Anthropologie - the shop

US chain Anthropologie opens this weekend on Regents street in London, its first outing in Europe after successfully expending in North America from its original Pennsylvania home. I am curious to know how the British public will react and I suspect the store will need to adapt to this market. My experience of visiting the shop in the US, in one of those out of town spreads of upscale big box shops, was one of slight puzzlement. I found that its mix of ethnic chic and cheap trinkets, colourful and eccentric pieces was successful for its home collection but more hit and miss for fashion.

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp

I liked the Fifties inspired aprons (reasonable at £23.83) and tea towels (£11.29),  embroidered with applique motifs to brighten up your kitchen with a wink at the modern domestic goddess. They conjure up visions of cupcakes, decorated jellies and happy friends and children.

Anthropologie is also very good for stationary and cute toys.

I am less convinced by Anthropologie's clothing selection. It goes for a quirky style of colourful, often over decorated clothes which can look cute and fun on a 20 year old but could go awfully wrong on a 40+.  Cute eccentric can easily slip into wacky art teacher. I found fabrics and quality rather lacklustre in general for clothes, which is another danger for 40+, as it can look cheap and tawdry. Prices are quite reasonable though, so if something hits your fancy, go for it but don't over do it.

Lolland sweater dress, £117.90

Where it might be worth giving it a try is in its denim collection. They feature a "denim decoder" which looks worthwhile. With a variety of brand,  fits, washes and lengths including a "petite" selection, we are bound to find a model that fits and looks good.

Daughters of the liberation, £61.46

Anthropologie has quite a wide selection of shoes and boots and there again I would be careful about quality. I  like the patent heeled peep-toe lace up, not cheap at £205.70.

All in all, I found the US store I visited great for home accessories and gifts but remained unconvinced by its fashion selection. However, I'd happily go look at their denims and rummage through the railings in case a cute, fun piece captures my imagination.