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Original poster

Oasis/warehouse going under- end of the high street?

174 replies

littleblackdress04 · 14/04/2020 18:43

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52285231

Am actually gutted as they are my favourite clothes shops - aibu to think this is going to be the end of the highstreet? Can’t imagine Dorothy Perkins/ new look etc are far behind them. The end of fast fashion is no bad thing but it’s really shocking too

OP posts:
TheGirlFromStoryville · 15/04/2020 13:48

I used to love Warehouse and Oasis back when I was in my late teens (very early 90s)
Once I started work after uni I upgraded to Whistles etc. Fond memories of all day Saturday shopping trips.
Nowadays I shop mostly online. Hate walking round shops aimlessly!

Feel so sorry for the staff.

LolaSmiles · 15/04/2020 13:51

I love oasis and they were a staple for my jersey dresses and skirts for work. I was hoping to buy some more in the summer once I've hopefully shifted my baby weight.

I hope they limp along til then. Some of my dresses have been going 5/10 years and have washed well.
Sadly it is a game of quality roulette in there these days. Their basics seem to be awfully thin and their knitwear quite flimsy.

pointyshoes · 15/04/2020 14:12

It’s always a shame when any shop goes into administration, particularly for all the employees (not just customer facing ones), but I went into our local Oasis store just before Christmas to get something for Dd (she had specified exactly what she wanted). Store had no customers and 2 employees hanging around at the back, very busy ignoring us. I asked for some help finding the items but neither employee could be bothered to end their personal chat (we could hear exactly what they were saying). I decided that if they couldn’t be bothered to help, I couldn’t be bothered to shop there so I left and decided not to bother going back there ever again. So unhelpful staff don’t help in these difficult times ( I know not all retail staff are unhelpful and obviously at the moment many are going above and beyond)

thegcatsmother · 15/04/2020 16:47

As I'm middle class and middle aged, I like Seasalt, and it's readily available where I live. Oasis meant a trek to get to a shop.

Seasalt and Lands End normally fit without me having to guess which size, as do Boden and Toast.

Qwerty543 · 15/04/2020 16:50

@Lovestonap couldn't agree more. I've had people say how I always look nice. I wear clothes that suit me and I do not look dated at all. But this is MN and fairly typical responses saying that things are shit and dated when they really aren't which are comments just designed to make others who like these brands feel like they are getting it wrong compared to the superior posters who must always look stylish and well turned out (according to so called fashion).

Mookie81 · 15/04/2020 19:53

I'm liking Hobbs at the moment.
Although it's high end high st, I bought some work items in their sale and the sizing was good, the material good quality and the clothes hung nicely.

Shimy · 15/04/2020 20:53

I agree completely about Hobbs. Never been a fan but popped in there during the last xmas sale and couldn't believe how well their clothes fit and the sizes were exact. Their sale prices were great too which helps!

Gwenhwyfar · 15/04/2020 21:26

The Hobbs is my town is an outlet and I still can't afford anything plus I find it a bit ageing. Not really comparable to Oasis and Warehouse.

Mookie81 · 15/04/2020 22:34

How old are you @Gwenhwyfar?

tectonicplates · 15/04/2020 22:40

I cannot get why people buy clothes online I can’t stand all the messing about with returns and it’s impossible to gauge fit and quality online

It's always people of average height who say this, isn't it. Most petite and tall ranges have gone online only, or large branches of Dorothy Perkins will have five or six petite items in store and fifty online. Average height people don't have a clue what it's like for the rest of us.

The same goes for larger sizes - Oasis actually went up to a size 26 but only up to 16 in store. If you're a size 18-26 then it's online only.

sweetheartyparty · 15/04/2020 22:51

I heard the news today about Oasis and felt really gutted. It's my go to shop. Today, everything I wore except for underwear was from Oasis

gower4 · 15/04/2020 23:17

I love Oasis. It was at its absolute best in the mid to late 90s, but I feel
like it's recently become really good again - I'll be gutted if it actually goes.

Thisisworsethananticpated · 15/04/2020 23:20

They were on the verge anyway
Go to a busy retail center and these shops are always the quiet ones
Natures abhors a vacuum , and others will pop up
Shit for their personnel though

Gwenhwyfar · 16/04/2020 00:04

Mookie - early 40s. Happy to embrace being middle aged, but Hobbs for me is a bit more the upper end of middle aged. Same way that I sort of like Phase Eight, but then catch myself before I buy something that'll make me look like a 60 yr old mother of the bride.

Mookie81 · 16/04/2020 01:48

Oh, I'm 38 and thought it was about right age wise BlushGrin

LorenzoStDubois · 16/04/2020 03:54

Oasis's clothes are so horribly drab and dowdy.
Can't figure out who on earth would wear them.
Their clothes were decent back in the 1990s but they have been involved in some sort of race to the bottom ever since.

Warehouse is hopeless too.

Feel sorry for their staff but these particular clothes shops are indeed shite.

Lovestonap · 16/04/2020 04:03

@LorenzoStDubois
Well.....me, a 38 year old, mother of two, fun loving professional - and a few others on this thread obviously! It seems harsh to write off a whole shop's aesthetic like that. Different people enjoy wearing different things, despite fast fashion telling us we should all wear the same things (even if we're not all the same age and size) and change them every few months. It's OK not to like their clothes but comments like that are quite dismissive and rude really.

LorenzoStDubois · 16/04/2020 04:26

Not sure who is into wearing flowery rayon, but crack on...…...

pocketem · 16/04/2020 06:24

Oasis sell overpriced tat. They were struggling even before the coronavirus

SorrelBlackbeak · 16/04/2020 07:47

The success of Kitri and Sezane suggest that there are a lot of people who are into flowery dresses in artificial fabrics, including pretty much every fashion editor at the moment.

gower4 · 16/04/2020 08:22

Oasis isn't drab or dowdy. I think for a while it went a bit cheap looking (lots of neon tops etc), but it's rediscovered its old form recently.

violetbunny · 16/04/2020 08:28

I love a flowery dress Blush

FreakStar · 16/04/2020 08:39

I don't really think Oasis customers will find Hobbs a suitable alternative. For one it's about 3 times the price per item, secondly it's aimed at a much older market, and thirdly it's mainly work-stuff in very conservative cuts.

Oasis was my go-to shop in my 20s- I still buy a few bits there now in my 40s but chose more carefully as some of the dresses are a bit short and din't look quite right. Quality can be a little questionable but generally OK for that price bracket.

@ People who sneer at synthetic fabric- shopping must be very tiresome and expensive for you! I find synthetic has it's advantages- silk dresses aren't practical for everyday washing and wearing for work in a school with little kids, they are too expensive, wool is tooo itchy and needs careful washing and dry cleaning, cotton doesn't always hang right and creases badly, and hard to avoid- even high-end hughstreet shops like Hobbs, Whistles, Lk Bennett are mainly synthetic fabrics.

Gwenhwyfar · 16/04/2020 08:52

"Oh, I'm 38 and thought it was about right age wise blushgrin"

I've got a couple of dresses from there for work, but only for very smart days at work and I would have put the target age of Hobbs around 55. Has quite generous sizing as shops for older women tend to.

However, if you dress very, very smartly at work, I can see how Hobbs is a good option for you.

I wear Oasis/Warehouse dresses to work and sometimes for leisure in the summer.

PenCreed · 16/04/2020 08:59

My workplace is fairly casual, I wear quite a lot of Oasis and LindyBop dresses, so this thread is terrible news for my wardrobe. Hobbs is too expensive and smart for me! And I feel a bit young in there, despite being in my late 30s. I'm also disappointed to realise that Fever London has probably gone under as well, they were one of my favourite brands although I think have been struggling for a while.

Seasalt/Fatface/White Stuff doesn't fit me properly and really isn't my style. It looks good on other people but not me.