Intro Menswear Shop Review

Where is it?

51 Deansgate

Manchester

M3 2AY

www.intro-clothing.com

History:

This independent menswear shop had been established for over ten years now, dedicating its efforts to offering Manchester a ‘truly unique service’, ‘guaranteed you won’t find anywhere else.’

The store website was recently re-launched with a big Winter Wonderland themed party, complete with some footballers, somebody from The Only Way Is Essex, and Goldie. If you can’t picture that, it look likes this.

That kind of sets the scene for what’s to come from this store. But is Intro a proud indie menswear boutique with top customer service and unique clobber? Or, like the pseudo celebrities floating around in the bubble of banality known as TOWIE, driven by a shameless desperation to be something a little more renowned? I thought I’d find out.

What do they sell?

From the ground floor you’d be forgiven for thinking Intro looks like your average print T-shirt and crimped scarf job. It’s all blacks, greys and whites. It feels like a small version of All Saints, with less sewing machines but just as many pairs of high floppy top boots.

However, delve further into the depth of the basement boutique and you’ll be surprised at the wash of colour. Stripy tees, checked shirts and loud jackets are everywhere. It’s difficult to get a pair of jeans with four or less pockets on, or have only enough holes for your limbs to fit through, but even for somebody like me who thinks that shopping at All Saints sounds about as much fun as Ghandi’s stag-do, there were still a few pieces that caught my eye.

They also sell OnePiece tracksuits which, as long as you don’t mind spending £130 and plan on never leaving the house whilst wearing it, look like incredibly comfortable loungewear.

Onepiece Tracksuit

Who shops there?

Young, confident, fashionistas. Or those that are simply sick and tired of having to put on a T-shirt and snood separately. The pricing of the brands on offer places Intro at the middle market range, and as most of the clothing is pretty ‘cutting-edge’ in terms of design, you’re not going to see anybody over the age of 35 browsing the selection of wing hooded knitwear unless they’re having a serious midlife crisis.

Why go there?

Whether or not the stock is to your taste, the customer service is pleasantly friendly and efficient. Wandering in on a Wednesday afternoon I found one customer deep in discussion in front of a mirror with a member of staff, thrashing out the pros and cons of the garment he was currently modelling.

Downstairs there were two more helpful employees, restrained from intrusively hounding, but never more than some subtle eye contact away from being of assistance.

You can also email their style advisor, Louis, with clothing dilemmas if you’re having trouble deciding what to wear - although I'm still awaiting a reply more than a week later. If you're going to offer the service on your website guys, you've got to see it through.

Intro, Manchester

Future:

The Deansgate store only re-launched in December last year, and the website saw a re-work in February, so it’s clear the people behind Intro have high hopes for 2012.

This is a proud independent though, so don’t expect one to be popping up in a town near you anytime soon, unless business really skyrockets.

Verdict:

If you’re looking for top-notch customer service and something that’s a little bit different, Intro is the definitely worth a look, particularly for fans of the high street established All Saints.

But if you like you boots with the laces tied and your knitwear crew-necked, then you going to leave this place feeling rather beige.

You can follow David on Twitter @DavidPMcCourt