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?

It's a shame the Toast dresses are so expensive, we could do a Toast version of the Target challenge. Just in case anyone unexpectedly discovered they loved them.

@MidnightMeltdown

What are 'working class' clothes though?

I bring you Asda....

Yep you are correct

@DrSbaitso

to me dresses over jeans was just awful and pointless. Wear a dress if you want, wear jeans if you want but together? Why?

Assuming the right combination, dress over trousers is a very flattering look if you're heavy set on the bottom and it's hard to dress your hips and thighs in trousers.

It's a western shalwar kameez.

No it isn't. It bore no resemblance to shalwar kameez.

If you don't suit trousers why wear them? It was a ridiculous look.

Because I think without this, nobody would choose this "style".

No, you wouldn't choose it. And that's fine. You are not obliged to. It's odd that you can't see how other people might, though without needing to insult them.

@JaneJeffer

I don't agree *@thepeopleversuswork* I follow a book blogger on YouTube who wears a lot of Toast and it really suits her body shape. I wouldn't suit what she wears.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. This:

www.toa.st/products/root-check-swingy-shirt-dress-amber?utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=retargeting&utm_campaign=retargeting

Just seems guaranteed to make the most attractive person in the world look awful. Maybe I'm (still ) reacting against my upbringing. No one could look good in that.

I'm old and also a hardline feminist and I hate the idea of dressing for the male gaze as someone put it upthread. But there's something very puritanical about this thing of dressing to disguise or obscure what makes you attractive

It's the other side of misogyny that's unnerving you. The one where women must obscure their physicality lest a man who is not her husband has impure thoughts - she dresses like this 'out of respect for her husband and herself', to signal that she is not sexually available due to being the property of somebody else and immune to the temptation of attracting attention from others by wearing bright clothes or items that feel good against the body or when the body is touched through them. The mentality that asks of a woman who has been sexually assaulted 'what was she wearing?'.

@FestiveFruitloop Yes I agree. There are probably political reasons for this.

@MolkosTeenageAngst Your post made me laugh. That is such a middle-class insult/put down post. I mean it is the middle-class equivalent of shouting at me you fucking thick idiot but couched in "acceptable" language.
Comments like that used to upset me when I joined MN because I used to think, do they think I am too thick to realise they are really insulting me? Now I just recognise it as how a certain section of the middle-class insult people like me.

@liveforsummer

Yep all the raved about didricksons, sea salt, toast etc not my cup of tea. Definitely not boden but i think that's going out of favour anyway. Lots of people on here also appear to hate 'brand' and can't understand the importance but then rave about the above as if that's acceptable because it's a mumsnet brand

@liveforsummer Actually no, I shop at Boden because they make petites, and their jersey dresses work well on curves and have enough bust allowance. Fixing clothes to fit when you're short and curvy is very difficult, especially if you want good quality clothes. I discovered Boden way before joining MN, just by googling for petite clothing.

Just remember that factories often make multiple brands…One factory had a huge fire a few years back and a whole range of brands were affected like Asda and Gap. Makes you think about the origin of these so called MC brands and whether they’re any better quality than the cheap stuff.

And ASDA has some nice clothes. I know most of you won't know that as you won't buy clothes there. But in amongst things I don't like, it has some lovely stuff.

I wear a black jumper a lot that I got at ASDA about 10 years ago. Washes brilliantly.

@NeverDropYourMooncup

It's the other side of misogyny that's unnerving you. The one where women must obscure their physicality lest a man who is not her husband has impure thoughts

Bang on. It is a kind of stealth misogyny based on class. Keep it all for your PhD wielding consultant husband and out of sight of the bloke checking the boiler. Wanting to demarcate yourself from the plebs.

But its also this sort of Victorian, Aubrey Beardsley-influenced bluestocking look which has overtones of sexual repression.

I was forced to wear stuff like this as a kid and all my mum's mates dressed like this and I find it a bit triggering.

Your post made me laugh. That is such a middle-class insult/put down post. I mean it is the middle-class equivalent of shouting at me you fucking thick idiot but couched in "acceptable" language

Made me smile too, although I've never heard anyone say such things to others in real life. I feel it's normally hidden behind an anonymous user name

@phishy I spend many hours creating warm woollen things to encase myself in but my sweaters largely stay on a drawer unless we have some very severe weather.

@RoyalFamilyFan

And ASDA has some nice clothes. I know most of you won't know that as you won't buy clothes there. But in amongst things I don't like, it has some lovely stuff.

You seem to think everyone but you is loaded.

Yes, toast is hideous IMO. However so are many clothes that would be considered WC brands. I've not rtft so I'm sure many others will have made this point. I give you this "dress" from pretty little thing for example:

It shouldn't be up to women to change their clothing choices in case a man reacts. What needs to happen instead is that men need to stop harassing women.

@Bluebluemoon

Yes, toast is hideous IMO. However so are many clothes that would be considered WC brands. I've not rtft so I'm sure many others will have made this point. I give you this "dress" from pretty little thing for example:

Oh that's trampy as fuck. And I wouldn't wear it if my life depended on it. But at least its kind of fun, no?

Give me that over a pea soup sick colour tunic from Toast....

Wow a snot green dress!!

I guess if there’s ever a dress to keep as a momentum to Covid - it would be one that resembles snot and phlegm!

That brown check thing is hideous. The check and the colour make me think of school uniform dresses, and that's not a good association.

Jesus, this place is depressing at times. The internalised misogyny is mind-blowing.

Yup. I’ve rarely seen such unvarnished hatred displayed towards mothers , middle aged women …

Utterly hilarious to see myself described within ‘older ladies in their fifties’ - as if that determines where I shop or what I wear.

Memento**

Silly phone!

Keep it all for your PhD wielding consultant husband and out of sight of the bloke checking the boiler.
So if you're married to the bloke checking the boiler how should you dress?

I want to know what these Biden dresses look like...