I'm picky about changing rooms, but it never occurred to me that one could do more than make sure they are spacious and spotless, with sufficient hooks and mirrors, benches to sit on, and good lighting in each cubicle. But in Monsoon on Dublin's Grafton Street, they have an extra touch - a box of toys for children to play with (on an expanse of very clean carpet) while mothers try on clothes. Excellent idea.

Monsoon caters for a wide range of ages with its distinctive feminine, English-rosey fashions. There is a children's clothing section, but most of its stock is for women - the summer frock, Indian-silk trouser-suit, little print dress sort of thing as well as dresses for quite formal occasions (including wedding dresses). Stock is displayed by colour, and by use (daywear, party-wear, whatever) which means you may come across the same or similar items in various parts of the store. Monsoon tends to be on the expensive side, but was having a half-price sale when I visited, which considerably softened the blow.

The design of the store is, er, unique and, I think, a little off-putting. There is, for instance, half a dugout canoe sticking out over the door. And while there is an upstairs section, it seemed to me to stock similar clothing to downstairs. Few customers bother to climb the stairs, but at least that means the set of changing rooms up there is usually free!

The staff are very approachable. I asked one assistant for advice, and she immediately left her till and walked me around the store pointing out colours and suggesting items. In the aforementioned changing rooms, as I wriggled into various dresses, an assistant approached, ascertained what the outfit was intended for, offered advice, then went in search of another size for me; unable to find one, she returned with another dress for me to try. And all the time she was politely juggling greetings, compliments and advice to other customers.

I have never been a fan of Monsoon clothing, which has always struck me as rather worthy. Also, the chain often uses delicate fabrics, with special care requirements, and that strikes me as unnecessarily troublesome. To be picky, I could say the stock was a little crowded on this visit and there seemed a scarcity of stock in the larger sizes - which of course may be explained by the sale.

But on the whole, this visit was a new benchmark. This was the last store I would visit in this series, and the best. Had I visited it back at the beginning, I suspect my judgments on other stores would have been more harsh. The service was excellent, the changing-rooms exemplary. Monsoon's staff proved it is possible to be busy without being distant, and interested without being pushy. An example to us all! Marks: 9/10.