& Other Stories Prints

I first discovered & Other Stories back in 2013, I saw a few pieces featured in magazines and thought 'I will keep my eye out for that shop'. Then one day on my way out of Oxford Circus tube station on my way to Liberty, I spotted the shop on Argyll Street. Of course, I couldn't resist venturing in, then 45 minutes later I knew that it would become popular and was something fresh and different that had previously been lacking on the high street. I have continued to shop there since. & Other Stories has a modern feel to it, it is well merchandised and with excellent display and the collections are new and on trend yet wearable, not too expensive but they use good quality fabrics such as silk, linen and wool which other high street retailers commonly to avoid due to cost. In addition to the successful clothing there is a well respected beauty section, great accessories and jewellery, shoes and bags. The packaging and branding is sophisticated and arty.

I recently bought the Origami print dress (left of the image below) in the sale. It is a navy blue dress with a quirky repeat print of origami shapes in different colours. I like how the print is fairly subtle, yet the pattern has intrigue at the same time. The colours compliment each other well, slightly 'off' shades of cream, green, orange, blue etc against the navy background (I know I wear a lot of navy).

I think that other high street retailers seem to churn out more and more ditsy floral prints each year without really embracing other more braver styles of print. Don't get me wrong, I love florals, and they clearly are a commercial cash driver, yet other styles of print do seem to repeatedly take a back seat behind them. & Other Stories designers must feel the same way as I because whilst they do still offer florals they aren't afraid to create new and unusual print designs, the Fume print of cloudy whisps of smoke against the black background (second from the left) is striking and unique. Then moving along to the right, the next dress is of a porcelain print on a navy background with an alternative sleeve print, the fabric is creped, from afar it looks like a large scale dot print, but up close it is far more detailed and lovely. Finally the print on the dress on the right of the image above has a space theme. Space was an extremely popular catwalk trend this year, and now it is filtering down to the high street too. I feel this dress is playful and sophisticated at the same time, I am sure soon similar motifs of rockets, stars, galxeys etc will be appearing on more women wear (not just boy's wear)!

(A selection of & Other Stories Prints currently available in store and online)

Nevertheless & Other Stories still sell classic or 'go to' prints/jacquards/embroideries etc including animal/snake print, stripes, checks, spots, stars etc. Yet they still avoid making these pieces look 'generic', they successfully manage to put their own spin on things to keep the brand looking fresh and different to their high street competitors.

There are about 5-6 stores in the England and of course their website, stores are also located in cities around europe including Barcelona, Paris, Ghent etc. I am pleased that & Other Stories stores haven't popped up in every UK city like it's sister chain H&M, this gives it an exclusive and fresh vibe.

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