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Original poster

Never going to Primark again or am I a snob

157 replies

WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid · 08/10/2011 23:39

Went into Primark for first time today. Awful just awful. Full of cheap tat would rather shop at a jumble sale.

OP posts:
Pagwatch · 09/10/2011 08:02

Well that's kind of why I put in 'if you have to use primark or you love it then great'

And talking about whether clothes are produced ethically is important. Unless being poor in England means no one can give a fuck about being poor in china?
Although expensive clothes that are produced off the backs of child labour are far far worse. It is just less obvious.

DawnOfTheDeementedDead · 09/10/2011 08:02

I use primark for socks, undies, pj's and jeans for DS2.

fluffythevampirestabber · 09/10/2011 08:03

And yes charity shops are great but when you need a coat you need a coat and can't wait til the couple of shops in my tiny town have a coat in my size that is half fashionable and not from 100 years ago.

And for DD1 it has to be fashionable. She has a couple of "going out" outfits that are chosen to be rotatable to give her more choices, and vest tops from Primark and bras and knickers from there are cheap and cheerful. DD2 gets DD1 clothes and sometimes she sees a top or trousers in there that she loves and she gets it - she's a difficult child to fit and get stuff for.

fluffythevampirestabber · 09/10/2011 08:05

Pag - yes it's important but at the end of the day most companies use cheap labour to produce their clothes.

And yes I give a fuck about it, but I am poor my kids come first not the kids in China - I have to clothe and feed my children and keep a roof over their heads first and foremost.

And if that is wrong then Confused

Will head to Asda today - thanks for that

notevenamousie · 09/10/2011 08:07

I do buy DD their fleece pyjamas as I've not seen them anywhere else. I do shudder at their human rights record though.

SardineJam · 09/10/2011 08:08

I was shocked that some of the children's basics, ie vests, fleeces etc were more expensive than M&S, and obviously for worse quality

Pagwatch · 09/10/2011 08:09

Then of course your children come first.
But that does not mean that you get to decide how other people feel about things.
In the same way that the years I spent wearing jumble sale and charity clothes did not make me able to stop others disliking charity shops. Because everyone, shockingly, is entitled to their one opinion.

Original poster
WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid · 09/10/2011 08:09

Fluffy I have a horrible feeling this thread has upset you and I am honestly sorry about that. I don't have lots of cash at all. Dh and I have only been on holiday once in three years and that was a very cheap self catering job. I don't smoke, drink very little, own no jewelry and we only spend £20 on Xmas and birthday presents for each other.
I have a feeling you do all of these things as well and know I am fortunate to be able to pick an area to spend more on.

OP posts:
NoobyNoob · 09/10/2011 08:10

I don't understand, what do you class as cheap tat? I went in my local one yesterday, and they have the same sort of stuff in there similar to what Dorothy P's or H&M sell, just cheaper. Unless you shop in Boden?

I love it personally. I've got some lovely items from Primark and I'll continue to buy from there. I assue you, I don't have any 'tat' in my wardrobe.

fatlazymummy · 09/10/2011 08:10

I am wearing a nightie that I bought from Primark over 10 years ago, paid less than a fiver and it has been washed thousands of times. Like others, I buy all our pyjamas, dressing gowns and fluffy socks [the best] from Primark. OP it's entirely up to you where you shop.

Pagwatch · 09/10/2011 08:10

The fact that charity shops are becoming so expensive pisses me off. Selling second hand next stuff for nearly as much as it costs new is a massive rip off.

Next is shit too btw.

fatlazymummy · 09/10/2011 08:15

TBH clothes seem to be getting more expensive everywhere. I wouldn't call Peacocks that cheap anymore either. I suppose we will have to get used to paying more [as we used to do].

Original poster
WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid · 09/10/2011 08:16

They had plastic handbags on sale looked awful, like I said earlier cheap tat. Interestingly most posts refer to great pjs, bed socks, dressingowns etc. Seems to me that even people who shop at Primark aren't prepared to wear their stuff out of the privacy of their own home.

OP posts:
fluffythevampirestabber · 09/10/2011 08:17

Charity shop clothes round here are expensive and they are full of Primark/Asda/Tescos that is at least as expensive if not more than when the stuff was new.

Next stuff doesn't fit me - just doesn't. I tried yesterday when I was in town. Nothing fitted me and didn't make me look like a blimp. Their jeans are cut weird as well.

I don't drink except one bottle of wine every other weekend and sometimes not even that. I rarely go out. Hardly ever get take away food. Don't do holidays unless it's cheap caravan trips.

Also, I live in Northern Ireland. My electricity and heating costs are approximately double what they are in the rest of the UK. There is no mains gas in the town I live in so I have to use oil to heat my home.

I have to spend £60 a week to get to uni since it's an 85 mile round trip three or four times a week, although I try to only go three (ie when I have classes) but sometimes there's extra things on I have to go to.

I just hate the notion on here that everyone can shop in Boden and laugh at Per Una - I would love to have the money to buy Per Una for myself but I cannot afford it.

SoylentClean · 09/10/2011 08:21

I don't find Primark prices much different from H&M anymore for quite a few thing. I've recently bought a coat in H&M for £25 and I'm very pleased with it, especially considering the price. I think it is much better made and has a better shape than any coats I looked at in Primark.

RickGhastley · 09/10/2011 08:21

Our Primark is new and usually seems tidy and not too packed.

I only use it to get certain things:

PJs (agree the fleece ones are fab)
Tummy control Swimsuits for holiday (I'm not paying £40+ for the M&S ones when I'll only wear it a few times)
Towels and flannels
Kids pants and socks
My slippers
Scarfs, hats and gloves (DS loses these on a regular basis and I can't afford to keep paying for more expensive replacements)

I prefer to get DS's clothes on ebay or car boot sales - for the same price as Primark stuff I can get better quality brands like 2nd hand M&S or GAP

dexter73 · 09/10/2011 08:22

My dd (14) has the womens fleecy all in one and she found her feet got too hot, so I cut the feet off and hemmed up the bottom with some elastic in it and they are perfect now!

Pagwatch · 09/10/2011 08:25

Fluffy
I think you are upset and I am genuinely sorry about that. You don't need to explain yourself.

But I also think you are massively missing the point.
People have talked about shops they like which are cheap high street stores or supermarkets. So it is not about "everyone should buy Boden".
Primark just has a particular look, a particular attitude that some don't like but they are hugely popular so clearly most people don't feel like that.

You are taking comments hugely personally. You are assuming the comments are about shops for people with limited resources when they are not. And most of us don't shop at Boden.

You are honestly seeing offense when no one is trying to offend you.
But I am sorry you have taken it that way

MrsWembley · 09/10/2011 08:26

I don't like the idea of going to Primark, but then I admit I am a bit of a snob (DP's influenceBlush). However, I don't mind supermarket clothes. Cheap and cheerful, my work wardrobe used to come from Sainsbury's and I now buy for DCs in there too. £1.75 for a pair of jeans that DD can get messy at nursery in. And I have a top from there, that I have had for years now, that has always had compliments when I'm in the pub.Smile If I remember correctly, I think it cost less than a tenner.

SoylentClean · 09/10/2011 08:27

I love charity shop clothes but ten years ago I could get jeans for about £1 in my local charity shops when I was a student. I bought some skirts a few weeks ago and they were £4.50 in a charity shop, charity shops are so much more expensive than they were.
I love charity shops though, going in and having a good rummage to see what is there. Though I used to like the 'experience' a lot less when I was a too skint to shop anywhere else and had no choice about shopping in them.

Curlyfrizzball · 09/10/2011 08:28

I also need to buy very cheaply, so I go to Primark a lot. The fact that the layout is jumble sale-like is one of the ways they keep prices low, or so I thought. They don't spend as much on displays etc and getting people to put stuff back in the right place.
However, my absolute favourite for cheap kids stuff is Asda, and I buy pretty much all of my stuff from eBay.

allhailtheaubergine · 09/10/2011 08:32

I have nothing against Primark (apart from the obvious ethical objections, but as Paggy said there are plenty of expensive clothes made by exploited children too).

What I find interesting is the number of times fashion has come up as a need on this thread. At the same time as we're shopping in Primark because we have to prioritise putting food on the table for our children, we're also rejecting charity shop coats for not being fashionable and we're needing the odd little fashionable frock. Not blaming anyone, just interested that as an entire culture we class fashion as a reasonable excuse to do something we know is morally wrong. Fashion is that important. Interesting.

fluffythevampirestabber · 09/10/2011 08:34

Allhail - I do shop in charity shops but the ones around here, as I said, are full of tesco/asda/primark stuff that is selling for the same price as new.

And yes, I don't want to wear a wool coat from a million years ago that can't be washed and will have to be dry cleaned. Which is all I could see in my size in the local charity shops yesterday. I looked. Oh and fwiw they ranged from £20-£40 as well.

SayGhoulNowSayWitch · 09/10/2011 08:39

One word..... EBAY! :o

Pagwatch · 09/10/2011 08:40

I agree. Fast fashion is a modern curse allhailtheaubergine.

Shops used to launch new stock seasonally. Fast fashion stores like H&M, miss selfridges, primark etc bring in new stock every 6 weeks.

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