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?

@MoniJitchell

I'm definitely working class and completely agree with OP. For those asking I wfh and generally wear a top like the one attached with mom jeans. If going into the office I'd generally wear a dress similar to attached. Id wear these items on weekends too, depending on what we're up to.I'm in my early 30s and my office has no dress code if that's relevant. Footwear wise I always wear my dr martens Chelsea boots or converse/vans.

The dress is lovely although too short for me.

The jumper on the other hand is frumpy personified - the frills are extremely frumpy.

Every day on here now there is a thread about ‘middle class’ this or that. Almost as if someone is obsessed. It’s really odd. Do people still actually think like this?

Yes when I was a teenager with a big bust I used to wear loose-fitting clothes thinking they were more flattering. I looked way better in very fitted tops.

I saw the Toast ad in here. My first thought for this dress & jacket combo was this!

Although I am getting tired of the recent class division posts. Mocking and labelling people's dress sense really isn't helpful. We don't have to live in these boxes.

I love boden for work dresses! I have a few from there and they are so comfy for work

Good point thepeopleversuswork, in fact that is something my DH says all the time!

And always so much casual ageism on these threads.

'I don't like it therefore it must be being bought by grannies/old women/ women in their 60s'.

Fuck off with that shit.

This thread reminds of the threads where certain foods - usually things like brown bread, lentils, etc - are ridiculed and described as middle class food!

It’s really quite depressing.

I buy my clothes from all different shops - often second hand - but I am particularly drawn to natural fibres and plain colours etc. In fact my look is probably the look that the OP is ridiculing.

I love this thread! Each to their own but sometimes I get the old imposter syndrome and think to myself "and I don't wear the type of clothes that the proper ##insert occupation wear!" Then I realise thank feck. Hideous. Accompanied by a bowl cut Agnes Varda type hairdo. .(West End of Glesga ,I'm talking to you !).

@catfunk

I think you're just as likely to find hideous clothes in primark or next.

Interested in the amount of comments about 'shapeless' or 'dowdy' .... should women only wear figure hugging bright things ?

Well, apparently so otherwise, to quote @OhdearOhdearOhdearIndeed, it’s a “waste of a good body” and we should at least have something on display. Just to look nice for others, doncha know

Jesus, the 1950s called and wanted their attitudes towards women’s clothing back.

Cornisharchitect, I agree that the stereotype is reinforced by these clothes being labelled 'architectural'.

I'm not au fait with the look of many of the brands named so I just checked two mentioned, Mint Velvet and Hush on ebay . I really feel like I haven't missed anything . This was the third iem for Hush -
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234367330029?hash=item369161a6ed:g:3JYAAOSwMgFhzwqg

For those questioning the class aspect, every single clothing firm has a type of customer they are marketing to. Toast and other clothing shops are deliberately marketing to a certain kind of middle-class woman. Thta shows in their website design, marketing, how they pose the models.
This is marketing 101.

@Anordinarymum

I recently bought a Seasalt dress online. I was not sure about the size. I have a big bust but am smaller elsewhere. If I buy a two piece anything it is always either a 14 or 16 at the top and a 12 for trousers and skirts. It's always difficult finding dresses that fit. I ordered a 14 in the hope it would not be too small. It was like a tent on me. I sent it back and got the 12. It fits at the top but from the waist down it is huge on me. I get the feeling they pinned it at the back in the photo. Yes I have worn it but when I do my daughter smiles at me as if to say 'wtf mum' It is a 'Grandma' dress Needless to say I won't be buying any more.

Their sizes are baffling. When I was massively overweight i bought a top from them I loved, which the shop only had in a medium, so I hoped it would fit. It was swimming on me. Medium must be about size 16.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this thread, particularly the analysis from people like @thepeopleversuswork.

You learn a lot about the British from Mumsnet. And it’s very weird when, after a lifetime of considering yourself an outsider, you recognise the person being accurately skewered as yourself down to the area you live in - ouuuuch!

Damned if you’re prising my comfortable Toast sack from my sex-phobic body though.😂.

@RoyalFamilyFan

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

Wouldnt combine the two pieces but would wear the dungarees with a black tshirt if I were slimmer and would wear the top with jeans or a black/navy skirt.

@BrightYellowDaffodil there is a large space in between tight figure-hugging, and a shapeless tent.

Period drama clothing OP.

I work in an office. I would wear most of what you've posted but I'm busty, thin waist and a bubble butt 🤣 so I'd look like a sack of tatties. I buy most of my clothes from Zara, Tiger lily boutique, in the style, miss guided. But none of my outfits are skimpy
I wear blazers with some dresses, sometimes pencil skirts and blouses and another day I could have hoodie and skinny jeans on. Personally my biggest hate is leggings 🤮🤮🤮 sick of seeing people camel toes, their pants showing through. Ghastly 🤣

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@BrightYellowDaffodil there is a large space in between tight figure-hugging, and a shapeless tent.[/quote]
So?

If I want to wear a tent I bloody well will, and it’s a sad day if we’re still judging women for not wearing something “a bit more flattering/pretty/feminine”.

I think some of the clothes on this thread would be considered 'basics'. And in that respect they are a bit of a twist on basics. One other thing I could say is that some of them (e.g. tunics) are quite ageless, so you could theoretically be 25 or 85 and feel comfortable in a slightly edgy tunic.

Just my guesses as to why people buy these. I don't personally. I don't have £300 to drop on an edgy tunic and I'm hourglass shaped so would look like a potato in a tunic!

Okay, I've finally had a look through the Toast website. Frumpy AF, totally shapeless, and the models have literally no breasts so that's of no help to me.

Like I said earlier, the point of paying more for the clothing is to get a better fit. If I want something shapeless, or something comfortable for hanging around the house, that's what cheap shops are for. Why would I need to pay that much for something that looks that bad?

@anungratefulwretch

And always so much casual ageism on these threads.

'I don't like it therefore it must be being bought by grannies/old women/ women in their 60s'.

Fuck off with that shit.

Quite

I'm working class, common and in the top 1% of earners in the UK.
I'm tall and very thin, with relatively broad shoulders, no tits, no hips, swishy hair and cheekbones to die for.
I always wear dull frumpy clothes and people always assume that I'm upper middle class.
If I was 4'11 and a size 18 and wore the same clothes, I'd look like an extra from Lord of the Rings.

Ignore the faux outrage at you daring to mention class...it really riles the middle class mummies on here!
You are not wrong op. I love fashion,beauty,makeup etc buti I feel totally out of place on the style and beauty thread.
I dont want to wear the middle aged mum uniform of breton(shudder) top,jeans and vega's. Its so boring to me. I had never even heard of Boden until I joined mumsnet and I thought people were having a laugh when I looked. Its literally little girls clothes but in grownup sizes! Didnt Mr Boden himself say if was for women who didnt care about bring sexy?
I will stick to my working class shopping thanks.