Writing for Smash Hits in 1980, Red Starr, in a mixed review, described Strange Boutique as "virtually impossible to pigeonhole.
AllMusic gave the album a mildly favourable review, writing "amid the austerity of post-punk England, and before we became awash with irony and archness, we needed a band who could raise their eyebrows and smirk at it all without ever being condescending (or maybe only a little bit condescending)."[REF] .