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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think current fashion is f*cking hideous?

489 replies

321Emanresu · 08/04/2017 19:39

Probably BU but I went shopping the other week as I needed a few tops. I saw:
Bright yellow playsuits
Hideous tops with the shoulders cut out
Skirts that look more like belts
Jeans with so many rips that they are indecent
Tops that aren't even decent (too short)
Cardigans with no sleeves (why, you wear a cardigan if it's cold surely)
AIBU to think that it's hideous and nobody would want to be seen dead in it?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
twoandahalftimesthree · 09/04/2017 12:03

I'm just reading that fashion sales dropped in March despite higher footfall on high streets.
uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/BDO-tracker-higher-March-store-footfall-fails-to-convert-into-sales-rise,814458.html#.WOoTArV4WEc
The article puts it down to showrooming- browsing and trying on in person then buying online, but who would go to a shop, find what they want and then go home and order it? My interpretation is that people are going into stores because they would prefer to see the products and try on before they buy, but they find nothing to suit and so are forced online.
I have taken dd shopping twice in the last week to find some clothes for Easter holidays and there is nothing that even a slim teen girl wants to buy in stores. We have just ordered her a load of stuff online instead.

MrsWhiteWash · 09/04/2017 12:15

My interpretation is that people are going into stores because they would prefer to see the products and try on before they buy, but they find nothing to suit and so are forced online.

I'd agree.

I'd really like to try stuff on - but can't find things in shops even for the children so end up coming home and looking on-line and trying to figure out will it suit and what size to order and trawling though on-line reviews to spot problems I'd see myself if they had the stuff in the shops.

It's getting to the point that I'm starting to think why bother trekking up the town as we'll end up ordering on-line anyway.

NewBallsPlease00 · 09/04/2017 13:16

Just because you don't like it? There is loads of variety about atm- frills (called ruffles) and 70s is part of it but you'll also fined modernity nautical, athleisure, and minimalist too
And if you went to topshop in your teens they don't want you to shop there now- harsh but true!

Goldfishjane · 09/04/2017 13:20

Jenny - Gap straight leg doesn't fit a pear shape. If you know which of their jeans will fit, I'd love a recommendation - really I want a relaxed fit that doesn't cling anywhere but again, the terminology makes it all very hard to find.

I also think their jeans are expensive tbh.

HappyAxolotl · 09/04/2017 13:23

The problem we have is that nothing has filled the gap that the old-school M&S and now-defunct BHS used to. Basic pieces done well. Not at the fashion forefront but their target customers don't want them to be. Somewhere you can get a shirt, a v-neck jumper, a few different fits of jeans, everyday underwear, a work suit etc. with no frills and flounces, no holes cut in them, no silly lengths. In colours that suit the vast majority of the customers, maybe a couple of pieces in this season's key shade of cat vom but not a whole floor of it.

I'm 36, not up-to-the-minute but not ready for frumpy either!

Titsywoo · 09/04/2017 13:28

Yes! It's all so ugly. I know the 90's are back in but I swear we looked better than this. I do find though when a new fashion comes in at first it is over the top then they dial it down a bit to something normal people would wear so the 90's thing will be around for 5 years but by next season it will be wearable.

These are horrendous and I keep seeing them everywhere www.riverisland.com/girls/tops/shirts/girls-blue-stripe-floral-embroidered-shirt-822045?sem=1&cmpid=PLA&istCompanyId=28d3cba5-6749-43eb-904c-61b8cc01cf80&istItemId=xpwmlmptqp&istBid=tztw&gclid=Cj0KEQjwt6fHBRDtm9O8xPPHq4gBEiQAdxotvOHIGriQ88CHXhOIGLGk_ILHdqACfWMRFQmQWZuiSuQaAulw8P8HAQ

Lunaballoon · 09/04/2017 13:35

All the links on here are pretty hideous but as we're all presumably looking at them, their click- through rates increase, thus giving marketers the idea they must be popular. Aargh!

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 09/04/2017 13:40

This is why I shop at YOURS.

I'm currently wearing this lovely piece.

SideOrderofSprouts · 09/04/2017 13:49

I love the cropped jeans. I'm on the large side (very much so) and cropped jeans and the like make me feel cooler even though I don't feel comfy in shorts

SideOrderofSprouts · 09/04/2017 13:51

And the lovely knee length skirts that poof a bit ( like swing? You get what I mean?). I love those as I feel girly. But without it being too long I then fall over t or too short I show off all my fat

Original poster
321Emanresu · 09/04/2017 13:57

Hi all, thanks for all your input! I haven't read the entire thread yet as I've been busy but I will do later.
Has MNHQ edited my title? I put the actual word in the title but now it has a star in it...

OP posts:
Birdsgottaf1y · 09/04/2017 13:59

Tail, that's lovely.

I've recently become a size 16 and i'm at a loss what to wear. Looking at that website, i'd ask, again "why the sleeveless shirts", why aren't there floaty shirts with sleeves in summer colours/patterns?

Why have we got to show our knees etc?

Before it's suggested i can't lose weight for medical reasons.

Men get to stick with their basic wardrobe and just add a few easily obtainable bits in.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 09/04/2017 13:59

Is there really nothing between skinny jeans and wide leg calf length jeans and trousers, because that's what it seems to be?

I can't see the wide leg idea suiting anyone, even if you are model size and height.

Floisme · 09/04/2017 14:00

I know the 90's are back in but I swear we looked better than this.
Sorry but I don't think you did Grin Indeed I know this for a fact because I remember scratching my head at teenagers in the 90s, just like you're doing now. In another 20 years (probably less) this generation will be bemoaning the same thing. What goes around comes around.

I agree with NewBalls - one of the things I like about fashion at the moment is that, if one look doesn't do it for me, there are plenty of others. I will concede that you have to keep moving and enjoy rummaging.

Goldfishjane · 09/04/2017 14:03

Birds "Men get to stick with their basic wardrobe and just add a few easily obtainable bits in"

yes, and this is all I am trying to do. I'm not someone who wants or needs to assemble lots of outfits but just basic shopping is hard.

MeadowHay · 09/04/2017 14:21

Birds and Goldfish - me too. I don't have a winter wardrobe and a summer wardrobe. I don't have the space, the money, or the inclination for that. I try to buy things I can wear all year round for the most part. But obviously need some lighter fabrics for warmer weather.

I moaned about 'ankle-skimmer' trousers earlier. Some people seem to have thought I meant cropped trousers - I didn't. I like cropped. I like midi skirts. But I don't like trousers that are too long to be cropped but too short to be full-length. I've noticed lots of 'workwear' style trousers are like that now, even suits. The industry I want to work in there is absolutely no way you could rock up for work in a suit that had slightly-too-short trouser bottoms. I am finding smart, plain workwear that is also affordable a huge pain in the arse atm and think there is a massive gap in the market there. So many suits with stupid buttons or zips or frills or whatever on them, I don't where manufacturers/designers think these women work but that would not be at all acceptable in the career I'm planning to enter where only the uber-conservative, dark, plain smart clothes are acceptable. Whereas every men's high street store stocks a wide variety of suits for them! Angry

Sorry went off topic Blush.

blimppy · 09/04/2017 14:33

So glad it's not just me! I desperately need some new clothes and can't find anything remotely wearable. I've decided to make do in my old rags for another year and hope fashion comes to its senses by next year!

Floisme · 09/04/2017 15:09

Meadow sorry I haven't got time to look for links but in the last few weeks, I've seen full length tailored trousers (narrow and wide leg) in M&S Autograph, Hobbs, Jigsaw, H&M and, I think, Uniqlo. So a range of price points. Some have got matching jackets too. I agree, you have to hunt around for them but they're still there.

I quite enjoy a bit of a rummage and trying on other styles so I don't mind if it takes a while to find what I want. But I can see it must be annoying if you just want to get in and out.

MeadowHay · 09/04/2017 16:59

Flo I don't even know what Uniqlo is lol and I can't afford Hobbs or Jigsaw unfortunately. I went a few months ago looking everywhere in my city centre, tried some things on in H&M and they were all horrendous cheap fabrics that didn't fit properly and you could see all your underwear through the ridiculously thing trousers Sad. M&S had one or two suits I agree I actually found one there but they didn't have my size when I went and I can't buy a suit without trying it on first as that's the only way you can see if they fit awful (like the H&M ones). It was a painful time in my life lol. Still don't own a suit. I own one smart enough dress and a black blazer that doesn't quite fit properly but was the best of a terrible bunch and was urgently needed for an event.

(Ok I really will stop derailing the thread now!)

Booboo66 · 09/04/2017 17:17

The bits cut out the shoulders are the worst .. It's the spot most prone to sunburn.. Why would it be sensible for summer wear? Not to mention it looks awful!! I like yellow though.

Ladyrainbowsparkles · 09/04/2017 17:25

Yep, all of those things are fucking hideous. 😤

orangetriangle · 09/04/2017 17:25

glad its not just me. I am in my late 40s and definitely not frumpy but 8 dont want to wear crimpolene ripped clothing skirts that are the size of a belt and sportswear i am not going to the gym
That said did manage to find a couple of dresses in dorothy perkins sale and a skirt which are kind of passable. Think I will be sticking to what i already have

grownuphippychic · 09/04/2017 17:26

I just don't get the shoulders cut out of everything thing ..... :-(

wilma60 · 09/04/2017 17:29

Bon Marche is good

ElspethFlashman · 09/04/2017 17:30

Honestly it's getting hard to buy a top with actual shoulders in it now!

This is why I shop on ASOS. You can't try it on but at least everything has a video to see how thin it is and there are free returns. And there are brands on there that aren't too annoying - I generally have luck with Vero Mods for example.

Actually there's good stuff even in shops like River Island - it's just that going into an actual store is a nightmarish experience! At least on ASOS I can go to River Island and bypass the shite.