To miss shopping in the 90's and early noughties

[witchofzog]

I used to love shopping but now there are very few shops I actually like. I miss Jeffrey Rogers, Bay Trading Co, MK One, Pilot etc. Not high end clothing granted but there were always things I liked.

These days a lot of stores are online but I can't be bothered with what would probably be constant sending things back as a lot of things look great on the hanger but crap on me. Primark is ok but hell to shop in when I can go as it is so busy and don't get me started on the mirrors. New Look is ok as is H & M too but really that's about it. I actually prefer charity shops and car boots now but today I just feel really nostalgic for the high street of yesteryear.

Does anyone else feel the same?

"Buying a lipstick from Miss Selfridge - no idea what it was called but it was a metallic lilac mauve. Mum said it made me look as if I had heart trouble....!"

I had a lipstick like that, it came in a silver metal tube! I wore it to school one day thinking I was really cool, until I caught sight of myself in the mirror and realised I looked like a corpse.

Any of the scouse contingency remember Stolen from Ivor and Kumar Bros?

As one of the oldies on here I really miss Woolies, BHS and Littlewoods. I rarely go into town these days and just shop online.

@SpitefulMidLifeAnimal my friend's dad is the Ivor from 'Stolen from Ivor'!

This thread has brought back many happy memories and restored my faith that it's not just me who is a prematurely unfashionable frump and indeed I was correct in my belief that clothes shopping and clothes themselves are a nightmare these days.
I had a Kookai cardigan. My DGran, God rest her soul, went to volunteer with a charity after my DGranfather passed away. They used to get some amazing stock in from the shops at the end of the sales and the area I lived in was happily behind the fashions everywhere else!
We used to be sent big boxes of clothes (nicknamed Nanny Aid) she had bought (with first dibs of course) which was marvellous as my parents struggled financially during the nineties.
We would have satin a line skirts from Mark One, denim dungarees from Tammy, black heart crop tops from Miss Selfridge and my designated "Pulling Top" the aforementioned Kookai cardigan.
It was very fitted, with tiny buttons and was grey and black wavy stripped. In front of my dad it was always worn with a top underneath. Which, once I started to going out with mates to parties, the top would go, the wonderbra (with no effect at all as I was a 32aa) was on and I'd undo the first few buttons and lots from the bottom to show off my belly chain (from Bow Bangles of course).
Worked every time.
I've kept some bits that I still had (with no chance of getting in them now I'm a mother of 2 and size 16 with no need for a wonderbra these days) as my DD wants them and at 11 she's not far off wearing them as she's so tall. She will be the proud owner of vintage Diesel skinnies with rips, a pair of Wrangler flares (vintage when I got them) and a pair of Karen Millen bootcuts which I miss wearing so much.
She's miffed I never kept my holographic halter dress from Rockit though.

Pulling top
I had one of those too! It was a tie dye thing - dark and gothic. No idea where I got it.

I did recall (with fondness) a white leatherette dress from miss Selfridge (I loved getting dresses from there) which was a bandeau dress with an asymmetric wavy hemline and white leatherette roses on. I used to wear it with these silver Grecian shoes. I got it around 2003. Sounds hideous, but looking back it was really pretty and my mum always said it looked really good on. Then one of my friends (who literally looked like a model) borrowed it and looked way nicer than me! It got covered in blue ink after and ruined, which was a shame as I probably would have worn it for quite a while beyond that (would have been a good festival dress, being wipe clean!).

Wearing this stuff now, I would look pretty rough (being two dress sizes bigger doesn't help) but it's nice to reminisce about times when all you had to worry about was looking good on a Friday night! I had a lot of fun with clothes when they didn't have to be very functional.

Oh. Em. Gee.

Packing for holiday tomorrow and rummaging through every drawer+cupboard to try and find evening-type dresses that I'll be able to feed DS4 in. Lo and behold, I came upon this: a Bay Trading original, circa 1998 I'd say.

DH has helpfully pointed out that it looks like a nightdress, but it'll allow boob access so it's going in the case!