Of the more upmarket ones, I agree re Seasalt, White Company, Crew Clothing, Fatface etc. - all shops I used to buy quite a bit in, but not for absolutely ages as the quality has gone down, the product range is less good, and they aren’t doing anything new. Jigsaw, Whistles, etc too.! The upscale women’s fashion shops have hiked prices astoundingly high in the last few years, but the quality and range and general appeal of the clothes has just plummeted. I can’t even find anything to wear if I go looking with cash in my hand ready to buy! It’s all either the same as ten years ago, or poorly cut in terrible fabrics - too long, too unflattering, made of nasty viscose and looking like I’d have bought it on the market for 15 quid in 1995 but they want to charge me £250 for it. No thanks! Or, in Jigsaw’s case, an identical lace vest for £45 that I bought three of in 2000 for a third of the price?
Of the less upscale shops I also think New Look, Zara, and The Works must be on their uppers. Zara used to be good at doing low rent fast fashion copies ten or fifteen years ago, but the appeal of odd Spanish synthetic faux-Chanel jackets is really limited at the moment. H&M do better fast fashion than either Zara or New Look (which has really lost market niche to the supermarkets). The Works suspended click and collect orders over Christmas and there seemed to be something odd going on so I’d guess they are having some kind of problems.
I never shop in Next these days, as there isn’t one near me, but it strikes me that they’ve overextended their business model buying up vanished brands like Joules and Cath Kidston, but they also aren’t considered “aspirational” any more (or are they?) Difficult place to be in this market as they’ve always been like a very slightly less middle-class version of M&S, but they don’t have the food retail business to buoy them up as Marks does.