Clothing websites: please hire customers to sense check you!

[CrumpetsAndWine]

I have a list of things I want to buy at the moment and for various reasons can't get to actual shops.

Its not a particularly exotic list - some black knee high boots, a midi dress (preferably with pockets), a thin belt.

Yet many of the websites I've visited don't give me the info I want - for example the width of belts is not stated and they are photographed with nothing to provide reference for their size, or the boots don't have the heel height listed and the photo angles don't really help me decide, or (and this is what finally pushed me to a ranting mumsnet post) the washing instructions for the dress are given as 'please refer to the care instructions on the product label'!

And this is before the perpetual mumsnet bugbear of most dresses not having pockets and there being no filter to try and search for those that do!

Rant over.

@zukiecat

Just out of interest, why do so many people want pockets on dresses?

I have enough dresses to wear a different one every day for about 3 weeks, I love my dresses, but none of them have pockets, never crossed my mind that I needed pockets.

Have you never found yourself holding keys, money, a phone, a work pass, tissues, sanitary protection or all manner of other bits and pieces and wanting to stash them in pockets and being unable to?

Can I add a niche bug bear? DS likes a particular style of pants but some have a seam that annoys him at the back. Nowhere online thinks anyone needs to see the back of pants. Two pictures is all I need, one front, one back. Dresses, t shirts and jumpers all have multiple poses.

My pet peeve is size options of small/medium/large then 'model is wearing a size 10' in the description. She isn't, is she, because you don't sell it in a size 10! Or you click on size guide and it gives you measurements for small/medium/large but this time the item is sold as 10, 12, 14...

Or the sizing is 8-10, 12-14 and 16-18.

As someone who is currently a large 14, this isn't particularly helpful as it's very likely that I have a choice between slightly too small and far too big, depending on what their idea of 8-10, 12-14 and 16-18 actually translate into reality of course.

I don't like it when the top or jumper is tucked into the skirt/trousers as then I've no idea of the length and I don't know of it's just my crappy figure but tops/jumpers always seem to come up short cutting off at a point that emphasises the thighs.

@BarbaraofSeville

I haven't!

I always have a bag with me, never go anywhere without my handbag.

I was just curious, that's all

The weird pose thing really, really gets on my nerves. I am utterly entranced by Baukjen where they have little videos for many garments where you can see the dress from all angles on a moving model. This is massively helpful. I was looking at something the other day where I couldn't actually tell what the waistline was at all as the photos were with the model with crossed arms - so I didn't order it.
Details of the model are great, but I'd like them to include their inside leg as well as height. If possible models of different sizes, but even like Bombshell HQ do where they have photos of customers wearing the garment with their size (and you get a discount for sending in the photo and details)

@nancy75

The pictures drive me mad, If I want a dress I don't want to see what it looks like with the model crouched down on the floor doing some weird pose or doing a star jump or sat at a table - I just want to see the bloody dress!

This.

I want to see the full length of the front and back and side of the garment, on a model who looks good in it, details or close-up of features, and size and height of the model. I also want to know of any fastenings and the fabric composition, and of the garment's length.

If I am looking at an auction site, I am not likely to read further if the item is described in the heading as "Gorgeous" or if it doesn't include the size. I want to see the soles of second hand shoes, and I want to see the the heel

Amen to everything @BarbaraofSeville said. I am an EU43 which used to be a UK9 but now a UK9 mostly seems to be an EU42. So tedious.

My biggest bugbear is websites that let you search for a particular size, but then when you click through, it's out of stock. Why?? It's the most frustrating thing. John Lewis has a button to only show in-stock items - why is it so hard for others to do the same?

[quote zukiecat]@BarbaraofSeville

I haven't!

I always have a bag with me, never go anywhere without my handbag.

I was just curious, that's all[/quote]
What even in the house or at work?

Which leads to the question. Do women carry handbags because their clothes often don't have pockets in them, or do women's clothes often not have pockets in them because it is expected that women will always have a handbag?

@BarbaraofSeville, the clothes tend to lie better, but adding pockets means more fabric and more work. It's cost cutting.

I don't carry a handbag ever unless for a party where my outfit might look strange with a mobile, wallet, keys and hanky stuffed into my pockets.

I spend a very small proportion of my time crouched down looking smoulderingly at people

This ^

You clearly need to be doing more of this during your day.

@BarbaraofSeville

Even on the odd days when I wear jeans I don't use the pockets, always a bag,

I don't work, and I wouldn't need to put anything in a pocket if I I was just in the house

@zukiecat, don't you carry your phone and house keys with you? I always have those on me

@B0G0F

I do, but just always in my handbag!

Maybe it's just me, but I don't go anywhere without it.

@Zukiecat - pockets are vital when you have a job that you can't carry a bag for, but equally have no secure place to leave keys/phone.

Also, can you imagine how men would react if suddenly a lot of their trousers didn't have pockets/only had fake pockets?

@ouch321 yes! yes! The tucked in jumper! One of my recent purchases looked like a lovely 'staple' jumper on the website photo, but was tucked in... when it arrived it had hideous triangle cut outs at the bottom seams which looked ridiculous if you did not tuck it in.

@nancy75

The pictures drive me mad, If I want a dress I don't want to see what it looks like with the model crouched down on the floor doing some weird pose or doing a star jump or sat at a table - I just want to see the bloody dress!

Completely agree, I don't shop with ASOS for this reason!

Thought is a good place to buy dresses with pockets btw

@CrumpetsAndWine

That's fair enough, in my last job trousers were part of the uniform, but we weren't allowed to carry our phones with us, there was a cash office though where you could leave your bag.

I've never thought about pockets in men's jeans or trousers though. Just for me personally, not having pockets in a dress isn't an issue.

All the above plus:

search by neck shape (e.g. v-neck)
search by sleeve length
search by composition (e.g. Viscose or Linen)

and 100% on the pockets. Real ones which are deep enough for phones and hands, preferably slanted or in the side seam, NOT big square stuck on pockets.

Side splits in long skirts and dresses please if theyre narrower.

@nancy75

Yes I like when the give the model's height and size rather than just 'knee length' if the model is 5"11 knee length on her is going to be quite a bit different on me at 5 foot tall

I bought a pair of flared trousers online recently. The model was described as 5'7" (same height as me) and wearing a size whatever. She was the same height as me and looked a bit slimmer, so I ordered the trousers, only to find that she must have legs up to her armpits, as the trousers that reached the floor for her landed in a big pool round my feet...

Which leads to the question. Do women carry handbags because their clothes often don't have pockets in them, or do women's clothes often not have pockets in them because it is expected that women will always have a handbag?

In my younger days I never had, or wanted, a handbag. Essentials like keys and purse went in my coat pockets. Eventually though I got fed up of searching all over town for coats with decent, secure pockets, and became a handbag carrier.

Men obviously don't have this problem, DH never feels the need to carry a handbag!

OMG YES. To everything above. Retailers seem ever keener to be getting us to shop online but seriously need to up their game. Surely it would also be better for them if it meant people were more likely to keep the things they'd ordered.

And don't get me started on the need to chase them up for refunds.