Out here in "the OC," they are selling Henri Bendel fragrances and body products at Bath & Body Works.

For example, their cologne is $48. I have a coupon, so I will buy some, but I only think that the upscale lines will work in certain parts of the world.

Herni Bendel is owned by the same company that owns Bath and Body Works.

I fit the jeans fine in Express. But the tops are small on me. I have a wide rib cage and shoulders along with my chest, so some of thier stuff doesn't fit.

I went into an Express store that was at a big mall, so it has a lot of stuff. Why did I see a cashmere sweater for $500 on the 50% off rack?!?!?!?! There were a couple of other sweaters that were more than $150-$450 on that same rack. I think the people there are all smoking crack. There are better things at The Limited for waaaaayyyy less than what Express charges. I only get the Express jeans when they're on sale for $30. :mad:

Doesnt it make you soo mad??? I'm cutting up my Express Gold card!!

Ya'll seem to have alot of fashion sense. I love those stores like Limited and Express but I guess I cant see myself wearing stuff like that. I'm a poor college student. I shop at American Eagle. :( How can I turn down cute, casual 40 dollar jeans? AND a credit card that sends you 15% off coupons all the time? One store I do go into and drool over stuff is Banana Republic. The only way I've been able to buy stuff I like there is because I have friends who work there.

Ahhh.. Banana Republic... another pricey store... at least their quality is, in general better than Express for what you pay.

Another gripe Express.... WHY DID THEY STOP DOING THE FAST CASH ?? I loved that deal. They also stopped sending as many cupons. We don't have that many Lerner stores around me, but I wish we did so I could start going there instead.

i haven't gotten any express coupons in AGES and AGES and i'm a platinum express card holder too

ETA: American Eagle's not exactly cheap, either. Plus their stuff is a little too young for me. Lots of super trendy, but not very flattering stuff. But yeah for a Pittsburgh based company though. Express stuff I can wear to work. American Eagle, I could never. AE and Express have very different lines

And if you're bordering on plus size or have a large chest, you can just forget about getting anything that fits properly at most of those stores.

I shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch all the time when I was in high school and early college. Back then they sold clothes that were more like things you'd find at Eddie Bauer and the prices were really good. I think at least half my wardrobe came from those two stores. (Plus the guys in that store were always hot. :D ) Now it's another store where I can't find things.

Lane Bryant used to be a part of Limited Brands but they were sold fairly recently to the people who own Fashion Bug. They too have really been jacking up the prices. I will say that the quality of their clothes, particularly lingerie, has improved. Back in the day if I bought a bra at Lane Bryant it would fall apart within a week. They're much better made now.

Yeah, I'm not fat but I do need to lose weight and Express jeans are the only ones that fit me the way I like. So I'm kind of bound to them because of that. But I have a wide rib cage and shoulders and chest, so the shirts don't fit unless they are a size 14. The larges are still kinda small.

I'm getting cheaper and cheaper. I can bring myself to buy shirts that are like $30, let alone things that areover $100.

Express shirts don't really fit me either, because I have a really big chest. The large is always a little too small, but I can usually fit a 10 or 12 shirt.

WTF??? $500 for an Express sweater? That's crazy. I hope it's at least good crack that they're on.

lol good crack. That's funny! :p

I'm going to Express tomorrow to check out the after Christmas sales. I could use some new pants.

I miss Fast Cash too. I asked a sales lady recently why they stopped and she said something to the effect that Express was losing money when the Fast Cash was redeemed. I don't know how true that is, but I highly doubt Express was losing money! :mad:

Yeah... they didn't have good pants on sale. There jeans are regular price and the pants that are on sale are kind of funky. I like conservative pants and flashy shirts if that makes sense.

I did have some luck at Express yesterday. They had leather purse gift sets for 80% off. The sets usually come with a scarf, broach, and maybe some gloves or a hat or something. I got a blue $50 purse for $10. They also had silk camis for 1/2 off. Yeah, $22 for a silk tank top is a bit much, but it was way cute.

Bottom line, the accessories are cheap... the clothes... not so much.

(I didn't see $500 sweaters though... just $100.)

NorcalChick... where are you located? Because I went to the Sacramento malls and found the above prices.

I went to the Valley Fair mall in San Jose when I saw those sweaters. It's big mall that has like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany's and a big Express. You can find stuff on sale, but it's stuff that's like size 0's or 2's something.

I've been there briefly. Since it's probably more upscale than lil' Arden Mall in Sacramento, I can see them carrying more expensive merchandise.

Yeah, the Valley Fair mall is bigger than the Arden Fair one, unless Arden has gotten bigger within the last year.

i don't know if anyone has already said this b/c i haven't read the entire thread but you know what would be so funny? if somebody printed this thread and sent it to them with a letter attached. ;)

Uh...is it just me? Not only their clothes are more expensive now, but their style has also changed. And changed for the worst! It seems like they're jumping on the vintage bandwagon with AE and A+F.

Are you serious??? Ugh... I started shopping at Express because I could get a couple nice things for work... and to get AWAY from the AE/AF stuff.

Guess it's back to Gap for me.

American Eagle is supposed to be starting a new store aimed at 25-35 year olds.

Really? That makes me very happy. Lately, every time I go in there I feel really old. My husband says it's way too frat boy for him anymore. :)

I heard about it too... 33 and I probably would hear about it well before the general US population because AE is HQ'd here in the Pittsburgh area. I'm not sure when it's supposed to open. I'd be happy to have some alternatives to shop at. I'm actually going to the mall in a little while, i'm interested to see what Express's spring stuff is looking like. And what it's priced at.

Right now Express is having a promotion where if you purchase a pair of Editor or Correspondent pants, you get $15 off your purchase. I was in there yesterday and bought a pair of capris and a cami for my Aruba trip. I'm going back tonight to see about another pair of pants for work and to get another $15 off. :D

Uh Oh....Look out Express here I come. Its probably not good that I just got my tax refund too! uh oh!

the $15 thing is a great deal.

They're sorta redesigning their editor and correspondant pants... wasn't a fan of the ones I tried on, didn't like the fit. The salesgirl claimed that they had made improvements, such as reinforcing the hem (i've had to resew most of my hems b/c they've fallen down).

I only bought a pair of earrings and a $5.99 sweater. I didn't really like any of their regular priced stuff....

ohhh that would be great! i used to love that store in college. we didn't have it back home in NY, but in college in VA it was my favorite store to go to! now we have it in NY, but when i go in there, i feel so OLD! i'm only 26 but the stuff is way too young for me.

any news on what it will be called?

Aren't Limited, Express, and Bath and Body all part of the same parent company? Seems like Baby Berry heard they were and got all excited about the discount--and then found out that the store where she works, Limited Too, isn't part of the group.

Express here is notorious for hiring a whole bunch of girls to work in the summer and over the holidays and then giving them about 6 hours of work per week.

They did that to me and then wondered why I quit. Errr...because it sucks to work here and I'm not making money?!

I've had to do the same thing, and wasn't happy that I paid the price I did for the hem to fall out!:mad:

I too have given up on express.....when i realized that some of my skirts that i bought 3 or 4 years ago were a size 11/12 and they fit me the same or better than the 13/14 now.

I'm a big fan of H&M - not always the best quality, but it's cheap and trendy.

Oh yea, express doesn't make 13/14 anymore. They only go to a size 12. I got a new paif of jeans from there today with my $15. I was only trying on the pair so I get $15 off the shirt that i was getting my boyfriend for valentines day, and I LOVED them!! They fit so good too. Its worth $60-80 to spend on a pair of jeans that fit me really good...:D

went to Express yesterday... the girl there said they started sending out coupons to cardholders again. Anyone get any? I had told her that was one of the reasons why I cancelled my card.

Don't know when they redid their jeans... I did buy a pair, and they feel like they're cut bigger. But I'm not sure if I like them, b/c even though they're supposed to have a higher waist, the fall down when i'm sitting and I was trying to cover up plumber butt at the bar last night.

Didn't really even see anything else I liked there and their prices are ridiculous

I worked there in 2002. Their clothes are poorly made. I don't shop there anymore. Any Limited brand store I stay away from. Everything is so expensive, but made cheap.

My advice: go to major dept. stores and splurge on designer jeans and pants. It's the best move I have ever made. :D

I find the exact opposite to be true. Having worked there, as well, I found the clothes to be very well made. In fact, I still wear my winter pea coat, skirts, jeans, sweaters, etc. I do find the new pricing to be outrageous. But, the stuff I have from there is still in GREAT shape.

Also, I find Victoria's Secret to make things of good quality. I find the Limited brands to be of good quality.

Anyone else agree/disagree?

The older express stuff that I have is well made and has held up. Their stuff for the past two years or so has been much poorer quality. The editor pants ALL lose their hems. Various shirts lose their shape easily or develop random holes quickly.

There has NOT been a quality increase to go along with the price increases.

The new Editor pants supposedly have a better hem on it. I guess a lot of people were complaining about the quality of the stitching so they reinforced the hem. I haven't had any problem with my newer Editor pants. The only problem I've had is that on a pair of Editor pants I bought last month, the inside button fell off in the washing machine. It wasn't a big deal because I was easily able to sew it back on but it still sucked that the first time I wash my pair of pants that something would fall off.

I've bought 2 pairs since this supposed "redesign". The hem fell on one, the other pair i've only worn twice but so far okay. I also don't like how they're cut now, not as comfortable and flattering as they used to.
That's on my to-do list for this week... sew the hems on the at least 6 pairs of editor pants that I have that have fallen.

I haven't had any button issues, but that sucks, ZTAngel. How hard is it for a manufacturer to put on a button correctly?

Never really had a problem with Limited stuff, but I don't have much from there.

And Tippiechick, i'll have to disagree on the VS stuff. The bras aren't too bad in general (except that i've found that their hooks snap REALLY easily). But their panties fall apart so easily, particularly the cotton. Both my roommate and I have enough VS. Most department store brands have better quality panties.