Penny's - what's the fuss about?

simu

I often hear people bang on about the wonderful, cheap clothes they buy in Penny's and have even seen it mentioned in a few fashion magazines. However, anytime I've been there, all I've seen is tacky rubbish that will disntegrate at the first wash. (I don't like buying things that won't last long).

What do people here think about Penny's?

Nightwish

Penneys is great for underwear-exactly the same as the stuff in Topshop, Miss Selfridge, only for a quarter of the price. I buy socks/tights and plain tops there, thats it though.

gonker

I actually find they are great for tshirts really cheap cheap handbags that are nearly disposable they are so cheap, cheap jewellery that is again nearly disposable they are so cheap, and as I have REALLY long legs I love their trousers and jeans as they seem to be really long and fit me unlike other brands oh and they are great for kids clothes. They got into trouble in the uk there a while ago for selling stuff that was copies of labels.

Eve e

Penny's great stuff,cheap but not tacky.

High Street fitted black top 100% cotton 30 Euro +.

Penny's fitted black top 100% cotton 9 Euro.

simu

Maybe it's just the Cork and Galway ones I've been in - I can never find plain things - they always have some tacky slogan or appliquée decoration on t-shirts, for example, so I'd go to a place like Topshop for generic items. Their socks are grand, granted, but their underwear is horrible imo but then again, I'm a bit fussy about underwear.

Scraggs

They are clever for making the 'high fashion' so cheap that its easily disposable, which is what fashion is.
Another great thing is their stock is always changing and the fashion is up-to the minute but the thing is getting in there early at the start of the season before everyone in the town is wearing it!
Yes there is some cacky cheap and nasty stuff but also some great fashionable stuff you would wear that really doesnt break the bank. Plus some of the stuff is actually fairly good quality especially considerin the price ya pay for it!
Its particularly good for accessories and the basics like socks and pyjamas etc.

jacket

Their CHEAP stuff is just that, cheap.

Their slightly more expensive stuff (read still inexpensive) is of good quality.

Check the labels, if it says 100% acrylic/polyester etc then AVOID.
If it says 70% acrylic, 30% cotton then it's MUCH BETTER with regard to wear and tear.

Scarinae

I buy socks and knickers there, that's pretty much it. I used to buy bras and string tops and stuff there when I was a younger teenager but to be quite honest the clothes don't really last so I don't anymore, I'd prefer to get slightly more expensive clothes made of good quality material because I'm the kind of person who likes to keep clothes for ages

abercrombie

i've recently discovered penny's...i always buy socks there (coz i love their socks lol) but when i woz in dundrum town centre there the other day i had a look at their tops and stuff and it woz actually of good quality...and dirt cheap!! like i got 3 tank tops for €3 EACH..and a zip-up top for €13...when i'm usually paying like €40...and all these clothes hve washed so well...i woz astonished like!! ROCK ON PENNY'S! tho i wont be buying all my clothes in there...

OLDYELLAR

Im not really a fan . get most of my underwear there alright , a few accessories , Got a black pants for 6e there at the weekend , but I wouldnt really be a fan the only time im usually in is when im in for undies an if I see something else then I`ll get it. That happens rarely though.

rainbow kirby

I get t-shirts and other tops there, but not much else. I find it incredibly hard to find bras there in my size, and I'm just not a fan of the trousers. Their sizing can be mad sometimes, my 5'1" sister bought a pair of trousers and they were too short.

Scraggs

yeah agree with the sizing thing.. often ya have to try on 2 or 3 diff sizes to get the right fit....and the lengths also..

OLDYELLAR

Yea the size 12 pants were huge so I got a ten but they were 10 on an 8 hanger I just about sqeezed em on , almost had a new air hole made in em at that stage though.

Alana

It's pretty good for the ladies, but since H&M has come to Dublin, I haven't looked back. But Penneys is still good for the odd sweater or cheap bag or 5.

Azureus

its great for underwear, bags and generl accesories though sizes can be way off-still worth the effort of tryng everything on for the prices though! it can be a bit hit and miss as to how long the clothes will last the really cheap stuff can go out of shape with one wash but most of them are as good as any other shop for half the cost!

Stench Blossoms

I buy some undies there and a few bags.. its great for holiday clothes ie shorts and t shirts. i just find it hard to find size 10-12.. they have 8-10 and 12-14 but never any 10-12's!!!

Squirrel

For guys it's great, cheap jeans, tops, longsleeves etc. pretty much all my clothes come from there, although they have turned gay recently selling pink t shirts, I was so pissed off when I saw that

Executive Steve

always good for kamikaze shopping... whenever i'm going off to like a two day open air rave in a forest i go and buy an outfit iin penney's because i knw whatever i wear will be utterly wrecked and i'd better wreck something cheap and disposable!

you find the odd nice thing in there, but a lot of careful browsing is required. they're good for socks and underwear, and good for cheap officey shirts etc [or for smartening up for that first court appearance] wouldn't buy a t-shirt there though... not that they don't have nice ones every once in a while, i just don't like it when i see someone wearing a t-shirt i have, especially if i'm wearing it at the time, it does my head in [neurotic i know!]

smoocher

i buy all the basic stuff der like t shirts, string/tank tops cos its so cheap.
Oh and der scarves and gloves are always good value aswell .
I always shop early der tho cause when it gets busy all the sizes get mixed up and its just a pain to find the one you're looking for.

dudara

I love Penney's. They're absolutely brilliant for plain t-shirts, really disposable handbags, accessories and so on. Some of their jewellery and belts are brilliant value. I often buy a cheap handbag so that I can customise it myself.

At the moment they also have a few brilliant skirts that are about half the price of equivalent ones I've seen in A-wear and so on.

Granted there is a lot of tack, and you have to be prepared to search, for instance t-shirts, most of them have stupid slogans on the front, but every so often you'll find a rack of plain ones, in great colours.

I don't buy bras there, as they never fit. They seem to have this idea that every bra must be padded, even when you're 36D. The upshot is that they never fit me.

Also, the really expensive stuff (by penney's standards) is reduced, so you can pick it up for a bargain. I have two dress coats, that cost E10 each, that gather so many complements. They really look as if they cost E100 each.

Lilly81

penney's rocks!!!!

bigmouth

I bought a skirt there recently and was asked by someone who works as a supervisor in Jane Norman did I get it there. Spotted the EXACT same skirt in Jane Norman the following week for €40 when i had paid €13

Lilly81

don't you just love that

hey bigmouth, haven't seen you on the nui maynooth forum (there's more non students on there than students by the way) - say hello!

mentalimplosion

penney's is really hit and miss - it's the kind of place where, if you're into what's in fashion at the moment, you'll do well. most branches are kind of ****e, dundrum being (supposedly, and i'd have to agree) the best in the country.
i am the kind of person who gets addicted to certain items of clothing, then wears them to death but, surprisingly, my favourite penney's pieces - my marc jacobs style military jacket, sequinned shrugs and my three euro brown trenchcoat - have held up very very well.

the underwear there is ****e quality, whoever said it's the same as topshop or miss selfridge is talking out their hole because the stuff from penney's is crap quality and doesnt wash well.

penney's is also great for buying stuff and cutting it up. i hate them gypsy skirts everyone wore this summer so i bought some and made them into miniskirts.

shoes can be hit and miss as well. i wouldn't buy shoes there hoping they'll last forever.

overall, penney's is definitely one of my favourite shops but it doesn't work for everyone

doctor evil

I`m not a fan of Penny`s

Their clothes shrinks and falls apart. The t-shirts can at times have a very funny fit. I would go there to buy belts and bags but thats about it. I prefer shops like Dunnes as they are far superior quality and they are Irish owned.

tSubh Dearg

I've gotten some good stuff in Pennys. A pin-stripe skirt that looks like it could come from River Island or Jane Norman, some nice knitted tops and lots of great socks!

There is a lot of tat though, I just route through and I can usually find something nice though sometimes not.

The worst thing that I've had happen in there is getting a couple of pairs of work trousers, I tried on one pair in my size and it fit so I just took another pair off the rack in the same size....only to discover when I got home that they were cut smaller even though they were marked the same size. I've now learnt to try everything on!

They also do a nice line in PJ bottoms and they have lovely big soft dressing gowns at the moment...I might have to go get one.

Flashling

I love Pennys! What it's best at is having plain, cheap clothes that you can then wear with something special-er, and they look great. The underwear is a weird shape though...

I really like Penneys in general. There is loads of tat but there is also loads of nice stuff that you would never guess came from there. I don't usually buy their jeans/trousers cos they fit badly but I get compliments about the one pair I got in the sale for 4 euro. I don't know about now but they used to do LOADS of plain T shirts and long sleeved tops which are great for just wearing under stuff. Why pay 3 times as much in Topshop for the same thing?

I mostly buy my underwear in there, I think its grand quality, considering no underwear seems to last long after a few washes in my washer anyway, and I think their pyjamas are really nice, and only 5 euro! Also there are nice blazers, jackets, bags and scaves in there. You just need to look for the nicer stuff and ignore all the crap.

Madge

I think Penneys have some nice stuff... especially the lingerie. (In the Sligo branch you can get nice sets for €6)...
No matter where you buy lingerie its going to start getting shabby when it's machine washed- so you might aswell buy it in Penneys.
The t-shirts are useless- the motiffs etc on the front will come off... but their trousers + shirts are great!

natter

I get all my everyday type underwear in Pennys because its so damn cheap. You can get lovely tops in there especially now all the winter stuff is in. Like I got a long sleeved v-neck orange top in there last week for €7 or €8 I think. I dont really care if it only lasts a few months, at that price it doesnt really matter.

And as for the underwear not lasting all that long, the knickers and socks last the same length as anywhere else I find and if you machine wash any brand of bra its gonna lose its shape.

JC 2K3

I got 2 plain long sleeved tshirts for €4 each!

Excellent quality too, a lot of my clothes come from Penny's, it's great!

rsynnott

Squirrel wrote:

For guys it's great, cheap jeans, tops, longsleeves etc. pretty much all my clothes come from there, although they have turned gay recently selling pink t shirts, I was so pissed off when I saw that

*gapes in horror* You poor little darling, you had to look at pink tshirts; somebody call Amnesty!

parasite

pffft, there is nothing there for guys (in cork penney's anyway), unless you're going for the dressed by mammy look ¬_¬

simu

parasite wrote:

unless you're going for the dressed by mammy look ¬_¬

It's back, baby.

Only messing - but how much longer are we safe????////??

DublinWriter

simu wrote:

However, anytime I've been there, all I've seen is tacky rubbish that will disntegrate at the first wash.

How about this for a role reveral.

I love labels and quality, my ex gf didn't and always used to slag me for spending 100+ on a shirt and 500+ on a suit. She was a real Pennies junkie.

However, I never saw her wearing the same stuff from Pennies at least once or twice. It would all fall apart or shrink at the first wash, as you said.

She thought I was crazy spending 200 on a pair of English handmade Grenson shoes five years ago, but I'm still wearing them to this day and they look as good as new.

In the meantime she spent twice as much as me on stuff from Pennys that was thrown out after a couple of wears.

False economy really.

simu

DublinWriter wrote:

In the meantime she spent twice as much as me on stuff from Pennys that was thrown out after a couple of wears.

False economy really.

Yeah. I like my stuff to last!

Sleepy

I'll always have a soft-spot for Penneys because they financed much of my college education and as a result of spending twenty-odd hours a week there I developed an eye for their stuff.

The mens' stuff is (in general) far higher quality than the womens, particularly the 'Butler & Webb' range which is great for shirts for the office etc. and it's brilliant for the basics like dressing gowns, socks, boxers plain t-shirts etc...

The womens' fashions tends to be far flimsier quality, the lingerie is horrendous (and famously ill-fitting) and if you buy your shoes there, don't expect any sympathy when they cut the feet off ya.

The kids stuff is great because, lets face it, kids outgrow their clothes very fast and play in muck so you're a fool to spend a lot of money on their everyday clothes...

I still shop there quite regularly because I see very little difference between their stuff and what I'd buy in Next so why bother spending the extra money when it's only something to wear to work anyway? I'll spend that bit more on stuff for going out in but we've a casual-dress policy in the office so I'm damned if I'm wearing labels in!

tinkerbell

I only buy underwear in Penneys. I used to buy a bra or two, but I haven't bought any bras there in ages, I buy all my bras from Victoria's Secret now. I love the little hot pants that Penneys sell, they are sexy knicks, I've loads of pairs of 'em, I could set up my own lingerie store at this stage!

dudara

I spend serious money on my lingerie, and as a result i have some beautiful pieces that have lasted a long time and survived many a wash intact. I don't agree with people's previous statements that all lingerie disentegrates after a few washes. penney's bras are so bad fitting that they're not worth buying.

However, for colourful tops and a quick fashion fix, they're well worth it

squiiish

I buy underwear and tights and occasionally wool stuff ( not great quality but when I worked in an office with a dress code I didn't want to spend huge amounts on work clothes).
I find a lot of their tops are very badly cut, and nearly every thing is too big (I'm an 8, and there is no way that what they say in an 8 is actually an 8) In the summer I buy t-shirts from the kids section.

OLDYELLAR

ou I remembered something great about penneys I got 3 full suits for work in there at christmas for 90e like 30e each Ive washed them loads a times as i wear them a few times a week for work and there still perfect and look better than the one I got for 70e in Dunnes , so Penneys do pull just enough out of the hat every now and again to keep us going back .Rock on the cheap suits!

d4gurl

Penny's is great for stuff u only wil wear once or twice! Id get laods of pygammes there cuz im a pj kinda gal so i have about 20 pairs lol! Underwear aint bad but i prefer Dunnes and there bras are ok but Marks and Spence for quality and durablity any day! They have crazy sale on at the mo! tshirts for two euro!!wat??lol!! The biggest problem is when you want somehting plain and simple and the only sizes they have are above 14 grrrrrr that makes me mad!!

Lynibeth

I don't mind some of the stuff in Penneys. I like the underwear and some other stuff but I HATE the people who shop there. I'm sorry but they all look the same. BROWN AND ORANGE!!! Therefore Penneys just supplies the c**p they wear. I hate all of them!! I, being a Goth, hardly shop there for actual clothes but I'd get the odd thing there here and then but all I get is looks and hassle. It's disgraceful

Asha's no.1. Top quality clothes. Don't care what anyone says

Shellie13

Squirrel wrote:

For guys it's great, cheap jeans, tops, longsleeves etc. pretty much all my clothes come from there, although they have turned gay recently selling pink t shirts, I was so pissed off when I saw that

WHAT???? NOthing is sexier on a guy than a pink top!!!!!

Tar.Aldarion

haha,damn my brothers and their pink tshirts...i have to constantly ask them 'are you sure you are not gay? '

d4gurl

aww guys in pink look so hot and not gay! It shows strong character! Calling it gay means your highly insecure!! LOL!!

Seraphina

i pop into penney's every time i pass by. i've picked up loads of lovely cheap bags, plain string tops or t-shirts just for general wear and lots of underwear. i find the bras generally ill fitting but the undewear selection is nice and cheap. i also got some nice shoes and flip flops for summer and a skirt or two, but i would agree with alot of the stuff being cheap and tacky. you just have to have a good look around and dont buy anything that feels like the material is cheap.

Mercury_Tilt

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