What would you recommend from Primark?

[babooshkadoll]

I have been a few times just been overwhelmed by the crowds and general yeuch of the place.

Going shopping tomorrow with my niece who I know will want to visit Primark so is there anything worth buying ?

I went into the new one on Tottenham Court Rd on Monday and bloody hell it was like a different world to the norm - trendy looking, quiet, no queue for fitting room, no piles of clothes on the floor. What a difference. I bought a cobwebby silver jumper for £8 and its lovely.

Their tights are the best (especially those magic ones that hold me in)

I bought their super soft skinnies and. their short style pants (knickers) too.

I also buy DS's jeans and joggers from their too. At 3 quid he can cover them in as much mud as he likes

£1.00 reading glasses are good

I went to primark once, it smells.

After having both dc1 and dc2, I bought some basic t shirts, both long sleeved and short sleeved, tracksuit bottoms, and colourful sweater knits from primarks for post baby wear. On the basis it was cheap I wouldn't care if it was puked on etc etc. I have found that they kept well, provided they were washed at low temp and weren't tumble dried. I wore this continually for 6 months post birth and then on weekends since. They have all lasted well.

DSD gets lots of quite fancy undies from there - v good prices, much cheaper than M&S
Some of the kids clothes are good - I've picked up a few really sweet cotton blouse type tops from there, long sleeve t-shirts - but buy on the large size as they are skimpy. I'm not so keen on all the printed stuff though.
Socks
Cheap school tights - not as thick and well made as other places, but v good value
Towels and bedding is good, mattress protectors and such like
I don't tend to buy clothes there, but have in the past picked up some really nice linen shorts and 3/4 trousers that have washed and worn well.

It does smell funny. i agree.

The knickers are fab post-birth. As are the pyjamas. I never felt guilty binning them.

I love the seamless underwear vests, they dont roll up and create a smooth silohuette I've lived in them this Winter,the 200 denier tights with boot socks on them are fabulous! dense and matte and again dont sag. The long sleeved tshirts are of a much better quality this year and are long and haven't shrunk, the ones last year were crap but I'm living in the ones from this year. Can't do the shoes though there are heeled ankle boots there at the moment for 18 quid I think and they are more comfy than the similiar newlook version that are 30! I tend to buy anything plain in there, I hate the prints etc... and though I am a size 10 shortarse, I cant keep any of the skinneys up on my ass after an hour so have given up on them. I bought a little fitted waterproof jacket for 15 quid I think, for walking in the Spring and I love it. The underwear is crap and nasty in my opinion but I always pick up something whwen I'm in there...Love it! Forgot I bought a lovely cream tweedy type duster coat, perfect for throwing over a dress for a wedding or something and I bought all their knitted snoods in every colour and wear one every day, all my colleagues loved them so now everyone is wearing them! You have to try everything on and keep it simple and its as good as any of the other shops in that price bracket. Nothing ever fits me properly from Matalan etc.....

fleece lied tights. Super cosy

ooops. Lined tights

I buy navy opaque tights for DD1 - only shop for us that always seem to have them in stock (they are like gold dust everywhere else) we were surprised at the quality - excellent last ages and are only £3 for a pack of 5!
DD2 just started wearing opaque tights from tradional wooly ones again for £3 for 5 if they ladder it is not so expensive to replace and also have bought them from M&S and no better still ladder plus you have paid twice as much for only 3 pairs.
I also buy Hair things eg Alice bands, ponytail elastics ( a huge ball for £1) pretty hairslides etc for DD2
Beach Towels and DD1 got 3 Bikinis there last year for price would normally pay for 1 - good quality not see through, lined etc
Just got DD2 some skinny jeans from the Childrens Dept washed well
Would not buy clothes there for myself or DD1 / DS- Teenagers=Primark No Go!!!

Awks The Tottenham Court Road branch is amazing!

I might go this morning, get there early before the crowds arrive...

toboldlygo Do they still stock those Cambridge satchel look-a-likes? I've looked everywhere

I used to get dd clothes there when she was 10/11 but that was about 5 years ago.
I have never bought anything for myself there, mainly because I hate the messiness and pile it here mentality. Not my idea of shopping.
My SIL shops there and buys tons of stuff on a weekly basis....then wears it once. Again, not my idea of shopping.

Love to lounge pj's are really good. They are the 100% cottton ones in a single colour.I have several pairs. Second the towels. They were the only place I could find a specific colour that Dc wanted and I was expecting very bad things but quality remarkably good. Also and likely no good to op but maybe to others, their coloured trousers for babies and toddlers up to 2 are the best trousers I have found. They are softer than jeans but quite hard wearing. They are £4 each and my Dc wears nothing else! Finally the coloured chinos for Dc are good too.

I have found that they kept well, provided they were washed at low temp and weren't tumble dried. I wonder if that's why I've never had a problem with the kids stuff, I never tumble dry it, and only ever wash on 30.

I got some supersoft grey skinnies today and they fit really well and are comfy. Find it hard to find jeans that are a good fit. Also long sleeve top with a cute pocket on and velour lounge type pants. Also last week I got a lovely cotton black snood with duck prints on reduced to £2.00

Dnt know what the posters are doing to the kids clothes to make them fall apart as my lot live in clothes from primark ans they wash and tumble dry great.i love their tights and agree that their towels and duvet sets are far better quality than debenhams and the like.

DDs have done OK with tshirts, vest tops and a pair of £8 mock uggs.

I wasn't convinced by the boots, but DD2(11) day's they are very comfy. They look quite reasonable in an out door slipper kind of way.

Very cheap leggings are junk.

I haven't been to Primark for about a year and a half but I got up early this morning and trekked through to Essen. It was mad from opening time onwards - really stressful. But! Those super soft skinnies are amazing, got some gorgeous long-john style pajama pants, a lovely, top, lovely bag.... Men's cotton chino pants 11 euro! I have to take a few things back so ill give it a try on a weekday morning next week. Based on your posts, I want to look at the towels and see if I can get a better look at the accessories. There was a lot of crap but some lovely things, the staff were very pleasant and the store was clean despite being overrun!

I like...

Scarves
Sunglasses
Cardigans
Long line racer back vests (I have a few from 2001 )
Joggers for slobbing in

The towels are okay but need a fair few washes before use.

I went today and got

Rolling Stones t shirt
Long black vest
5 pairs of socks
Stripey and roses scarf
An owl cushion

DD2 got a hoody
Owl socks (3 pack)
Moustache socks (3pack)
3 t shirts.

DD1 got a pink and grey skull sweatshirt
Moustache socks

I like the scarves & seamless vests for me. Some of my friends swear by the skinnies but they don't fit well on me. Have had some good knitwear (and some not so good!). Cheap cardigans good for everyday, have a couple of boyfriend type ones (£10-ish) which I wear quite a lot with dresses & leggings. Don't like their leggings but love the tights (especially the fleece-lined ones at the moment).
Underwear - bought some cotton shorts -style pants which I like but have had others which were crap - same with bras, the quality seems to vary a lot on these.

DD will only wear "girl boxers" from Primark - the seamless stretchy ones which you can usually get matching crop tops for. She has a couple of pairs of jogging bottoms & zip-up hoodies from the women's section which she likes, and has had a couple of pairs of plimsolls which were fine. I find the girls section pretty crap to be honest but DD can wear a women's 6-8 now so we tend to just do that.

Boys' clothes are fab. Wash well and DS loves them. He likes the coloured jeans & chinos and the print t-shirts. He would like the character ones, but I refuse to buy them!

Oh and we all live in Primark jim-jams! I have some lovely grey ones with a vest top and a fleecy set, and the kids have various mainly fleecy ones at the moment. Yeah, you get the odd twisty seam, and they don't last forever, but at £5 max for kids and under a tenner for women, what do you expect?!!

Hair oil is good and Carmex lip balm in the squeezy tube is cheaper than anywhere else!

I also plan on trying the towels after the comments on here ( friend also says they are v good)!

My 10.6yo DD is very tall and slender so has outgrown the girls sizes. She's now wearing a womens size 6-8.

She loves:
leggings (but she wears them as tights, they are a bit sheer for my taste)
The leggings with studs or embellishments
I like the jumpers (for me)
We got some swimsuit cover-ups (about £8)
Neutral coloured lycra vests for under my work tunics.

DD has got skinny jeans
A padded jacket and a couple of sleeveless gilets (washable and lasting well)

Any blouses with beads or studs I put in a net washbag

DS (13) wears the mens XS size.
He's got some TShirts and the fleecy jackets.

DH has some TShirts which are okay.
And he buys his work trousers there.

I've not bought any towels there but did buy fleece blankets.