More JOE

To further my love-in with Joe Fresh, I visited Loblaws on Queens Quay over the weekend to pick up some fruit for Clue Night. Knowing that we would be heading over after eating at one of the Indian restos on Queen St, and the fact that I ate at The Host for a buffet lunch the day before, I nixed any thoughts of chips and greasies for fresh!fresh! fruit!

This Loblaws is big. Well, most SuperStores are big, but this one has a dedicated shop for Joe Fresh, which I like very much. It has a feel that is close to what Club Monaco used to be, before they started carrying $400 monochromatic alpaca wool and cashmere sweaters. Very clean and basic fashions on white walls and tables. I picked up three items before E looked at me and said, 'you already have shirts in those colours.' Ummm, no, not quite this yellow, and no I don't really need this cocoon sweater, but fine. *sigh* One was only $10! My only complaint is that they didn't have enough items in XS. And I really wanted a pair of wellies for $24, but I didn't see any of those.

If I compare other inexpensive options like Forever XXI and H&M, I think that for value (price:quality), Joe Fresh does quite well. H&M is a bit hit or miss, but has a much bigger selection, and Forever XXI would only be for single-wear-and-throw-away. (I said this to a friend, who became very defensive of Forever XXI. But I stand by what I say for the most part.) I don't usually shop in Zellers (been 2x in the last...15 years? to buy a Care Bear for a niece and Marshmellow Peeps), but maybe I'll deign to visit and see the Alfred Sung collection for comparison's sake.

I have visited the SuperStores in Scarborough and Markham, which don't have separate Joe Fresh shops, although their selections are not bad either.