This week marked the launch of H&M’s new, higher end label ‘& Other Stories’. When I first heard about this brand, I was curious about what to expect, because H&M to me has always been one of those stores which is neither bad nor great; you occasionally find a great piece in there but you usually have to sift through rails of boring first, and the website is definitely not inspiring. & Other Stories, however, has left me very pleasantly surprised! I would describe it as a cross between H&M and Zara, with prices more like Zara’s than H&M’s, but nevertheless fairly affordable.
Minimalism seems to be the key, with a website somewhat reminiscent of a well presented Tumblr blog (speaking of which, they have one of those too) which very easy to navigate and pleasing to look at. The theme of minimalism continues into the clothing, definitely in a good way. The ‘Ready To Wear’ section of the site is full of clean lines and silhouettes in everything from (what look like) great quality basics to gorgeous silk shirts and tailored trousers, to beautiful draping and to the occasional quirky print. & Other Stories hasn’t stopped at an impressive selection of clothes, their shoes (including a few Nike trainers as well as own brand), accessories, lingerie and even a range of branded beauty products have all left me dying to shop!
I intended to include just a few of my favourite pieces from the website in this post but I couldn’t narrow it down! If I hand’t spent all my money on Rihanna for River Island (whoops – blog posts to follow!) I would definitely be purchasing: the t-shirt with transparent stripes (£25), cotton/PU skirt (£39) and draped shorts (£39) (see first three images), and if money was no object I’d also love the partially transparent oxfords (£79), white cropped trousers (£55), a silk shirt or two (£65), amazing platform boots (£95) and everything else really!
The only UK store is located on Regent Street in London, I hope to pay a visit soon, but for those outside of the capital you can shop everything online too. What do you think of & Other Stories?