ON her hit TV makeover show What Not To Wear, she dished out candid advice on ill-fitting clobber, but Susannah Constantine has a surprising guilty pleasure.
While the fashion guru started her career working as a shop girl at Harrods and Giorgio Armani, one of her favourite stores is discount chain TK Maxx.
The mum of three, who found fame with pal Trinny Woodall in the Noughties, says: “I love TK Maxx.
“What’s not to like about a fashion retailer that sells everything you need under one roof, and all at a discount price?
“From their Nineties-style skirts and quality cashmere sweaters to denim-on-denim outfits, they have clothes in every style imaginable, meaning every type of person can express their individuality.”
A subsidiary of US brand TJX Companies, TK Maxx opened its first UK store in Bristol in 1994.
On the 30th anniversary of the move, Susannah recalls some of her visits to the budget retailer.
She says: “For me, it is a trip down memory lane.
“Each piece tells a story. I love that.
“I usually set aside a couple of hours once a month to go there.
“It’s like a therapy session.
“I can switch off. It’s like an exciting sartorial adventure.”
She says TK Maxx has unique items: “In every other store, you’ll probably see 20 other people walking down the high street wearing the top you just bought.
“At TK Maxx, there’s always that element of surprise.”
But Susannah did not become a convert of the brand until the Noughties.
She says: “The first time I set foot in the place, around 20 years ago, I looked around, thought, ‘F**k this!’ and walked straight out.
“I thought it was extremely overwhelming.
“The second time I went in, I realised it is very well laid out.
“The trick is to go in with an open mind.
“Enjoying and taking your time with the process is how you find the best items and, even better, the big discounts.
“Today, everything is online and boring.
‘Taking your time is how you find the best discounts’
“But TK Maxx is an immersive experience and that is how shopping should be.”
TK Maxx is known for its carousel of ever- changing collections and discounts of up to 60 per cent on designer products.
Some of Susannah’s best buys have included items by designers like Spanish brand Hoss Intropia, and cashmere knits.
“Friends will often ask me where I get my clothes from and they’re always shocked when I tell them where,” she continues.
“Not so long ago, I bought a leopard-print mac and I took such pride in saying that it was from TK Maxx, not Yves Saint Laurent.
“The feeling of smugness was wonderful.
“I do wish my younger self had gone to TK Maxx more often, as I only really started going after becoming a mum.
“It’s a destination, it’s not somewhere you just walk by and think, ‘I’ll pop in there’.
“But the point is, you can experiment and truly be yourself throughout the store.
“I guess that’s what makes it such a guilty pleasure.”
HUNTING OUT THE TOP BARGAINS
By ALLEY EINSTEIN
EMILY SPRIDGENS worked for nine years in two of the chain’s shops.
The 26-year-old, from Loughborough, says: “Red labels mean a product has been marked down.
“A yellow label is the biggest bargain because it’s a final clearance.
“Each label has the week number in which the product arrived in store.
“Six weeks after it arrives, it gets discounted by almost a third.
“Once an item has been in store for eight weeks, it will be discounted again – by another 15 to 20 per cent.
“That discounting continues every two weeks until they reach 20p.
“That’s the lowest price.
“Most of these items are sold in the store’s final clearance sales.
“There are usually three final clearances a year – in April, October or November, and January.
“Shoppers can tell a final clearance sale is coming up because staff will be making space in large areas of the store.”