Is it just me or are most of these dresses, and the way they are presented, hideous?

[MrsPeacockInTheLibrary]

I clicked onto this link and had the strong visceral wtf reaction that used to be the exclusive preserve of the MandS Per Una collection.

It would be good to get a sort of barometer for my taste ... am I really that out of it with what others like and are wearing? Plus the clumpy boots in nearly all the photos.

Is it just me?

www.johnlewis.com/browse/women/womens-dresses/_/N-flw

I just searched Nobody's child and it's tatty isn't it. Also what a random name for a brand!

The first dress in that link is hideous. Shapeless, sack like, high necks and traipsing hemlines. Did anyone see the Gucci for men dress recently in the press? Maybe ugly is the new theme, can't see any of this selling well.

@Jamhandprints

Some of the dresses look like they would look nicer if the model was standing normally.

This!!

River Island have started doing the stupid "stroppy teenager" pose too and I don't get it, you can't tell how the dresses actually hang and fit!!

Some of the dresses are lovely, some are hideous. The way most of them are presented is shocking. So badly Photoshopped that some are laughable! I present to you Exhibit A and Exhibit B:

@Enough4me

If anyone wants to buy a sack from me for £150 let me know. I'll walk over it with muddy wellies and add some lace so it will be as fashionable as those dresses 😉

If you can get one with the words "Pig Feed" you could probably add an extra 0 as people would want to wear it to be "Ironic".

What we think looks "good" is very much what we've been conditioned to think looks good. Why on earth would women choose to wear uncomfortable clothes and shoes to confirm to what men society consider looks good. Are you all convincing yourselves you do it for yourselves?

@LilOldMe I was just about to say I really liked that one!!

I like a lot of those dresses. I particular like Whistles, Hush and MV at the moment. Have quite a few of their dresses. You do need to dress to your shape though and accessorise. I often add a belt (even if they have a fabric belt a proper belt gives a more finished look). And if you get the right boots/trainers, I think it looks good!

I thought this was going to be a link to some of the crazy H&M dresses....now they are designed for 18 year size 6 art students!

I don’t know if I’m just out of touch, but I find women’s fashion so uninspiring and ugly lately. Dresses seem particularly lack-lustre.

So many sack-like dresses everywhere, or long, dreary, high necked midi dresses that really only look ‘edgy’ on a 19 yr old.

I’m all for comfort and practicality, but I’ve got jeans and trainers for that. If I put on a dress I want it to DO something for me. I actually DO want it to flatter my breasts and hips and bum. I don’t want to be hidden under an acre of cheap jersey material. Tailoring seems to be too much of a faff for modern designers.

And fuck off with the horrible florals!

I think this highlights what Boden do really well, whatever you think of the actual clothes. They actually spend time styling the outfits, putting pieces together, and then showing them being worn out and about, rather than on a slouching headless model, who generally has any old pair of shoes found laying around the studio.

@Enough4me

If anyone wants to buy a sack from me for £150 let me know. I'll walk over it with muddy wellies and add some lace so it will be as fashionable as those dresses 😉

Your muddy wellies would go a treat with this @Enough4me. I'm pretty sure I could pick similar up for £20, rough them up a bit and... DESIGNER!!

I quote like the dresses, but as a fat woman I need a belt on stuff like that.
I quote like boots with dresses but you have to be mindful of the length.
The lady at the top with a jacket on and then a jumper tied round her neck, I assume she's seokes Mom, they have a toxic relationship and her daughter has sought revenge through public humiliation. She'd look fine without the jumper. It's clearly there to humiliate her, surely

I don't mind some of the dresses on the JL link and I was shopping last week and saw most of the Mint Velvet and Reiss ones in the flesh and they were nicer in real life.

I don't mind most shapes, patterns or materials. The only trend I cannot stand is having my shoulders out for no reason Cold shoulder/one shoulder or just randomly so baggy it shows my bra straps = no thank you

I'm a huge fan of the Anne of Green Gables look. I'm neither tall nor thin.

It's a whole page of Sharons from My So Called Life

I love a lot of these! I love a swooshy midi dress with boots and a leather jacket. And I don't care if everyone else hates it

I actually really like the sack dress look and much prefer boots or trainers with a dress than heels (as I don't have any) Am very much not a teen!

I'm curious as to why the models have to stand in such strange poses.
Can't they just stand up normally without pelvic thrusts, weird knee bends or with feet straight?

I don’t know why people are so across about the current trend for floral midi dresses etc. don’t buy them. You can still buy shirt dresses, fitted dresses, minis, leather dresses etc everywhere. It’s just one trend.

I personally love them as I said up thread. They are comfortable bit I accept they are not for everyone. I personally cannot stand fitted dresses and heel. In fact I never wear heels. I just accept they are not my thing..

I wear this look quite a lot. I'm nearly 50, hourglass. It's comfortable, uses colour, and I love the boots. I can see it's not for everyone though. Thankfully I stand properly when wearing it!

Yep. Ugly and expensive.
You can thank Holly Willoughby for the clunky boots trend.

I quite like them, especially the long denim shirt dress though I could never wear it as I'm too short and chunky. I've seen far worse.

I think they're generally hideous, but there's one i like and would wear (a funnel neck one).

More to the point, wouldn't they be too long on most people? They'd be around my ankles.....

I bought a patterned 'oversized' dress in the summer, similar to some of the ones on there. I thought I'd look effortlessly cool and chic and would waft around with a pair of sunglasses and strappy sandals. In reality, I looked like a drowned rat in it and the only time I wore it out my grandfather asked me why i was wearing a pair of curtains.

The ones in the OP don’t look great. I follow some fashion bloggers who are a similar age to me who style them up really well.

I really like that look and loads of people have the long baggy dress, chunky boots or trainers combo out and about in London. I think they look nice on bigger builds too (a pp said they only look good on slim people). Not so good on short people though and haven't seen many in petite ranges.