M Butterfly

My review of M Butterfly is a bit of a mixed bag — much like the diverse range of clothing.
I’ve been in here many times on my regular jaunt through to Edinburgh, and I can’t really make up my mind about it. Originally I, like Eleanor, was slightly put off by the big «To Let» sign plastered on its front signage. It signifies that it may lack permanence.
Additionally, I don’t think its minimal, low key shop front was a true reflection on its stock. When I first had a look in here I was pleasantly surprised to find that the clothing was quite unusual and funky, appealing to lovers of the Betty Page look as much as fancier dresses. There were some really unusual polka dot dresses and Alice in Wonderland inspired skirts with merry go round motifs on them. All were affordable, coming in at below £30 for most purchases.
So I would say the pro’s of this shop are…(dot dot dot)
— Affordable
— Wide range of designs
— Appeal to a wider audience (something for everyone).
— Brings a feel of Camden market to the Edinburgh high street.
— Unusual designs with form fitting lines.
Cons (sorry) —
— Although the garments are stretchy, there isn’t much scope for larger sizes. Usually the range is small, medium and large but not much in between or over, and thus clothing doesn’t always adequately fit your shape. It’s also limiting for people who are sizes which don’t fall into this category.
— The shop looks a bit shabby and ill put together.
— The quality doesn’t always look up to scratch on certain items.
Saying that, items are affordable and stretchy enough that’s there is room for manouvre. It’s definitely worth a look as this is a brand more often seen in London outlets, and it brings a different element of style to the Scottish city centre.

During my little job search on and around Princes’ Street, I ended up at M Butterfly, which is very much unlike any of the other shops in the area.
As the name suggests, it’s aimed at lovers of pink such as myself and and a lot of the clothes are extremely feminine! Quality wise however, I’m not too convinced. It’s the kind of store I like to describe as «ghetto fabulous» meaning lots of girly colours, things that shine at you, and occasionally spell something at you. To be fair to M Butterfly though, I would have to head back and properly examine the clothes, because I feel l wouldn’t have discovered it if I wasn’t looking for a job (it’s too far down Princes Street for my liking).

This is the sort of store that looks ok from the outside, but once you get in, you realise it was a sheep in wolves clothing of sorts.
I mean that in the way that, I thought I would be able to pick up a few High Street copies in here, maybe a couple of dresses that would cost £50 in River Island for £15 in here, but that was so not the case.
It reminds me of the sort of stuff young girls wear to try and make themselves look older to get into the dancing. It is made from cheap fabric, with half glued on diamantés and plenty of glitter and leopard print. Not really my style, perhaps circa 1998.
It isn’t even that cheap. The continuous sale that seems to be going on is clearly a farse, with recommended RRP for Lycra dresses coming in at ridiculous prices like £57.99 and ‘reduced’ to £25.99. You can clearly tell these are made up prices to try and entice you in.
Certainly not worth a place on the fabulous Princes Street, and I was surprised to see this store is actually one of many!

M Butterfly is a recent addition to Princes Street and it just seems to have popped up, the «To Let» sign still on the door isn’t very reassuring and I have a feeling that it’s one of those shops that will only be there until something better moves in.
They have handbags, dresses and other accessories on offer and I did see a few handbags that looked quite nice but they were all priced at around £30 and certainly weren’t worth that. I also noticed a few rather pretty tea dresses but none of the material looked that good quality and I can’t imagine many of the items lasting more than a few washes!
If the items here were cheaper then I could see the appeal, especially for teens and younger girls as many of the items are very glitzy with diamantes strewn on them but it doesn’t seem to want to be aimed at that target audience as the prices are around £30 for bags and dresses and I don’t know many teens who can afford to pay that.