Urban Outfitters Goes Boutique

Nov 09, 2007 @ 1:31pm

Urban Outfitters Boutique.jpgIt's no secret that Urban Outfitters wants to be TopShop.

In fact, if the two stores were high school students, TopShop would be like the gorgeous art-obsessed girl, quirky but still popular, and Urbans would be the beta best friend - she takes photography, too, but it's just for the boys.

So we're not surprised to see a hallmark of TopShop's style - the Boutique - end up launching at Urbans this week.

In both stores, the company annexes some space for upscale designers and runway looks. At TopShop, the boutique carries an in-house line of fashion forward outfits, plus diffusion lines from Preen, Celia Birtwell, Kate Moss, etc.

In Urban Outfitters, the boutique area shelves all the brand names they've got. Some are expensive (Betsey Johnson, Frye); some are just cool (Cheap Monday, Ash).

But will the Urbans boutique keep its customers when TopShop hits town next year? Or will they need to find a new seat the style cafeteria?

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posted in News, Shopping tags TopShop, Urban Outfitters

Comments

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posted by chic3

Nov 09, 2007 1:59PM

I think the key to re-wearing outfits "out" is to change it up by switching shoes, accessories, hair, make-up, etc,.. but if you have clothes handed to you a-la-celeb, then re-wearing clothes at major events is a MAJOR no no.

posted by Laia

Nov 09, 2007 2:20PM

Isn't Topshop going to be super expensive once it gets here? Or are they going to price things accordingly here, not directly convert them? I think that will be a decisive factor when the time comes.

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posted by chic3

Nov 09, 2007 2:49PM

p.s. I'm a dumbass.. the above comment was suppose to go with the story below.. oops.

posted by Jaclyn

Nov 09, 2007 2:57PM

Ha. According to your description, I was TopShop in high school. Minus the gorgeous part. Well, what I'm trying to say is I'm no Serena van Der Woodsen.

and I can't wait for TopShop.

posted by le petit lapin vegan

Nov 09, 2007 3:18PM

May I just say that the running Urbn/TopShop high school analogies utterly made my day? Totally dead-on too.

posted by miss

Nov 09, 2007 4:02PM

Are those Dolce Vita dresses supposed to be the same Dolce Vita who gives us those very reasonably-priced on-trend shoes?

Because if they are I think their dress price-points are way too high, no?

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posted by guest

Nov 10, 2007 6:47PM

I don't get the TopShop obsession, is it just because its British and we can't buy it here? My boyfriend is a Brit and when we go to visit his family, I always drag him to TopShop. And I always feel like I'm sifting through piles of rayon crap. I'd rather shop at H&M every time.

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posted by guest

Nov 13, 2007 8:52PM

Everyone is trying to get some designers label in nowadays.

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posted by guest

Nov 14, 2007 10:06AM

"it's no secret that UO wants to be Topshop"?????

is that a joke? might be the other way around, actually...

last time I checked Urban Outfitters had set the gold standard on lifestyle merchandising, at least in the US. It would appear that, in today's "need it NOW" world, Topshop is right up there next to H&M in bandwagon fast-fashion - no merchandising, racks and racks and racks of product, not much thought into appearance and/or display.

might want to do some homework on the history of both retailers.

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posted by guest

Jan 01, 2008 7:44PM

Yes, the TopShop obsession you guys have is weird. The quality of the clothes are really bad compared to UO, and if we're competing on artsy-fartsyness, Urban Outfitters is way ahead. They've got the fancy music, the lifestyle segment and the quality, that TopShop lacks. TopShop is more like H&M, cheap and trying very hard to be "on-trend"

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