Strange this question regarding buying fleeces should come up as I would not usually buy fleeces, just because it is not my sort of thing, but my daughter is going skiing with her school and I have been looking at buying suitable wear for her which includes a couple of fleeces. I have with regard to them specifically not yet made a decision, but it strikes me there are many levels of quality and price. From M & S offering at £9.50 through to North Face at up to £60. I have looked at both department stores as well as outdoor clothing outlets such as Blacks. Obviously if you were wanting long term wear and serious warmth and insulation I would look to the later, expecting the brand to be made for this purpose. However as my daughter is unlikely to be needing alot of wear from the product I am swaying towards the cheaper. I have not noticed anywear else promoting fleeces from recycled bottles but think this is a selling point I would be keen to support but only at the right price. I would expect George to keep their pricing to around the £10 mark and would hope for a good colour range with half zip style. My only other view is that I think it is a bit late in the season for this year but I assume you are thinking ahead for next winter stock.

I had a look around George today when I went food shopping to Asda in Oadby as I thought it looked as if they had quite alot of new stock in. I was immediately drawn to large signs offering 'any 2 items for £8' which I thought was excellent value. In fact I thought there were many items which seemed really good value and maybe prices were even more keen than usual. I thought the displays were improved and liked the way the jeans were forward facing and easy to see what was offered. The only problem was ,there was not anything I liked or would consider buying, either for myself or my family. The only items I did try on were bras, but they did not fit. For your information the changing rooms were disgusting. Dirty and scruffy. Whilst huge improvements have been made to the shop floor, the changing rooms were a big let down. I just hope they are next on the agenda. I have been keeping an eye open for anything suitable for my daughter, she is going skiing with her school. I have found some thermal underwear and socks which I bought from Aldi and thought maybe George might do fleece tops but didn't find any. The main outer wear, jacket and salopettes,I have bought from TK Max who have a good range at this time of year.

With reference to the email regarding baby and toddler clothing at George I would rather see in the baby section the clothing displayed in items rather than colours, as I think we are all open minded these days about boys and girls wearing a variety of colours and not just blue for a boy and pink for a girl. Therefore it is easier to look for the item required i.e. bib or vest and see all available colours and styles and decide which to buy with all in one place. I think the overall layout of the picture is good and items are clear to see, but with the above grouping in mind. Again with the 4 - 12 years section the items are clearly displayed forward facing so they do not need to be lifted on and off the display in order to see. The jeans between the jackets set sideways I think gives variety to the display but does mean you would have to pull a pair out to see what they are like and could then make the display more untidy when not put back neatly. Which inevitably would be the case! As far as the coat goes, I did not really have an opinion on the coat its self but thought it looked somewhat oversized within the display. I would prefer to see all the coats together rather than mixed in with the other items. If it is a coat you are looking for it is far easier to look at all together rather than have to search them out throughout the store and you may miss the very one you were looking for. Generally I think George is great for value and variety for childrens and babies clothing and items displayed clearly as per the photographs rather than pre-packed and on shelves is a good idea.

Like everyone I have been busy constantly christmas shopping these last few weeks . I have noticed most of the shops already have reductions and sales but have not seen anything I would buy within the discounted ranges. Purchases I have made have all been at full price. Clothe items I have bought as presents for my daughters and husband for christmas have been from either Republic, as my eldest is working here now at weekends and gets 50% discount!! or online from Jack Wills, as there is not a store in Leicester or from Joules in Market Harborough again for the specific brand. The only cheaper items have been from Primark just because they are so very cheap! Oh! and a handbag for £8 from new look. One thing I did notice in Primark was when looking at their pyjamas there were some similar ones to a pair I bought from George recently for the same price ,but the George ones are much better quality.

This week I made a spontaneous purchase at George ! I went to do my weekly food shop and on prominent display as you enter Asda were dressing gowns in a variety of colours, there was a leopard print one which caught my eye, and at a great value price of only £18 I treated myself to one! It is not very often I buy something I do not really need, so great merchandising George! I have been looking for a new evening top I could wear for various Christmas functions I have coming up. I say a top, as I have some black evening trousers I could wear which I bought last year and by way of economy it would be cheaper to just buy a new top rather than a whole new outfit, but I would be open minded if I saw something I really like. I had a brief visit to Highcross shopping centre last night when dropping my daughter off in town and looked in Zara. I tried on half a dozen tops I liked but felt none of them did me any justice on. I also looked in Oasis and Monsoon but there was nothing. I looked at Top Shop and their garments were very retro funky, great if you are a size 8 teenager but I would look like I was wearing fancy dress !

We had a day out recently and went to Matlock Bath as a family. What an expensive day out this turned out to be! As we were in the area we decided to take a look at the John Smedley factory shop and see if there was any nice knitwear in stock. There were loads of great cardigans and jumpers and bought seven items between us. They are excellent quality and averaged at about £30 - £35 per item. In the shops these would be selling at around £150 each so did feel we had done well. This is a prime example of 'what constitutes quality'. In this instance we are primarily paying for the name. Other than this shopping I have had an economical month and avoided the clothes shops.

I blogged early last time as I was going away and did not get the blog topic until my return, so thought I would do it this time and hope it is still useful and not too late. My first reaction to what makes a brand good quality was 'price'. You get what you pay for. But on reflection feel that reputation counts for a huge amount of how I feel about a brand. I do not consider George clothing to be good quality, but do think it is good for the price. I have never had any issues with items I have bought from George, with regard to durability or how they wash, so in that respect I guess they are good quality. However in my head I never have any great expectations for quality from George. I would consider from the list of shops provided that ASOS and Matalan were very cheap quality and beneath George. I believe this is true from experience from items I have bought and they have not lasted. Florence and Fred and TU would be equal in Quality to George. M & S and Next would be better quality than George. I am not sure why I think the later are better, other than their reputation. They have always promoted themselves as always willing to exchange their goods, 'No questions asked' if unhappy with the item for any reason. This instils a confidence in the buyer that the company back their products 100%, therefore making us think the products must be good quality. This therefore is my suggestion for George to impart their improved quality to the public by endorsing all products with money back guarantee if not completely satisfied. This may in fact currently be the case anyway but is not promoted to my knowledge. The last shop, Topshop, I think is quite expensive compared to the others mentioned and do not feel they offer particularly good quality for the price. I feel here you are very much paying a premium for the high fashion brand targeting youngsters. Finally I think to bring George up a level in considered quality you need to improve the presentaion of the goods within the shop. I think at the moment it is presented as 'supermarket' clothing rather than George as a clothing retailer in its own right. I think the George area should be more defined and updated.