Hollister

Another terrible American store, overpriced and terrible quality.
What I don’t understand is after you’ve been greeted by the half naked male models with their fake American accents, you then have the vibe that you’ve entered a dark cave (for anyone who doesn’t eat their carrots, I wouldn’t advise going in there) because you’re practically blind while in there, your sense of smell is heightened and you end up having a awful smell wafting up your nostrils!
They also don’t have any prices on there clothes so you’re left up playing a game of guessing how much everything is.

Ladies, know that feeling when a builder wolf-​whistles you and you absolutely hate it with all of your might until your cheeks return to their normal colour and you realise that it’s actually quite a compliment? Now that’s how one-​way flirting from a stranger should feel like. A little bit shameful. A little bit flattering.
Hollister haven’t quite caught on to this notion. By filling their stores with beautiful staff, positioned in the store in strategic places best suited for heterosexual flirting, they forge scripted small talk which is embarrassing for everyone. Although I can’t speak for the poor shop assistant who winced a little when I glared at him, I certainly feel a sense of manipulation in this store and my guards go up.
But, somewhat paradoxically, the result of this fakery is that I feel more tuned in to what the clothes actually are. Just as I know that some tanned blonde ripped straight out of Baywatch would never comment on the weather to me if it wasn’t his job, I know that these chequered hot pants will never make me look at home on a Californian beach. Hollister makes the mistake of making its fictionality all too clear. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop people from shopping here.
URBAN CHALLENGE: See if you can spot five Hollister carrier bags in town

Hollister is found in the Grand Arcade in St David’s 2. From the outside, this shop doesn’t really resemble a clothes store at all and wouldn’t look at all out of place sitting somewhere on a beach in Jamaica serving out cocktails.
Despite this misleading exterior, one step inside the store will leave you thinking you’ve stepped into a modelling agency. Everyone who works there looks immaculate. A little too immaculate, to be honest, and by the time you leave the shop don’t be surprised if you have a newfound hatred for your imperfect reflection and feel a lot worse than when you went in.
Employees aside, the clothes on offer are excellent and the range of items is very good, with everything from flip-​flops to trilbies. However, the price tags that are attached to these items are undoubtedly far less appealing and will at times warrant a «HOW MUCH?!» double take. You can and likely will find better deals in the capital but this is prime case of getting what you pay for, as quality and brand value is a definite factor in the price.
All in all, an okay shop if you don’t mind spending a bit extra, but not the kind of place to pop into straight after a gym session… unless you workout in your Sunday best.

I don’t mean to review chains, but every now and again one comes along that I can’t just be quiet about. I keep seeing people with Hollister t-​shirts on as well, which makes me think it’s a sign, saying I should speak my mind.
What a pretentious and hateful place this is. This is the new type of high street fashion, the kind which can be offensive and fascist without worrying itself for a moment.
It’s not long since Abercrombie and Fitch had their dirty laundry aired in public over their treatment of a disabled employee and yet it seems not to have altered their rather disturbing attitude to employing people that look very, very specific. Need I say more.
When you enter, what can only be described as the darkest shop in the world, there is usually some male model saying ‘Hi, welcome to Hollister’ in a false American accent.
I’m sorry, have I just entered a beautiful place? No. Have I just entered somewhere interesting? No. Absolutely not. This is the worst kind of false nonsense.
Some people will think Hollister is fashionable, will think the clothes are something special. It’s not and the whole place reeks of bad taste.

Hollister has finally made it’s way to Cardiff. Hoorah I hear you cry, but alas no, I love Hollister stuff, don’t get me wrong, but everyone is wearing it. It’s absolutely everywhere and this shop can get really busy with people desperate for the Hollister gear.
This shop is dimly lit, you will normally find a half naked boy model at the door to welcome you and this all adds to the bizarre club-​like atmosphere. It feels nice to be in here and the waft of soft perfume is most welcome, but as a shopping experience, it is a bit hard to see what you’re buying, always a problem.
I have a pretty boy friend who works here and he can get me a discount, but you know what, I don’t think I want to look like everybody else. I bagged myself some great American clothing when I was in the US of A, but I’d much rather save up and go there again, rather than shop in Hollister.

Does it put people off, or does it attract people? Clever gimmick or a poorly executed pretentious ploy? Whatever the answer, Hollister’s unique and innovative approach to selling their clothes has got people talking. With the exterior portraying a Californian beach-​hut, customers are greeted by staff saying ‘Welcome to the pier’. Ok, a little odd, but what lies inside is even more disconcerting.
With minimal lighting, and a distinctive smell of Hollister’s own perfume, the ambience is something quite surreal. It genuinely is quite difficult to define the colours of some garments which in itself is a little ridiculous. The alarmingly good looking staff are almost intimidating in their approach, and i’m sure some people leave quite quickly due to feeling uncomfortable in these surroundings. Surprisingly, the clothes are fairly simplistic and fairly well priced. I wouldn’t reccomend buying anything from here if you like to stand out from the crowd. The chances are that the new t-​shirt you’ve just bought will be a different colour to how it appeared in the store. And, don’t be shocked to see hundreds of other people wearing it as well.

Yawn. Another American retail chain that encourages dressing like a 14-​year-​old skater/​surfer hybrid. Just like parent company Abercrombie & Fitch, this brand is overpriced and shoddily produced. And definitely not as cool and clever as it thinks it is.
God, I thought I’d narrowly escaped these boring, cookie-​cutter stores when I left the shores of the States. Now it seems you can’t swing a pair of destoyed low-​rise jeans without smacking a Hollister-​clad surfer wannabe.
And don’t even get me started on the ridiculous shop set up. I disliked it ten years ago and my sentiment still stands now. There’s a reason Hollister is the only shopping haunt with unreasonably dark lighting: other retailers like their customers to see what tat they’re buying before leaving the store (if nothing else, so the queue for shop returns doesn’t wind out the door).

It looks like a house on the outside and has the feeling of a dark cave inside. This is Hollister. Now to be honest, I do not see the appeal of this store because when I walked past it I didn’t know what it was, and I didn’t want to enter inside because it felt like I was intruding. It’s as almost the company expects you to know exactly what this store is and you should be ashamed if you don’t know.
Putting first impressions aside, I decided to enter this store. To say I wasn’t impressed was a complete understatement, as I couldn’t even see where I was going. I genuinely heard somebody ask the staff member if there was a problem with the lights and they said no in a very confused tone. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about the staff members, as they are very lovely and friendly from when you enter the store until you leave. However, it is a little bit of a shock when somebody you can’t see in the dark says hello. It seems that the store doesn’t abide prices either! Every clothing item they sell doesn’t seem to have a price on it. Is it because it’s such a cool store they don’t believe in pricing or just because it’s very pricey? I’ll leave you to guess at that one.
Hollister is a peculiar little dark clothing shop that I will never see the appeal of. Even though the staff members are friendly they appear to be afraid of sunlight. It’s one of those ‘cool’ stores that only ‘cool’ people can go to. Seeing as I am not ‘cool’ I have no need to go there. I would recommend visiting there just to see it to believe it. However, if you were going to wear sunglasses I would advise you take them off, or you’ll fall over.

Boom Boom Boom is all I could hear when I entered the St David’s 2 centre. I looked up and saw that the noise was escaping from the newly arrived Hollister store.
I knew a new store was opening but in the lead up to the big day the shop was covered in Abercrombie posters. So I quite rightly thought that was what the shop was going to sell.
I went in and saw Hollister products. Which is Abercrobie’s cheaper sister range. It was hard to see as the lights were so low and hard to hear as the music was so loud.
I did manage to ask a young girl where the Abercrombie products were and she told me they didn’t have any.
This annoyed me as I had every intention of getting one for my partners up coming birthday!
Why did they advertise Abercrombie if they were not going to stock it?!
I personnaly think this shop is over priced and equally over egged!
I won’t be going back as the noise annoyed me… the lights annoyed me… and the fact they don’t stock Abercrombie annoyed me!

Oh how I hate this shop and everything it stands for…‘cept I really like the smell that alludes from it and the clothes in all honesty.
What does crack me up is a fartooprettygirl greeting me with the words «hey dudes what’s up» in a thick Welsh accent. I had to run to the back to avoid her further embarrassment. I just really hate how perfect everything is and wonder how all the women feel who didn’t fit the super model bill upon staff selection that clearly is in effect here.

OK so this may be a cool shop but what is with having to shop in the dark?! I mean really you can’t see half the stuff they sell and I’d dread to imagine what it would actually look like when you get it out of the shop.
As i say its a nice place to be, you can chill out in the dark and chill out on the sofa’s amongst the beautiful people while watching a big screen of someone surfing. This place is obviously about a lifestyle that I’m not part of. Sadly there’s nothing unique about this store, its exactly the same as the Hollister stores in America just more expensive.

I have heard the whole point of Hollister is to make shoppers feel as though they are at a beach party. That is why you find yourself standing outside a place that is made to look like a beach hut. It’s more 90 210 than Brighton Pier, though, as you discover when you go inside. First of all, you are always greeted by someone (probably beautiful) saying ‘Hey, guys, welcome to the Pier’. It may be a few words different but I doubt it because the staff apparently have to learn a script. The lighting is incredibly low, far too low, so you sometimes find yourself unable to see items properly. The sizes are all American which is fairly confusing too. I found myself frustrated by the huge plants getting in the way of racks of clothes. All in all, it’s quite a fun experience at first. The clothes are good quality too. However, it’s not really the way that I would like to shop in general. It’s a little bit pretensious.

There were rumours that parent company Abercrombie and Fitch would be coming to Cardiff, however I think bringing Hollister instead was a wise idea.
My big problem with Abercrombie in London is the inflated UK prices (a £20 vest top will cost around $ 20 in the US), whilst Hollister does exactly the same thing; the prices are here are considerably less than Abercrombie (Jeans from Hollister cost around £40, as opposed to Abercrombie which charges £80).
The clothes are very much of the same thing, think hoodies, shirts, and shorts all with an American casual/​surfer feel to them. After a while however the clothes do get to be somewhat repetitive, so you have to really be in love with them to keep coming back.
As Tanya mentioned the décor is quite remarkable, I absolutely love the fact the windows are actually LCD screens playing images of the sea and people surfing (you almost start to believe you’re in sunny California). For those familiar with other Hollister, it more than matches up to any of the stores I’ve been to in the US (except perhaps New York), and apparently it’s the biggest Hollister store in Europe (so eat that Westfield)
If you’re unfamiliar with the brand, I imagine at first that Hollister will be a massive novelty. For some this novelty is bound to wear off, however I’d be pretty surprised if by September most sixth formers and students were not wearing Hollister.

Wow. Just wow.
I stumbled across this store last night while shopping with a friend. In the main shopping centre in Cardiff, the façade of some old American beach hut stands out, complete with balconies and all. Chandeliers hang low in the doorway and beckon you in like a waistcoated rabbit.
Then you find yourself in a wonderland of dark, cosy shopping. Hollister mainly sells surfer clothing and the like, but it’s all good quality; the kind you might otherwise find in White Stuff or Fat Face. But they also have a selection of Cd’s, home-​ware and fragrances. The prices are tiny numbers easily mistaken for European sizes, so look carefully before you ask, in case you feel silly like I did.
You can almost feel the humidity of summer nights, and this is a high-​street shopping experience like no other. The staff are friendly, and clearly used to people walking around slightly dumbfounded. Go check it out.