Last week, The Bay started carrying Madonna and daughter, Lola’s clothing line, Material Girl. Featuring Kelly Osbourne as the new face, Material Girl was previously only exclusive at Macy’s in the US.
I was shocked at how affordable everything was, while in Buffalo this past summer. (I was gonna say “cheap”, but…) Call it a quarter-life-crisis, but I ended up buying a black lace tutu for $22USD, plus I got an additional 15% off ’cause I had “out of state ID”. It was a weird discount, but hey, I’m not complaining! See below.
Anyway, as soon as I heard that Material Girl launched in Canada*, I raced to the nearest Bay. Verdict? Nothing to write home about. The selection, at least at Square One, was very limited. There were 6 puny racks with maybe 3-4 different pieces.
Aside from the poor selection, what really stood out was the recycled designs circa H&M…last Spring! (Did they just decide to ship the leftovers to Canada?) I guess I just expected something different. Seriously, if there was no signage, also ugly btw, I’d walk right pass the entire section and head straight towards the perfume counters – my only other reason to step foot in there!
Furthermore, the clothing is Forever 21-quality at un-Forever 21 prices, the mannequins blend right into the background, the merchandising is completely uninspiring, and who was the stylist, grandpa who comes in to stock up on golf shirts during Bay Days? Blech.
I’d expect this weak set-up from Zellers, but The Bay? C’mon, certainly you can do better than that! I won’t put all the blame on the collection itself, as it seems obvious that The Bay doesn’t have high hopes for it!
Maybe there’s hope for next season…if it’s still ’round.
* Thanks, Sally!
Great review – you really went the extra mile. Thanks Stephania!
I agree I went to the Bay this weekend and I was really dissapointed with the selection, I just had assumed that maybe all the good stuff was sold out. However, after reading this review, its good to know i was not crazy with my dissapointment. BUT, I did find one really cute floral top (there was only one left on the rack) but I am really into floral this spring so I could just be biased.
I actually been to Macy’s this past Feb in NYC – same impression about the line. In fact, I was thoroughly un-impressed with ALL clothing collections in Macy’s. Talk about disappointment 🙁
The Bay is moving towards carrying more clothing collections from Macy’s. However I’m excited that TopShop will be coming Fall 2011 to the Bay. This is a great UK line, they snagged it from Holt Renfrew.
TopShop I believe is schedule for Eaton Centre in general, not The Bay?
Thanks Christopher, I just saw the TopShop thing on the news – will blog about it!
I’m just wondering why TopShop, as a store, isn’t coming, but it has to be hosted in a dept. store?? Ack.
i love material girl, almost all my clothes is from that line. i find that material girl has affordable prices and a unique style to every clothing article. i think that material girl should be avalible at more stores in vancouver, canada, or in canada in gerneral.
i just stumbled upon the material girl last week here in london (ont) and i was actually kind of impressed.
yes, the styles are a bit behind (floral is over) but i loved the at-waist skirts (comfortable as effff, cheap as effff and cute for a night downtown), blazers and jumpers. i wore one of my new skirts to work last week and received a ton of compliments on it from co-workers and strangers alike.
i must agree though, the entire line is VERY forever 21, but since london is minus a F21 (and we the most lame-ass attempt at an h&m) Material Girl is kind of filling a void. At least for me.
I went to Bay today and the first time saw Material Girl. If you like the styles of Material Girl, you can try the brand BLEND SHE, I love it.
http://Www.blendcompany.com