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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to wonder how marks and spencer has not closed down yet??!

326 replies

Olaf4fuxache · 14/09/2017 21:31

Last time I bought an item of clothing in there was 2005.I go in there regularly just to have a laugh at their clothes now! EVERYTHING is covered in lace,sequins,buttons,applique or some such shitty garnish.Nothing whatsoever one would want to buy.Cheap crap you could buy in primark for a quarter of the price,flimsy fabrics.Who the hell are their fashion buyers? Are they blind?Even my mother and grandmother think their clothes are frumpy and do not shop there anymore.How much longer do they think they can get away with the garbage they stock?The shops look like ghost towns,staff are unmotivated.They have no idea who they are targeting.Sainsburys Tu,or Tesco F&F have better clothing than they do.They understand their target buyers may not have rake thin toned upper arms,may have big tummys and crepey chests and have clothes to suit. FFS M&S!!!!Get your act together or you will go the same way as BHS,Woolies etc....And you know what?We wouldnt even care!!!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
12
MrsPinkCock · 14/09/2017 22:19

Meh, I love their food.

Not old enough for the clothes yet, although DM loved them...

LoniceraJaponica · 14/09/2017 22:20

No shoe with a heel that height will ever be comfy for me Sad

Ilovelearning · 14/09/2017 22:21

I went into the Princes Street, Edinburgh store yesterday because I desperately need some wide legged wool trousers for the winter. They had not in store and said they would start coming in as the season progressed Shock. I would have thought that most of their autumn/winter stock would be in store by now.

RuncibleSp00n · 14/09/2017 22:21

Strikes me as simple. The key problem has long been that they try to cater for everyone, which results in an almost jumble-sale style mish-mash of deeply frumpy beige pensioner robes, try-hard bejewelled crushed velvet sequinned vaguely 'boho' horrors, and some genuinely fashionable pieces.

Therefore unless one is VERY savvy, it's perilously easy to slip-up and accidentally buy a howler. And THIS is what scares younger, mid-range shoppers off. The FEAR that one might accidentally become a laughing stock.

It's like playing sartorial Russian roulette.

Conversely, by going into H&M for example, younger shoppers know that all items are aimed at them and won't accidentally scream 'beige elasticated Damart slacks'. So shoppers there can shop with confidence and not have to use their discretion/discerning eye/sharp elbows to sort through what is/isn't aimed at their 'tribe'.

Yukbuck · 14/09/2017 22:21

I bought a really nice coat there for spring /summer. Literally had so many compliments on it. I'm mid 20s. I also only tend to buy my bras there and pretty much anywhere else I go won't fit properly. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others Do!
Admittedly some things are odd (to me) in there. But then I don't like everything in all shops.

ILoveScrabble · 14/09/2017 22:22

I wasn't suprised to see the pink dress linked to earlier in the sale for £5
What a bargain 😂😂😂. There were loads of sizes.

I'm amazed the OP didn't mention The Sparks card. It gives me the rage.

I agree that the clothing is generally crappy but I can find the occasional thing I like. Some of their sports wear is good and I buy all my bras from them.

The frilly weird try-hard designs are laughable.

Aibu to wonder how marks and spencer has not closed down yet??!
ILoveScrabble · 14/09/2017 22:23

Come to think of it I've got a few nice coats from them...and jeans. I think I've got more that I thought I had....

mellicauli · 14/09/2017 22:23

I bought this..am really pleased with it

Aibu to wonder how marks and spencer has not closed down yet??!
LeninaCrowne · 14/09/2017 22:24

The childrens' clothes are crap.

girls' leggings - cheap nasty material showing underwear underneath, horrible colours or naff patterns.

Trying to be trendy clothes that would only suit a gang of shop-lifting teens from south London going on a "jacking" expedition to Croydon.

SilentlyScreamingAgain · 14/09/2017 22:25

These threads are so frequent and they drive me crazy. I know that Mumsnet has a broad membership but I find it difficult to believe that all of you offering advice to M&S are really running companies that have profits of £500m a year, as M&S does.

Honestly, even now the company is not selling the exact kind of knickers you want to buy, they are still doing okay. Don't be alarmed.

Original poster
Olaf4fuxache · 14/09/2017 22:26

What we want:plain,good quality basics made of good fabric.No stupid ruffles,applique,lace,cut outs,buttons on sleeves,stupid fucking frills on sleeves,hems and necklines....get back to the basics,stop trying too hard to be trendy with all that Alexa Cheung crap that no one believes.You,M&S,are like a wannabe on your first day at senior school:trying too hard and failing miserably.

OP posts:
Allergictoironing · 14/09/2017 22:27

In their favour, they do womens clothes above a size 20 (I am fecking enormous VERY blessed in the bust area), which are hard to find in general.

JamOrCreamFirst · 14/09/2017 22:29

I find their food disappointing.

bbcessex · 14/09/2017 22:31

You are totally unreasonable and clearly do not know fashion.

Obviously this jumpsuit would suit anyone, and will no doubt be flying off the rack, if indeed not sold out already.

Aibu to wonder how marks and spencer has not closed down yet??!
Groovee · 14/09/2017 22:32

I buy trousers for work there as they fit great. They are elasticated... exactly what I like.

Chestervase1 · 14/09/2017 22:32

I agree Jamorcreamfirst food is now disappointing and very expensive. I bought a frozen dessert, a very nice looking (on the box) raspberry tart. It bore no resemblance to the food porn picture. And was quite small.

AnnabelleLecter · 14/09/2017 22:33

I regularly buy their food, l think they have got that spot on.
We have a sofa from M&S which is fab.

The clothes are too frumpy for me.
They used to do really nice good quality basics- jeans, wool pencil skirts, plain t-shirts etc. I still go in for knickers though.

Chestervase1 · 14/09/2017 22:34

That shiny brown metallic jumpsuit. I cannot get the image out of my head. Who would wear it?

scarletpopapil · 14/09/2017 22:34

I need M&S for bras, knickers, basic jeans and ballet flats that fit my weird feet. They are not allowed to go bust.

Some stuff is weird and terrible, some stuff is decent - like most shops really if we're honest. I do wish they'd make their tops a bit longer in the body.

myusernameisnotmyusername · 14/09/2017 22:34

I like their pyjamas and dressing gowns! Never bought anything other than that and underwear for me. But they do nice kids clothes and I got DD's school shoes from there.

ChocolateWombat · 14/09/2017 22:34

To all of us on here.....it doesn't matter that there is loads in there that we don't like.
Pretty much all of us still go in there and buy SOMETHING several times a year, which is more than can be said for most shops which many of us never go in and never buy anything from.

And the fact that we do it, even whilst seeing loads of stuff we don't want, means their tills are ringing and they are doing okay.

Who can say they never ever set foot in an M and S or buy a single item? Not that many people I believe....and that's a key to their continued existence.

SaucyJack · 14/09/2017 22:35

What was the design process there bbcessex?

It's like they all sat round a table trying to come up with the ultimate fabric and shape combo for maximum cameltoe.

Ttbb · 14/09/2017 22:35

Their kids clothing is perfectly fine. Their kids books are great! Early readers or sonething like that. DS loves them. I don't tend to buy clothing from there except when I need sonething quickly and don't want to spend too much. I got an emergency pair of nude court shoes (usual ones instorage) for only £20 the other day!

TeaAndToast85 · 14/09/2017 22:35

I like their pants Blush and food

SilentlyScreamingAgain · 14/09/2017 22:35

What we want:plain,good quality basics made of good fabric.

No, really you don't or at the very best you're (we're) not willing to pay for them.

A couple of years ago, M&S 'listened to their customers' and came up with a range of clothes, made of natural fibers, in the UK. They couldn't sell them, hardly anyone was willing to pay or could afford to pay for that kind of quality. I spend a fair bit on clothes but even I wasn't willing to fork out £180 for a pair of shoes with an M&S label, although they were very nice. The collection lasted a single season.

Mary Portus tried the same thing with British made knickers, again it didn't work because we're all too use to picking up a pack of five pairs for a fiver made by a small child in a developing nation.

What the British consumer imagines she wants and what she's actually willing to put her hand in her pocket and pay for are two different things.