Since the purpose of The Cube seems to be to compete with mall boutiques, we shall do a comparison of the two.
I had to trek out to the central valley to find a store that had the new section. It was like a square dancefloor in the middle of the store. The colors were brighter there, and as I neared the music became audible. The music remained at a pleasant background-noise level and featured inoffensive pop ballads by the likes of Madonna and Natasha Bedingfield. I'd vote the music better than the last mall boutique I was in, which featured a girl not singing and not rapping but repeating over and over some name people called her and that that was not her name over some technoesque drum and bass beats. Marshalls 1, Mall Boutique 0.
The merchandise was certainly on trend. Bright colors, maxi dresses, and cute sports wear filled the little section full of favorite juniors brands like ROXY and BC girls. A tree was covered with a small selection of trendy handbags. I'd say they excelled with sportswear and failed with the shoes. There was a shelf filled with fourth of July flip flops and few pairs of black patent peeptoe wedges. I'd say Marshalls and the average mall boutique tie on this one, since many mall boutiques don't offer shoes at all, and if they do, they often suffer the same downfall as Marshalls.
I had no trouble finding an armfull of clothes to try on. They had the sweetest candy striper dress, however I couldn't figure out how to get it on so I left it. It was a complicated, buttons on the chest that didn't go far enough down to open the waist, so there was a waist zipper on the side that didn't go all the way up, and yeah. I left it, despite it's cuteness. I opted instead for a few tops which I could actually use (the yellow top and the green top I sport in this posts pix.). There was some vanity sizing since I found the small section fit me perfectly, when usually I need a medium in juniors stores if I actually want to breathe. Good news for those who wear misses. Again, a tie between Marshalls and the average mall boutique, since mall boutiques can't seem to decide on standard measurements for their sizes.
My fellow shoppers seemed to approve of the section as I overheard coos on how cute this or that in the section was. The bright colors and trendy a-line fits and ruffled hems are sure to appeal to the average teen. The selection included the usual array of a few fricken cute items, a plethora of inoffensive choices that just don't junmp out, and the odd what the **** were they thinking item. Again a tie.
In the end, it looks like The Cube just beats out the average mall boutique with a score of 1 to 0. The music is better and everything else is about on par.
I also promised to take a look at the new shoe section in a better store than my local outcast-cousin of the chain store. This shoe section still featured the ugly comfort wear section, but had a larger selection of shoes that made my knees weak. It was most stocked with mid-range brands and trendy styles with high heels. It avoided the ridiculously sky high heels for the most part, with most of them being about three and a half inches high. My dad of all people convinced me to get some crazy 70s does 50s Steve Madden rainbow metallic heels that were on clearance. I love them with a passion. Apparently, they're on Zappos for $94 and were on Endless.com for a mere $37. I snagged mine for less than half of Endless.com's price. Certainly worth a look early in the shoe-searching game.
Liking Marshalls additions,
Ivy Frozen
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