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?

@OhWhyNot I like dresses over jeans. I used to wear a lot of dresses over thick black tights when young.

@RoyalFamilyFan

Or this. It is incredibly ugly. How can anyone see this and decide to buy it?

Bloody Hell, that is gross.

@RoyalFamilyFan

This dress! It might look okay on a three-year-old. Or a woman who is part of a Christian cult who has 19 children and bakes her own bread after hand milling the grains.

I like it 😂

@thepeopleversuswork

I know what you mean OP: there's a sort of Puritanism about some of these clothes -- sort of anti-sex, anti-glamour.

I grew up in an incredibly middle class town and there was a weird competitiveness among people of my parents' generation -- affluent, if not wealthy people who could have afforded to dress much much better, to look as dowdy and asexual as possible.

I think its partly that labels are thought to be a bit common and certainly if you're spending a lot of your disposable income on them there's a moral judgement.

Also subconsciously I think these people want to send a message that they are too clever to think in great depth about what they are wearing.

I also think its a hangover from the Victorian era with its sex phobia. There's some thought process that goes: showing leg or cleavage makes you look poor. And anti-feminist.

It's all bollocks but I've lived among and around these people long enough to have some insight into the way their minds work.

I'm not necessarily a huge fan of knock of Louis Vuitton either, not really my thing. But I do think there's no shame in wanting to look attractive and well-groomed and its very odd that people want to go out of their way to avoid these things.

Oxford or Cambridge, @thepeopleversuswork?

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@Cocomarine There is a clear link between class and confidence. Discrimination and low social status are not good for confidence.
But I think a shapeless grey dress looks ugly to whoever is wearing it. On many of these websites, they have very beautiful models wearing g the clothes, and still, the clothes look incredibly ugly.
I do not understand why anyone would want to buy this stuff. If you are buying these clothes then you have the money to buy really nice stuff.[/quote]
What kind of things do you like then?

I'm middle class and I mostly buy stuff from M&Co (but M&S and Next are fine too)
... Am I doing middle class wrong??? (probably)

Ah well I have some very simple Toast dresses that probably fall into the ops definition of ugly but I feel very at ease in them and appropriately dressed for my public sector senior role.

The grey one I wear with a jolly circular scarf in a bright deep winter colour, opaques and biker style boots. The slightly fuller dark blue cord one with a turquoise blouse underneath and the same boots.

Similarly I have some great dresses from Co's and also Baukjen. Have gone off Boden in recent years and to a degree White Stuff. Still pick up occasional bits from M&S.

Am 5'7" and a 14/16. I find this style very forgiving as I know I have at least two stone to lose. It also fits my slightly arty/academic work environment.

@custardcreme

I’d wear that dress. I’m always drawn to a whiff of the Amish though.

I like it too.

I like clothes that have very clean lines. Fussy stuff doesn't suit me.

@SomethingOnce But at the least the clothes actually fit you, and you don't get accused of dressing inappropriately.

@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?

Im no fashionista and don't have a style. I run about in my leggings, hoodie and trainers when not at work, my workwear is mainly a mixture of ASOS, high street stores eg All Saints, River Island or similar, I'm happy with what I wear.

I agree, there are so many disgustingly expensive, frumpy and unflattering items of clothing on often recommended sites. £160 for an ugly potato sack? I'd rather buy 2 weeks food shopping for the family...

Maybe I should re-think my ‘skinny jeans with a nice top” combo for going to the pub …

[quote thepeopleversuswork]@Ninkanink

It’s not that they (we) don’t care. Typically (I can’t speak for everyone, obviously) it’s that they don’t care what you (or particularly men) think. They dress to please themselves and their aesthetic which is driven by the tribe they exist within.

It's not strictly true that they (you) don't care though is it? You dress to please yourselves everyone does but there is definitely an aspirational element to it. Basically it boils down to "wanting to look middle class".

Nothing wrong with that per se, and certainly no worse than wanting to be a label queen, but let's be honest, its not really about individualism. These sorts of clothes are actually remarkably uniform in their style.

The thing I find striking is how they seem to go out of their way to hide the natural attractiveness of a woman's body. I don't mean in a sexual way. But the tailoring in these pieces seems to deliberately work against the natural curves of a woman's body.[/quote]
I never said it’s about individualism.

Fashion isn’t ever about individualism on a personal level unless one really works hard to create outfits that break rules, defy convention and challenge aesthetics. Any time you wear a uniform you’re doing the exact opposite to that.

I said it’s about pleasing yourself and your sense of aesthetics, driven by the tribe you subscribe to, and specifically that many times is about deliberately not dressing for the male gaze.

@thepeopleversuswork

Does anyone remember Clothkits?

www.clothkits.co.uk/collections/sewing-patterns

Peak middle class.

It was a badge of shame among my peer group to have ever had to wear anything like this. Hideous.

Things become trendy middle class like this, once the working class have abandoned it. When I was young allotments were seen as for old working-class men. Now it is very popular amongst the middle class. Basically it has to be seen as no longer about poverty, but a lifestyle choice.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Bingo. . I see you.

Oh also stuff from Toast/Cos looks far better on (and stylised) than off.

Would you refuse to wear Birkies too OP? And lace-up shoes?

Horses for courses and good we are all different.

Dresses over jeans was very popular look in MC areas in London about 10 years ago (maybe longer)

Op you would have fitted in of course of it was the right style of dress/jeans

[quote phishy]@PickAChew thank you

One thing I cannot wear anymore is knitwear. Whether it's polyester or cashmere, Primark or Prada, it's all hot and itchy.

Does anyone else feel like this or is this the onset of peri-menopause or my sensory issues?[/quote]
I get this.
I've been knitting tank tops for myself. Good compromise for me over a shirt as I don't have to contend with hot armpits or scratchy yarn near my neck & face
I prefer cotton yarns, scratch free.

@RoyalFamilyFan I am v small busted. 34 B. I quite like some of the other dresses on Cos too. Please god let WFH end.

Absolutely hideous! If a bloody model can't pull these monstrosities off us mortals have no chance.

Does anyone have any opinions on Cabbages and Roses?

www.cabbagesandroses.com

thepeopleversuswork
What a load of twaddle. I choose to dress the way I do because I feel comfortable and I like how it looks on me. I think you're over thinking things!

That’s exactly what I was thinking @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g. Brings to mind a few of my relatives. One auntie had her mind blown when her husband went to the USA for a sabbatical year and she realised you didn’t have to eat ghastly food , wear jumble sale clothes and freeze to death in winter to be considered clever.

@RoyalFamilyFan

This is the cult look.

I absolutely agree OP and 😂😂😂😂 to the cult look

@bubblesbubbles11 I’d be interested to know how much of Toasts (and similar) clothes are manufactured & not purchased because they’re so ugly. Or purchased, worn once with regret & then chucked away….

Sorry if I haven’t worded that well. But I just want to point out that expensive clothes are still just landfill waste if they’re rarely worn.

@Hornetfarmer

*thepeopleversuswork* What a load of twaddle. I choose to dress the way I do because I feel comfortable and I like how it looks on me. I think you're over thinking things!

Trust me, I'm not. I was born and raised in this world. It's in my blood.