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?

Jane Norman, Clinton's cards, Mark One, Woolworths, Allders, Tammy girl, Clobber & so many more. I ❤️ the 90's.

Ahh, Bay and Pilot!

Shops are full of shit nowadays. All that cold shoulder and frilly crap. Everyone in black leggings and khaki parkas and drab dark colours. I swear clothes just used to be more...stylish.

There's still a C & A in Palma, Mallorca. If we go on holiday to Mallorca it has to include a trip to C &A. The lady at the checkout told me they get a lot of UK customers making sentimental purchases.

latedecember1963 my mum had all that, wish she kept some of her necklaces. Di was her fashion icon.

Phool clothing. A tad ethnic but not enough to be OTT. Closest thing is Anoki by East but they are £+++ sadly.

Clockhouse. I drooled over netting tiered twirly puffy skirts which were black with a couple of layers of neon pink/yellow underneath. Went lovely with a vest top, millions of plastic beads and fingerless gloves a la Madonna.

Faith still do quite good shoes via Debenhams. Not the range they once were but I have a pair of dual tone glittery heels that literally everyone comments on. Still worth a look.

Did anyone shop in Jane Norman? I used to love getting strappy summery clubbing tops and one of those cool plastic coloured bags to pop it in with rope handles...

GlueandStick I remember those shoes!

Puffa jackets, Naf Naf bags, the colour changing tshirts. Wella wash in colour things. We had the freedom to be more experimental I think.

I was a teen in the 80s but TBH I always preferred charity shops (when you could get amazing stuff for very little money) - and what I really loved were the 80s 'head shops' full of floaty print cheesecloth blouses, afghan coats, metal band t-shirts and patches to sew on your denim jacket: most of them are gone now etc. There's one near where I live but a)I can't afford to shop there much and b)they don't stock much in my size anyway.

Absolutely!

We may have lost the shopping experience, but dining out has never been so fantastic. Food from all over the globe is available in most big shopping centres, coffee places have far more variety and options. I do miss shopping in the 90's, but dining in the 2010's is good enough to soothe my soul.

Oh my god. You're my people.

My favourite ever pulling skirt was from Bay trading. Little camo number. Also loved my Kookai crop top.

Remember those miss selfridge tees with the heart logo? And when French Connection was affordable.

I had a 70s style lime green jersey polo shirt and matching tube mini skirt combo from Clockhouse that I looked the absolute nuts in. Or so I thought. See also my matching snake print tube maxi skirt and sheer, short-sleeved skirt from Tammy (best worn with black lace bra).

Shellys was my favourite shoe shop. Where else could I source my Acupuncture trainers (anyone remember those?)

Oooooh I’d forgotten all about Pilot! Had some real faves from there.

I used to like French Connection and those tshirts that would say something like FCUK Me. I thought they were dead daring

And those V neck long sleeved Ted Baker tshirts that had the name embroidered in tiny letters just below the V. Must have had about four of them. Great with my combat pants and platform trainers...

Amber I was thinking about Acupuncture trainers recently and googling for images just for nostalgia! (I didn’t actually have any, but my trendier friends did!). Also Buffalo boots, I actually wouldn’t mind some of those now Couldn’t afford them back in the day.

Jane Norman was teeny tiny sized. Even when I was a size 8-10 I always felt big in there. I saw a Jane Norman concession recently. I think it was on Peacocks but I might be wrong.

And yes! Standards are higher now. I also miss the whole wearing jeans and a nice top with a bit of make up and blow dried hair. All the teens I know now look years older and groomed within an inch of their lives with poker straight hair, acrylic or gel nails, professional eye brows and fake lashes. Most look stunning but it must be such hard work to maintain all that.

And I still remember the outfit I wore the night I won my first boyfriend (he later went to young offenders and I named DS1 after him (DH does no know this)). A purple, striped, cropped, lurex, short-sleeved turtle-neck, pleather mini (both Tammy) fishnets and Kickers heeled loafers. He didn't stand A CHANCE.

All the above shops, but I really miss Habitat as it was in those days, affordable furniture and rugs and chunky mugs and everything you could need. So much nicer than IKEA but it was the cheapest place to go.

What a fab thread I feel simultaneously heart-warmed, sad and old...!!

I still have my Buffalo boots (burgundy snake print) in case the Spice girls reunite. My best friend and I (still my bestie) had joint custody of a Union Jack dress we pooled our money for to buy from a market stall.

I used to love going shopping with my friends in the 70/80s, I’m a bit older but it was similar to shopping in the 90s

We used to go to our nearest big town on Saturday afternoon and buy something new to go out in that night, one of my friends used to sometimes buy material and run something up for that night. There was much more choice then and I used to like Miss Selfridge. We sometimes used to go to London for a special treat on the National Express bus iirc and go to a shop called a Flip in Covent Garden where you could buy second hand Levi’s and stuff, and then we used to go to Kensington market to browse.

There's a big C&A in Barcelons. Also Kookai, Morgan.

I went to Pilot once, in Dover, and there were fleas in the changing room vom! Never bought anything, never went back.

I liked Bay Trading, old New Look, the Happy Hippy Hut in Lincoln

I don't buy online, i need to try things on and check quality. But i miss meeting mates and going in every shop, just because.

Showing my age, here... But Tammy for disco outfits? Surely that was early 80s? Or is Tammy Girl different from Tammy? Actually, if I have to ask that question, I am evidently very ancient and should fuck off to the far end of Clock House, aka C&A, and should then fuck off some more to the stonewashed jeans department.

I get freaked out now, because teenagers are wearing a lot of the same things we did - those tattoo chokers are en vogue.

I recently found a notebook at my parents house, where I had painstakingly catalogued my Spectacular nail varnish collection (including swatches). Made me laugh.

How could I have forgotten Shelley’s!

I saw someone in a sweater shop jumper today at the swimming pool