To not understand the 'per una' thing on mumsnet?

[Tortu]

What? Why the snide comments? I was in M and S today and think Per una has some lovely stuff. Ok, it's a bit middle of the road and I don't actually own any, but I'm about to move into the M and S demographic (bit old for Topshop, too short for Zara, too cheap for Jaegar) and, perhaps, need to have it explained to me why I can't wear it.

I LOVE M and S and think it's pretty much the best shop ever (ahhh, if Waitrose sold clothes). I cried, yes, actually cried when I came back from two years in a deprived part of Africa and first entered the food section.

Does this answer your question?

Ha ha haaaaa

Res ipsa loquitar

The clothes are fucking tragic. Does that answer your question? I mean are you seriously telling me you'd wear something like this?

Waitrose does sell clothes - it's called John Lewis

There is quite a lot of applique and frayed edge tweed on the per una stuff ... quite like M and S undies though!

I love a bit of Speziale

It's shit - emperor's new clothes. No-one seems to notice so it's spelt out clearly FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.

I think some of their stuff is lovely... I would wear this..

maxi dress

Baby boomers buy it.

Feckit piprabbit beat me to it :(

I do buys stuff from m&s but per una is pretty awful. I'm not sure who it's aimed at. It's not mumsnet snobbery, maybe people on here just not the per una demographic.

I think the quality of the food has deteriorated as well.

Panalled? Jesus, they can't even spell anymore!

Pah ha ha ha! Thanks so much for the links and I'm grateful for your guidance. Phew, I could have made a terrible mistake there. I'll just stick to the food.

Don't know what the whole MN stigma is about but can safely say it is all a bit rank. Hmmmm White Company... Boden... Vivienne Westwood... always thought Jaeger was a bit middle aged but since I now get a whopping discount I've come round to the Jaeger way of thinking smartish!

All a bit cheap 'n nasty at per una.

What, exactly, would be the demographics of the person who would team those zebra monstrosities with fishnet shoes ? Exactly?

Cliff, I'm not sure they do

My Gran (90) thinks it's naff, MIL (73) thinks it's over-priced, Mum (62) thinks the colours are awful, and I (29) think it's overpriced tat I could make better myself i think that about every shop though

The jeans fit me, so I buy them. I close my eyes to the rest of it. And the ready meals are too salty.

Your mum is the only baby boomers in that list though. My mum Hoovers up the whole collection every season.

I like the jeans-they are some of the few that actually fit me.

You can spot the cardies a mile off- expecially the boxy stripy ones with the o-so-funky mismatched buttons in different colours/shapes.
And the t-shirts do not wash well...so I'm told

I had never looked at per una before reading this thread. OP, go to the per una homepage and click on 'outfit ideas'. I've never seen anything so awful, and I've lived in war zones.

that might be because I wasn't quite sure what a babyboomer was...

We do cover a pretty broad spectrum though

I wear some of their tops for work. They do a few with a strappy top underneath and a sort of sheer net thingie over it which are okay and wash well and don't need ironing.

But as for everything else, I am always disappointed. Way too middle-class hippy for me. You can get much nicer linen trousers and swishy skirts at Primark, ffs, if that's your thing.

Their cotton undies are cute though...

Oh, and tights, I will always stand up for MnS tights.

Bras are crap though. Swimwear like something out of a charity shop.