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Despite the wait - over an hour if you arrived before the 11AM grand opening and easily twice as long for the rest of the day - the inside of the store was manageable, especially the men’s section on the lower level, which was appreciably less hectic than the upper floors. Live DJs were a slight upgrade to the usual Urban Outfitters soundtrack but went largely unnoticed by swarms of avid shoppers. Meanwhile, lines for both the dressing rooms and registers inevitably grew with the day, as fledgling staff juggled credit cards, gift cards and student IDs.
As for the collections, Topman tends to be less parasitic on couture than Topshop, though the basement is no less of a visual onslaught than the top three floors of womens’ clothing. Brand-spanking-new racks of colorful basics are arrayed in the center of the floor, with sections such as full suits, footwear, accessories and denim lining the walls. The higher-end ‘Topman Design’ section occupies a boutique space in another corner, which can be viewed in slideshow form at Urban Daddy.
The look and feel of Topman is perhaps less continental (and pricier) than the likes of H&M, but definitely smacks of hipster fashions; the brand is a veritable mash-up of Ben Sherman, American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. Only time will tell whether there is enough room in Soho - not to mention the oversaturated fast-fashion market in general - to support yet another European import.
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