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Oasis... I'm Slightly Impressed

I said this before and I'll say it again. Ever since TopShop took over high-street fashion, I stopped buying from other UK high-street fashion retailers for several valid reasons. For starters, TopShop's collection went through drastic changes and has the ability to produce stylish clothes of good quality with an unbeatable price. Other retailers, such as Oasis, kept on producing redundant "housewife-like" clothes and their prices were not that competitive or as attractive.

But I was taken by surprise during a recent curious visit to Oasis store by some items which looked more TopShop-ish than Oasis-ish. I think these items are part of their Christmas Special collection. And what I also found interesting, the resemblance between those items and high-end designer items. Here, for example is a KD 39 red fitted cotton dress with drape and panel detailing that looked extremely similar to RM Moon Dress available at Net-A-Porter for KD 540.




I found this dress to be very adorable. And I loved the puff sleeves detail. It would make a fabulous item to wear for a small formal dinner with friends. The dress is priced at KD 50. The shape of this dress actually reminded me of Derek Lam's metallic short dress which was featured in runways and fashion magazines for fall 2007 collection.


The beaded dress shown below actually doesn't look as bad as it does in the picture. It's nice and classic. Perfect if you're on a budget as the cost of this dress is KD 41 only.





This casual black dress with white ribbons and round collars can easily be mistaken for Marc by Marc Jacobs or Anna Sui.



And finally, As much as I'd hate to admit it, but I'd have to say that those two shoes look kind of stylish Chloe-ish and Marc Jacob-ish. Don't expect them to be as comfortable as Tod's though.


When was the last time you bough something from Oasis?

Comments

you shop alot, and you got style...

i like your blog :)

you go girl :)
Ansam said…
I will have to disagree with you! I have always liked the Oasis store. I do work clothes shopping in some stores and out of which are from Top Shop, Oasis, and River Island and have noticed that River Island retreated but made a good comeback since last month.

But seriously I have bought SO many basics, cardigans, skirts, tops from the Oasis and loved it!
miss ghesquiere said…
oh the black dress with white collar is darling!
This Lady said…
hmm.. for some reason, Oasis stores in London have much better clothes than the Kuwait ones. Or maybe their display is better. But i'm still not too impressed unfortunately.

the last time i bought something from oasis? can't even remember! maybe 12 yrs ago?
Nera said…
i've been there last week n i found a cute silver dress that looks exactly like M missioni only cheaper it was priced at 39 kd and almost all the sizes were sold out except size 10
Yara said…
I dont remember the last time i've been to the one in kuwait.. London i've been
FourMe said…
True Oasis in kuwait is improving quality and price wise, but still london branches are so much better. I think that is because the buyers for kuwait are taste-less they don't know fashion even if it slapped them on the face! Not only for Oasis but most high street brands that can be found in kuwait.
Personally i think confashions you would be a great buyer for such stores based on ur knowledge and fashion sense.
And the last time I got something from Oasis kuwait is about 5 to 6 yrs ago.
Anonymous said…
I agree with fourme!
The mass Kuwaiti customer doesnt know the difference between clothes. even those who spend much dont always know so let alone the Oasis target customer. Kuwait stores dont have any good buyers. A buyer must recognize its market but it doesnt surprise me if I found out that the Oasis buyer actually doesnt know much about fashion herself.
I do like the black and white dress you picked out though.
Lala* said…
alOthman robbed me :-(
Anonymous said…
Ladies lets not compare Hight street with Designer labels, it is so unfair.
The huge difference in quality is so obvious even from a picture.
I say if you can afford the original then buy it, if you can't then thats fine as well but do not compare.

Lala, how did Alothman rob you do tell....
Confashion said…
thouq
What can i say.. I'm a fashion junkie ;)

Thanks and I like your "thouq" ;)

ansam
But the problem with Oasis is that they keep producing the same items season after season.. it gets boring sometimes :\

miss ghesquiere
I think it's cute too!

this lady
Maybe they think that we are not as fashion savvy as they are? :|

nera
Did you get to buy it?

yara
Did you buy from the london branch?

FourMe
I totally agree with you on what you said about fashion buyers located in this region. They probably are not as stylish as the ones in london and as a result we get the crappy pieces.

And thank you for the compliment ;)

anonymous
I couldn't agree more. The issue here is not only with the fashion buyers, but also with the consumers. Most are not into trendy items and would settle for plain-jane pieces. I'm not saying that it's a problem. But it's a reason why we probably get this selection of items.

lala
How?!!

anonymous
True, you can't compare quality of high-end luxury items with high-street. But it's amusing to see how similar the items look. And sometimes it's nice to save vs. splurge and vise versa (NOT ON ACCESSORIES THOUGH!). :)
Anonymous said…
You definitely should not compare high street to designer but it is more and more common that the customer is often the same one. I for one mix all my brands and find a total look a fashion no-go.
As far as the quality goes, of course high street does not compare but when you mix it doesnt matter. Although i must say OASIS is one of the worst out there. Its just very flimsy textiles and always very shiny...


lala,
I am intrigued too. ALOTHMan robbed you? How?????
Lala* said…
The short version of the story is that I bought a Temperley dress from them for 1489KD, travelled to London in the same week and found it there in Selfriges- but in other color- being sold for a mere 1398 pounds!!

farg 800 kd tqreebun :-(

Forgot to take a picture of the dress with its price tag. Will go there tomorrw specifically for this purpose. 3ad Allah y3een cuz bacher is BOXING day and i HATE HATE HATE elz7ma!!
Anonymous said…
lala,
I would love to see pics.
If the black one is new collection then it is very likely not the same one as the orange. I thought the orange only came on orange.
Also do i know that a very plain Temperley evening dress retails for around 1500 Euros and this orange dress you are talking about is so far one of the most expensive items they have produced.
I am really intrigued to see pictures of the black one!!!!:)
Lala* said…
Unfortunately, the dress was already sold out when i went today to Selfridges.

But for the record, I have to say that i have been contacted by AlOthman management. I really appreciated their detailed response to my complaint. Their professional manner at handling this matter was really admirable.

Thank you AlOthman. I LOVE my dress, and I will wear it with pride*
Anonymous said…
Dear Lala,
Thank you for your kind words. We have already contacted Temperley and they will get back to us right after the holidays.
At that time we hope to provide you with the correct answers and we would like to assure you that we will get to the bottom of this matter so you not only wear your dress with pride but with full satisfaction.
With Best Regards
AlOthman

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