Is Esprit hot or not?

While this is a store that prides itself on simple white T-shirts and V-neck sweaters, this season the Esprit designers have clearly been concerning themselves with much more than boring basics.

From checked mini-skirts in garish shades (£35) to unassuming stiff-collared white shirts (£25) and a bizarrely shaped duffel-coat-style coat-cardi with fake-fur trim (£55), this shop plays host to a whole medley of styles, colours and cuts, all of which hang on the rails together in a state of organised madness.

A brand struggling with its identity, Esprit does best with simple M&S-like pieces — the scoop-neck T-shirts at £14 are good for layering — but falls down on its attempts at anything more adventurous, like prints. What's interesting about Esprit is that while it has little presence on the radar of British high-street shoppers, abroad it's far more successful — a long-legged Australian friend of mine swears by it for sweaters and great-fitting work trousers.

With the exception of a green flannel shirt (£35), Esprit's current stock makes little effort to adhere to any trends, which would be fine if it spent more time focusing on well-fitting high-quality basics and workwear and less on those weird utilitarian pieces that, quite frankly, aren't going to fly this side of Europe.

Changing rooms: clean and bright

Staff: extremely helpful and friendly

Quality: a high standard on jersey though some of the knitwear feels a bit scratchy

Best buy: cigarette chinos, £40