All Saints

From the outside this shop is slightly unforgiving. The mood is certainly dark and gothic, with a wall of old fashioned sewing machines right inside the window that stretched from floor to ceiling. You can’t even see any of the clothes through the window, and have to go inside to see what they actually sell.
Above the door is a skull and antlers in a strange pagan kind of welcome.
Once inside, it’s all a little bit confusing, because this shop really isn’t anything like anything else on the high street. Think Topshop meets Blue Banana and you might almost be there. The outside theme of the brooding continues in the clothes, and you imagine that their target audience are people who write late-​night poetry and really like Twilight.
An extremely interesting shop from the outside, but sadly the products inside do not quite live up to the hype.

I was drawn in by the dark moody feel that this store has from the outside and the funky window displays that Sarah mentions. I’m not a fashion buff so I hadn’t previously heard of All Saints (other than the band!) and had no idea what to expect.
I liked the clothes very much. I’d say that the clothes are almost gothic, grungy with aspects of romance. I wanted to try on something I saw on display and when I asked about it I felt the assistant was a bit dismissive and I kind of felt that she didn’t want to know. A lot of these places tend to employ people because they look the part instead of do the job well, but I dunno because I have only been in there the once.

Good things come in small packages, or so they say. This old adage certainly rings true when considering the new All Saints store in Cardiff. If you have read any of my other reviews you will probably notice that I have often criticized many of Cardiff’s new luxury high street stores, due to their lack of store size, and clothing collection.
All Saints is lucky however, and can get away with its small size in Cardiff, which is due to the fact that it is a store that generally doesn’t follow the trends, and has a strong brand identification. With All Saints you should expect high quality, fashionable clothing with an urban edge. Think leather jackets, cardigans, edgy T-​shirts etc… Also don’t expect much colour in the clothes, as All Saints tends to stick to blacks, greys, whites and browns. As the clothes are very much of the same thing, the small store size is not a bother, and you’re bound to find something to satisfy.
I’ve found all the staff in the Cardiff store very friendly, whilst still retaining a cool edge, which is most in tune with the store. I should also warn you that the clothes are on the pricy side the tops are around £60 and the dresses usually over £100.
What I particularly like about this store, is its stunning window display, which consists of numerous vintage sewing machines, stacked on top of one another, and taking up the entire window. I’m clearly not the only one who is quite taken by this. Every time I pass this store I always see people admiring this display, one old couple in particular spent a good five minutes examining each of the sewing machines in their sight.
I think this is lovely, as even if the clothes aren’t your thing, or you can’t afford them, enjoyment and appreciation can still be found in this new Cardiff store.