New Look - final score: 25/40

Address: 500 Oxford Street

Map: Click here to find this store.

Score last year: 33

Verdict: Trends are plentiful and fabrications have taken a step up, but the overall feel is a little uninspiring

Looks - 6

Dip dye, mini florals and stonewashed denim lead the way for trends, although there is a lack of definition to any strong stories.

New Look is still championing the waistcoat, which features on the in-store mannequins, but other than that, significant looks are thin on the ground, with lots of monochrome and a lack of overall colour.

Cropped combats in candy shades are cute, and there is some neat embellishment of skirts. The Inspire collection jars, with trends such as army print which aren't seen anywhere else in store. 

Mix - 7

New Look has decided this is going to be the summer of shorts, with every style covered here, from ultra-short denim hotpants to tailored city shorts to denim pedal pushers.

Workwear is plentiful although fails to excite, with rail upon rail of identikit black polyester trousers. Dresses still feature reasonably strongly, with the retailer offering 1950s styles, bibbed smocks and beach maxis.

The House of Denim range takes up a smaller proportion of store space than River Island's denim collection. 

Store - 5

Similar to Topshop, New Look has gone to town on pointers towards its celebrity designer collection, with Gold by Giles branding plastered right across the front stairs, despite the limited size of the collection.

European to UK size conversion guides are useful for foreign customers but seem otherwise redundant, and the Generation 9-15 area is not easily distinguishable from the rest of the store until you wander into it.

Mannequins have a lack of impact, as most are only head and shoulders. 

Value - 7

New Look has made an effort with its fabrics this season. There is more silk, but this does push prices up, so a tiered black mini skirt in a poly silk mix comes across as steep at £35.

However, the majority of the product is still a strong competitor for the H&M end of the market, with £20 getting you the choice of a pair of kick-flare jeans or a star print sheer blouse.

A bright yellow bubble-hemmed dress comes with wide black patent belt proving its £25 price tag.

Vox pop: Vanessa Muntu, 21, student and sales associate

• Are you a regular shopper here? 
Yes, I come in about four times a week.

• What does this shop mean to you?
I really like it, it's one of my favourites.

• How impressed are you with this season's offerings?  
I wasn't very impressed I'm afraid. The shoes were not as good as everyone says they are, and the colour options didn't suit my tastes.

• What is it they're doing well?
Waistcoats and shorts.

• What have they missed out that you would have liked to have seen? 
I'd like to see more jewellery, like earrings and bangles, and maybe some more colour.