LONDON, July 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- Forgotten Costa Brava town makes sterling comeback in summer fashion stakes -
Often derided as a cheap and tacky 'Brits abroad' type holiday resort, the Benidorm stereotype has been cemented by the satirical and tongue-in-cheek ITV1 show starring Johnny Vegas - but new research released today by online fashion retailer Very.co.uk could go a considerable way to changing perceptions.
With the exception of the Cote D'Azur (and super-glam sun-kissed destinations such as St Tropez, Cannes and Nice), Benidorm tops the list of the 'fashion suitcase spend' resort league table - as young British women heading there this summer are planning to take a whopping £664 worth of clothes, heels, swimwear and accessories with them.
Based on responses of 1,000 women aged between 18-35, the research revealed the average suitcase value for Europe-bound Brits to be £580. The value per resort is as follows:
1/. Cote D'Azur - £691 2/. Benidorm - £664
3/. Tenerife - £655 4/. Bodrum - £654
5/. Rhodes - £645 6/. Gran Canaria - £617
7/. Ibiza - £603 8/. Fuengerola - £602
9/. Alicante - £558 10/. Algarve - £542
And then there's the specifics regarding what's actually being packed. The blueprint for the average case contains:
4 x daytime dresses 3 x casual footwear (e.g. sandals / wedges)
3 x evening dresses 2 x pairs of heels
5 x daytime tops 3 x pieces of swim / beach wear
4 x evening tops
In terms of where the most expensive suitcases are travelling from, it's perhaps no surprise that jet-setters from the capital lead the way (£639), but delving a little deeper, a comprehensive destination analysis throws up some interesting revelations.
While it might be famed for its boutiques, bars and yachts - and known as the Mediterranean playground for countless reality TV stars - Marbella has an average suitcase value of just £532, meaning it fails to even crack the top 10: and is only two places above the traditional British seaside resort of Blackpool (£507).
However, 'Marbs' does lead the way when it comes to a number of specific summer essentials: namely fake tan (16 per cent of young women heading there will take it with it them - more than any other resort), 'beach bods' and tablet technology.
Of all the pre-holiday diets, arguably the most trumpeted in 2012 has been 'No carbs before Marbs' - and it seems there's more than a ring of truth to this. A third of women (32%) jetting out to the high-end location will purchase at least one clothes item 'a dress size down' as an incentive to get a 'bikini bod' for their holiday - compared to an average of 23% across all other resorts.
Finally, it seems Marbella-bound belles can forget about the latest must have sunglasses or 'beach jewellery'… because the ultimate style accessory to be seen with there this summer is a tablet PC. Surprising to say the least, over a third of women (36 per cent) will be packing their mobile shopping and gossip gadgets to keep up to speed with Facebook, and an eye on celebrity websites, from their sun loungers.
Rounding off the key findings, the research threw up a number of interesting insights as regards to the fashion behaviour of British women on their holidays. They will spend an average of 42 minutes getting ready to go out in the evening and one in ten women (11 per cent) admit to four or more outfit changes in the course of a single day.
Julie Donnelly, Head of Womenswear Very.co.uk said, "British women take great pride in what they wear and a summer holiday represents the perfect chance to showcase a hot summer wardrobe. Whether they're heading to coast or the Med, it seems our girls are committed in packing to impress."
NOTES TO EDITORS
*1,000 British women aged 18 to 35 were surveyed in June 2012 by OnePoll for Very.co.uk.
About Very:
Very is part of Shop Direct Group - the UK's leading online and home shopping retailer - which operates across 49 countries, including the US and Canada.
The Group has 5m active customers.
Very boasts celebrity collections from Fearne Cotton, Holly Willoughby and many more.
The Shop Direct Group brands receive over 600,000 website visits every day.
We deliver more than 25m parcels a year.
We sell more than 800 brands - including leading fashion labels and our own brands.
Our brands include:
Very.co.uk
Littlewoods.com
Isme.com
Woolworths.co.uk
Brandquarter.co.uk
Very.com
For further information, please contact the Very.co.uk press office at Cow PR, E:very@cowpr.com, T: +44(0)20-7234-9150
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