wearable and grown-up yet daring all at once. Lots of patterns, stripes, bold colours. And they’ve got 5-packs going for RM60-ish-70.
In M&S, I liked the swimmer’s shorts available in bright blue or orange. Swimmer’s shorts are the way to go this year, shorter than the surfer’s boardshorts but definitely not tight like the speedo. They’ve also got a henley (grandfather tee) with orange detailing at its placket. Subtle and has less likelihood of bumping into someone wearing the same shirt (unlike buying from TopMan).
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