Topshop Versus Uniqlo

While both foreign imports reign within a mere few blocks of one another in the heart of Soho, Uniqlo and Topshop manage to cater to extremely varied clientele. First, Uniqlo. Let's be real - take a peek here and just admit that this is an eerily glorified version of American Apparel. The Broadway store itself is similar, although Uniqlo is cleaner, bigger, and much less of a mass market. Agyness Deyn can vouch for it until she turns blue in the face, but face it: there are only so many ways to reimagine a tank. Nevertheless, Uniqlo is fresh from Japan and boasts colorful basics at a considerably low price point, save for the occasional capsule collection by Alexander Wang and the forthcoming Jil Sander, aptly christened +J. This is cool, Uniqlo. Jil Sander, in particular, fits in with the clean, neat lines of the Uniqlo staples while Mr. Wang has an obvious weakness for simple, well-cut tees, hence the recent creation of T by Alexander Wang. These not only fail to be surprises, but will bring nothing very innovative to the store. The most credit I can offer to Uniqlo is the successful wooing of Sander in the first place, as she's a much more seasoned designer than Wang.

Ahh, but Topshop has Kate Moss, muse to experimental preteens worldwide. Admittedly, when I first stepped into the US flagship on Broome St. and Broadway, I inwardly groaned at the idea of an even trendier H&M (is that even possible?). But to my delight, Topshop happens to be four floors of pure sex. First of all, as a college junior, I'd like to applaud the fact that the store offers a 10% discount with a student ID. ALL OF THE TIME. If that's not an incentive, well just knee me in the heart. Additionally, Topshop not only carries the cheapest basics I've ever seen in my life, but dabbles (and by dabbles, I mean obsesses over) trends as well.
Pour exemple, if you look closely at these shots from the Dior Homme Spring 2010 collection, what do you see?

Cheekbones chiseled out of my stone cold heart? Check! Anything else? WHY YES, THAT IS MESH. And if you think very hard, who oh who would carry mesh pieces? Right, Topshop. I would know because I purchased, for 10% off of its not-very-exorbitant price, a lavender mesh motorcycle jacket. I understand that this sounds rather impractical, but when you consider that the price point, though not without a wide range, is not much higher than that of Uniqlo, this buy makes more sense than buying two tees that I already own.

In addition to the mesh, please note that the cut of the jacket hints at the hit piece that Christophe Decarnin of Balmain created for the label's Fall 2009 show. A happy purple marriage of the current mesh and the tried-and-true cut? I'm down.
Another perk is (hence the shoddy home photo quality) since the only American store is in Soho, if you can hoof it there and find something exclusive within the flagship, you won't have someone else mentioning that they bought the same exact thing online. The jacket, clearly, is not available online.

When you tally up the pros and cons of each store, Topshop is the clear winner as far as variety, price, and good clean fun go. Until we see what Ms. Sander has to offer, Uniqlo won't be a worthwhile stop for a wary shopper in NYC.