H&M cool, COS even better

One regret I had when I was shopping in Europe, not buying anything from COS, which stands for Collection of Style, launched by the people behind H&M as a higher-priced, better quality, design rather than trend focussed mass market line. We never spotted one until we were in Munich, and we were drawn by the simplicity of the clothes, and the quality of the fabrics, and its unscary prices. Neither of us bought anything because the stuff we tried were nice, but not fantastic, but it's easily the kind of place you'll mark as a regular shopping stop if we had it in Singapore. I remember falling for the tote below (but in navy patent), but at 225 euros, it was one of the few items bordering on ridiculous in terms of price - the workmanship of the bag didn't justify it. I would have bought some of the their lovely flats, well-priced at about 65 euros, but they didn't have my size in the colour I wanted. I think it's nice to have a mid-priced label that's actually designs rather than rips off the runway collections - I'm not necessarily condemning the likes of Zara or H&M or Topshop, since they bring high-end design to the masses, but it's a mistake to think that's all people want. COS actually has their own aesthetical message - a pared-down look along the lines of A.P.C. and Vanessa Bruno, but it's way more accessibly priced, and that's what people like me are looking for. Since we don't even have H&M yet, it's a little too much to ask for COS to show up on our shores, so in the meantime, go ogle online at their rather awful website www.cosstore.com . Their in-house magazine is a pretty good read.






Pictures from www.cosstore.com