To think so many middle-class clothes are ugly?

[RoyalFamilyFan]

I admit I am hardly a style guru. But when I joined Mumsnet people talked about lots of companies I had never heard of like Toast. So I followed links of clothes posted and looked at the websites mentioned. And was shocked at how ugly so much of the clothing was.
Shapeless grey dresses. Black loose trousers teamed with black tunics which make the model look like she is a member of a cult. Shapeless brown t-shirts.
They are just so ugly. AIBU?

Branded sports kit you say, OP. I'll nip into Sports Direct later. Do they have a personal shopper service?

There's a market stall that sells clothes - is their stuff working class appropriate?

@royalfamilyfan I snorted my tea 😂

Some of those dresses look like a cross between a potato sack and a bin bag!

@Isababybel

Yanbu Who would wear this: www.toa.st/products/swingy-denim-dress-indigo?gclid=CjwKCAiA5t-OBhByEiwAhR-hm9Z9CnmiBr1nrrS2MNp-kyYcULaAk0CASlJi0O8xpLPAXyBV7NlIZhoC7J4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds An art teacher??

Me. Art teachers tend to be quite stylish.

Disclaimer: I’m not one.

I just looked up Navabi. It is very much not my thing. There is a lot of polyester and floral patterns which I never wear.

All this to say people have different taste.

@Gonnagetgoing I ordered Racing Green at the beginning when everyone was raving about the quality. I liked the plain simple colours and cuts, but the quality of material was shockingly poor.
The best quality clothes are always men's clothes.I have a plain black men's jumper from M and S that is amazing quality and so comfy. Less than £20.

@honeylulu

I share your view OP but there are lots of people who love those sort of clothes and/or think the women wearing them look amazing.

There was a mum at my son's primary school who clearly spent a lot on her clothes which I thought looked bloody awful. One top she wore looked like a cross between a grandads nightshirt and a deckchair but I hear her being complimented every time she wore it. Ditto bright red trousers and emerald green blouse. I thought she looked like a middle aged Santa's elf but again lots of gushing from others.

I also remember a mumsnet discussion about Sharon from Catastrophe's wardrobe. Lots of people raving about her "teaching clothes" which I thought were ghastly - voluminous blouses stuffed into waistband of voluminous pleated skirts- she had a gorgeous figure and those outfits made her look a stone and a half heavier. I liked her sexy, fitted evening outfits though.

We are all different!

I might be the person PP mentioned upthread who loves bodycon dresses (which PP thinks are revolting). I love fitted, stretchy clothes! But probably loads of people think I look like a dog's breakfast and for every "you look nice" someone else is thinking "mutton dressed as .. ". The fab thing about being middle aged is that you no longer care what other people think and just suit yourself. Hurrah!

Shouldn't matter if your clothes make you look heavier, or if they're sexy. Just wear clothes youlike, are comfortable and keep you at tge right temperature!

I would say Toast is aimed at ppl who are either tall or slim or both. As a short stout person it is going to look rubbish on me. Expensive rubbish.
Joules and Boden have got some good stuff if you avoid the obvious , got v nice blouses from both.

That dress is beyond horrible. I though it might not look that bad on someone, as sometimes they look worse on the hanger, but the pictures of it on the models are even worse. I’m always sceptical of the supposed “must have” M&S dress that they claim is flying off the shelves and in great demand. They are usually shapeless sack or nightgown looking things as well.

@Cornisharchitect

Wait what’s architecturally structured clothes? I’m an architect so I need to know

Sorry bit pretentious all or any of clothes which look terrible on the hanger but great on; can be wrapped, folded , fastened or twisted to wear in different ways , or , and this is my favourite , in the case of skirts I bought from a Dutch designer, instructions on how to wear them.

I think middle class people have more style
They know how to wear those clothes and look amazing.

I think YAU a little unreasonable. Some of the Toast offerings are lush but you do have to be picky.

@Covidclaire

Would love it if someone could actually tell me what class I am. Is it based on:

1. What job I do?
2. How much I earn?
3. What job my parents did?
4. What chocolate I eat?
5. Where I buy my clothes from?

@Covidclaire

You forgot what you name your DC on that list.

I think we can all agree that not many of the pics posted are wonderful but I live a very middle class area and no one I know dresses anything like any of those pictures except one quirky and wonderful friend who is an artist.

I buy the ugly art teacher clothes. It’s all me! I’m middle class and tall and scrawny. They’re comfy, last forever and aren’t sexy (at least not in a straight forward way).

@CaliforniaDrumming

I just looked up Navabi. It is very much not my thing. There is a lot of polyester and floral patterns which I never wear.

All this to say people have different taste.

There's some absolute horrors on Navabi.

[quote phishy]@RoyalFamilyFan

I like navabi for special buys. But mainly Isolde Roth. Some of the other designers are ugly.

Navabi only has 7 Isolde Roth items so I looked Isolde Roth up on Amazon. They're really not that different to some of the stuff you linked, OP.

]][/quote]
Tombliboo?

It’s all about the fabric
I can’t be doing with cheap fabrics

@KimikosNightmare oh wow! I had no idea! I am actually intrigued now. But I fear I would get stuck / trapped in my clothes. (I’m a little clumsy and always in a rush!)

I liked a lot of this kind of stuff around 10 years ago. Now I am in my 40s I totally avoid, the granny chic look just ages you when you get older (obviously)! I also hate the corduroy dress look. They look great on little girls but not grown women. I am struggling to find what I like. Working from home is not helping either as it just encourages me to live in joggers and sweatshirts.

The navabi stuff is plus size so of no use to me and the Isolde Roth stuff looks baggy and shapeless

This thread made me cry. I was really looking forward to wearing my new Toast dress. I thought I looked really nice and so did DH. I'm 5'4 with a bosom and not thin. So I seen now that I must have been mistaken.

@MrsMadderRose

BarbaraofSeville I like the Matalan dress! I'd probably take it in a bit and make it more fitted around the top half. But I wouldn't buy it anyway because it's synthetic. That's maybe one factor with class and clothes - expensive natural fabrics vs polyester and acrylic. I avoid buying anything synthetic because I don't like the feel of it and it's bad for the environment – but I can afford to choose. Natural fabrics like linen and cashmere have become associated with wealth and "classiness".

I think you may have hit the nail on the head, @BarbaraofSeville .

I can't bear the feel of synthetic fabrics which rules out most of the stock in places like Primark and Matalan. And wearing polyester in hot weather gives me a heat rash.

Nearly everything I own is cotton, linen or wool.

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@Incognito22333 but why buy ugly clothes in the first place if you have to work hard to team them with other things to look good. Why not just buy nicer clothes, or at least more classic looking clothes that you can accessorise?[/quote]
Can you share some examples of what you like?

I don't have a Toast budget at all but I do like that 'shapeless' dress look and don't like frilly, fussy clothes as they are often uncomfortable.

When I was younger it was pretty much drummed in that clothes should be flattering, make you look more attractive, highlight good bits, camouflage bad bits. It’s quite liberating to stop doing that constantly. I have really questioned some of my attitudes tbh.
I don’t buy toast clothing but I can see why someone would, and with the right accessories they might look good in it. My clothes are much more colourful and a different style yet they’re still middle class probably as they’re not cheap! Personally it’s some of the more ubiquitous high street shops that I find very frumpy but I’m trying to readjust my thinking as people should just wear what they like!

[quote phishy]@RoyalFamilyFan

I like navabi for special buys. But mainly Isolde Roth. Some of the other designers are ugly.

Navabi only has 7 Isolde Roth items so I looked Isolde Roth up on Amazon. They're really not that different to some of the stuff you linked, OP.

]][/quote]
Oh god you are right! I last bought something from there two years ago. It is a lovely slightly quirky dress. Nothing like these horrors. No idea where I will shop next. Why do they do this? You find somewhere you like and then they start churning out horrors.

Agree the kids’ clothes on grownups look is a bit odd. But, re the shapeless dresses, I think people don’t think they’re ugly. I think they like the deliberately unstructured shape and natural materials and colours. It’s a definite look as I see lots of them round here, teamed with leather boots, linen jackets etc.