Mar 09, 2002 07:11 PM
8479 Views
(Updated Mar 10, 2002 12:15 PM)
At the outset let me clarify that this is review is something born out of personal experience and hence has to be looked at in that perspective only. I have read what a few of the other members at mouthshut have to say about Peter England. This review is not a comment on their judgements by any means. It is a mere reflection of my experience with the product and that has to be summed up as less than satisfying.
When I took up teaching as a career, I realised my wardrobe needed a drastic change. I had to flush out a lot of casuals that had earlier taken most of the space in my cupboard and replace them with formals. I had at that point of time opted for a few Louis Philippe(LP) and Van Heusen(VH) shirts ( my Dad had asked me buy the shirts and send him the bill) and my trousers were ones that I got stitched from a reputed local tailor. I loved both these brands. I still love them seven years hence. I say this because, I still wear to work, most(6 out of 8 ) of those shirts that I had bought then.
It was about two years back that I bought first Peter England (PE). Backed by major promotional campaigns and offers PE was around that time a well established brand. Also the ''wrinkle free'' range was catching on. I got myself two shirts, both full sleeves formal. One was a wonderful shade of grey that I had always wanted but never found on the stands of LP or VH. The other was almost similar to the color of the shirt which is shown on mouthshut under the PE brand name. Now I must confess that one major reason for shifting my loyalty from LP and VH was the price range. I could buy atleast two shirts for the price of one( atleast that was my reasoning at that time).
To my horror I found that these shirts fell woefully short of my expectations. They started to shed color with every wash. I even went to the shop from where I bought the shirt to get an answer that probably I did not follow the wash instructions. Now iam not a technical expert on washing but I have never had this problem of colour fading with the other two brands of shirt and I washed them the same way. A friend of mine even quipped 'just look at the positive yaar, you have a different shade of shirt after every wash and isnt that a good thing'.
I also found that the shirt was not as comfortable as LP or VH. I dont know how to express this aspect of my review better. I would put it down as the 'feel' of a shirt. I felt much more at ease with the other brands than with PE. Though they say its 100% cotton(which I dont question at all) I find LP and VH more comfortable in summer.
The only thing PE was 'honest' about with my shirt was the 'wrinkle free' part of the deal. I paid only for the shirt and got the ''Wrinkles Free'' !!!! Honestly the shirts that I bought far from being wrinkle free are actually wrinkle prone. There is no way I can wear the shirt without a hard and rigorous ironing. And what ever the look of the shirt after ironing, after a few hours of wearing it looks as wrinkled as it was before ironing.
Mine must be a rare case where-in I got a raw deal and probably in the last two years the company has come up with better products. But in my case it is the classic case of once bitten twice shy. I cannot see myself buying another PE shirt or trouser(though I have never bought PE trousers). I would any day buy one LP or VH even if it means skipping two PEs. For those who want to dress ''informally'' formal I would any day recommend Allen Solly. Now if you are wondering what I did with my PEs...well simple I wear it at home...HONEST !!!
