Clothes for people in 30s

[AIMD]

Trying to purchase some new clothes but honestly can’t find a thing online that I like.

I’ve looked at places from ASOS, to Zara, to fat fat face, h and m, marks, phase 8.

It’s just all a bit much....as in everything is a bit OTT for my taste.

I’m 36, I like jeans and T-shirt’s, I like a checked tied together, I like a denim skirt with tights, I like my converse. So that’s the sort of clothes I wear. I don’t have much need for smart clothes but would be happy to try chinos etc. .

Am I just massively unfashionable and that’s why I can’t find anything?!

Where do other 36 year olds (ish) shop?!

Apart from the fact that work clothes changed for me, from when I entered the workplace, from being very smart and 'suited and booted' to 'anything goes', the type of clothes I wear now (in my 60s) are just the same as those I would have worn in my 30s.

The implication of a thread like this (or at least the title) is that as you get older you need to wear different things from when you were younger.

Why is that?

Am I also suddenly expected to go and have a perm and a blue rinse just because I'm in my 60s?!

@MayIDestroyYou

Just picking up on insidious ageism.

I'm more intrigued by the OP's apparently unusually restrictive tastes and shopping habits.

As long as no one tries to tell my ancient self where I may and may not shop ...

What an odd thing to have a fuss about. Literally nobody was telling her (or you) that any shops were forbidden.

But just like I don't want to rock the same unicorn t-shirt as my 8 year old niece, or the same mini and crop top as my 18 year year old niece, in my 30s I'm not ready to join my mum in the more sensible of the M&S trousers, or even the legions of MN posters in Boden, Fat Face and Seasalt.

Op I agree with the Uniqlo, Community Clothing recommendations, Arket is interesting for something similar but more upscale, Everlane is also good (their returns are a bit annoying, but I love the honest reviews of most items). Sezane and Other Stories have interesting looks as well, you could at least browse some to get some inspiration if you then want to go back to ASOS/Zara/Uniqlo armed with ideas of what's vaguely in fashion. Cos is SO wrong for me, but j know that lots of people love it, it's a bit Marmite.

@mamaduckbone oh not heard of that shop. I’ll give it a try thanks. I wonder if part of why I find it hard to choose is that the clothes are often modelled by people that don’t look like me or in overly fashiony type ways.

@MayIDestroyYou that’s a fair point. I think maybe when the shops are open I need to go and try a lot on and look at styles I wouldn’t usually go for. Even before covid I bought a lot of line because I don’t enjoy clothes shopping. Maybe it would be a day we’ll invested though.

@OverTheRubicon lots more suggestions for me to try thanks. I don’t ever have clothing conversations with people so haven’t heard of a lot of these places.

& other stories, mango, all saints

Cos, Sezane, Ba&sh, Maje. I prefer to buy well but buy less as I actually end up spending less money over time compared to buying more things that fall apart/shrink etc. Most of my Sezane tops are still going after years and years. Lovely quality.

Biwi, don't panic. Until it fell off the edge of the world, I (your generation) found it perfectly natural to take a wander around Top Shop and maybe pick up a tee shirt for my mother as well as a dress for myself. Same in Zara, TK Maxx, Selfridges ... (Although it has to be admitted that 95% of my, and her, shopping has been online for about a decade now.)

Often I see brands recommended here that said octogenarian parent would be insulted to be offered. I guess different people just have different attitudes to getting dressed.

Mango and &Other Stories are also nice and a bit more budget friendly. But easier if you are able to go in and actually feel the fabrics to make sure high quality.

I'm getting some good tips from this thread too @AIMD, as it sounds like I'm in a similar phase to you (not wanting to look like a teenager but not old and frumpy either - and that could qualify anyone from the age of 25 to 70 odd I reckon!). I'd never heard of community clothing but liking the look of their jeans.

@BIWI

Where did I suggest what people in their 60s should or shouldn’t wear?

I was trying to get across that I want different clothes now I am in my thirties than I did in my teens/early twenties. I don’t think that’s unusual and most other people who commented have seemed to understand what I meant.

I've started buying basics from Uniqlo, based on recommendations from here, actually!

Tshirts/hoodies etc v good quality and comfortable. Used to shop for these in H&M, but the quality is shite and I have a wee bit more disposable income these days.

I also buy a lot from Fat Face, White Stuff etc, but that's because I like stripey jersey.

M&S and Next are good for jeans and leggings.

I spend a lot of time outdoors and like North Face and Rab for walking stuff etc.

I work in IT, so I don't really have much call for 'work clothes' (most people in my industry consider jeans and hoodies sufficient!), but if I need formal stuff, I like Coast.

I'm 41, 5'8" and a 12-14.

Gap is great for the simple stuff - good quality tshirts and lovely dresses, nothing overly fussy or "fashionable"

I used to shop at Dorothy Perkins but I can guarantee the quality will drop now Boohoo have bought them

I'm 36 and I totally get where you're coming from OP. I don't want to dress like a 20 year old and that's just my choice. Loving the variety of the replies here as previously I have shopped in places like Oasis, Boden and Gap and was thinking about different styles for post pregnancy because I fancy a change.

Why don’t you approach from a slightly different angle and initially just decide exactly what you’re looking for or trying to achieve?

Look online/Pinterest/instagram for inspiration on styles/fabrics/outfits and then search out those specific items that will update/complement your existing wardrobe depending on what you like.

Then choose where you shop on the basis of them having the best version of what you want to buy.

Following as I'm 30 and struggle to find good clothes. I have more money and want good quality, absolutely fed up of buying tops and then trying them on to find that they show my belly and my bra. I do like warehouse but I find a lot of stuff from there doesn't fit over my boobs.

I did get a bunch of stuff in the sale at Coast recently. A pair of comfy work trousers and some nice tops (finding nice tops is the bane of my life). I was pretty happy with most stuff but have sent some back as they were too big.

Have a look on Zalando. It’s my go to with hundreds of brands online. I also shop at TU, New Look tall, DP and M&S.
With Zalando you get free delivery at £19.90 or some such.

I'm 31 and still like Topshop.
I mostly buy from there or Mango, Warehouse, H&M or Urban Outfitters for vintage style bits.

I absolutely hate Joules, Boden etc I do not want to grow in to their style and turn in to my mother.

Welcome to the most unstylish country in the world with the national disgrace that is clothing retailing. Until recently dominated by a nasty tax exile bully in Philip Green and the man whose supply chain includes sweatshops where women have died, Mike Ashley.

Perfectly reasonable OP to want to dress differently at 36 than in your twenties. I think a visit post 12 April to your local clothing retailers would be the suggestion I support. Perhaps wait a couple of weeks for the manic rush to die down- no doubtless there will be those fashionistas of whatever age wanting their retail therapy in the first week.

The French may have Emmanuel Macron and the Italians a new government every six months, but both countries have style. Even the Belgians who cannot agree what language to speak are more stylish than the UK.

I love seasalt and mistral !

And nomads !

I shop everywhere tbh.
During lockdown been living lin juicy couture or lipsy velour tracksuits and have just bought a few pairs of ugg boots.
I like dresses too and have bought some from Debenham recently but think they were a concession, principles perhaps?
I have bought some trousers and skirts from matalan recently too and they are nice and I hope age appropriate.
Tbf I do still wear a lot of the stuff I wore in my twenties because it still fits well and I don't really feel as though I have aged out of them iyswim?

I buy a lot of Biden and white stuff for the DC but their womens offerings seem slightly twee and middle aged, so maybe in ten years or so I will progress to those, or perhaps I'll still be lounging around in a velour tracksuit and embellished uggs...

Christ, Boden not Biden

I’m very similar age to you OP and I know where you’re coming from. I no longer look like my teenage nieces nor do I want to dress like them.
I like Anthropologie, &other stories and basic tops from Seasalt. I still wear jeans from River Island and Top Shop but that’s because they suit my shape, the rest of the stuff is just too frilly and too out there for me.

This probably sounds quite cutting, (sorry!) but doesn’t sound as if you’re dressing stylishly or in trend and so your choices will be more limited as most of the bog standard high street is trend driven.

I don’t know anyone in their thirties buying clothes from Phase 8 or Marks! It probably does depend on your style but I’d recommend Other Stories, Arket, Whistles, Maje, Uterque and COS.

Maybe try and find some so called influencers you like the style of and see where they buy their clothes?