@Fab

The nicest clothes in this shop can be found in the window, and over the years a number of things have caught my eye. Sadly, the rest of the stock doesn’t live up to the impression given by the window display.
There is no clear target market here, and it feels like the owners have tried to please everyone of all different ages and tastes, and unfortunately it hasn’t really worked.
It reminds me a little of a charity shop in that you have to hunt through everything in the hunt of finding something that you like in your size, although often to no avail. And, of course, it’s nowhere near as cheap as a charity shop and you don’t save any lives by shopping here.
I’m sure there are a couple of people who will be able to find something they love here, but as much as I want to support independent stores, @Fab is all the reasons why they’re dying out and high street chains have taken over.

Sandwiched between Noa Noa and Luxor, two other women’s clothing shops, @Fab is a shop that seems confused about its own identity.
The prices seem to vary quite dramatically from cheap to overpriced, and the styles are equally diverse (though not necessarily in a good way) and seem to span several age groups — so you’d really have to shop hard to find something vaguely decent.
There’s plenty of colour splashed about the rails, but many of the items look a bit dated and on my two visits to this shop I couldn’t find one item I’d want to buy. Suffice to say, @Fab isn’t all that Fab at all.

@ Fab are a bit of an anomaly to. They seem to have a confusing array of stock that does not adhere to any kind of focus or logic. ‘Random’ is possibly the word that best describes the fashion choices that they espouse, but may be this is due to the fact that they appear to be trying to appeal to absolutely everyone’s tastes, from kids to teenagers, 20-​somethings, young professionals, middle aged women, and of course, centenarians!
Every time I glance into this shop I wince a little. I think that it makes it worse that the little segment of Wellfield Road that @ Fab occupies is populated by businesses that really know how to specialise. Noa Noa and Luxor, to name but two of the well focussed and targeted businesses that flank this inconsistent boutique that defies definition, although ‘pretty awful’ would be a good generic start to the proceedings!
They have a few A4 posters by the entrance, offering to ‘price match’ identical items found at other shops… but I guess that they are pretty safe in this territory, and are rarely called to, if ever, sell clothing at a lesser price than is advertised on the label… there really aren’t too many other outlets that are stocking the same clobber!!!

The main thing about this shop is that the window displays sometimes seem to suggest that there are nice clothes inside. Then, you’ll find that there are actually none at all. At other times you will think that the window display is hideous (at all times the display suggests that the shop is stuck in the 90s, but there are moments of brilliance) but the stock inside will be pretty good. The staff are lovely, which is more of a must than a plus, when the stock is so hit and miss. However, the prices are cause another problem. Some items are cheap and some are more expensive — too expensive for what they are. The only way to shop here is to search long and hard, check every price and every label. However, once you get to the till and talk to a staff member, you’ll be happy again.