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?

@LiterallyKnowsBest

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.

I really don't think its hatred though... I'm fully in that demographic category and proud of it.

Its more perplexity as to why some categories of middle aged women want to embrace looking like sacks.

@Volhhg

Joules and Boden is just regular high street made in china now, It's not really middle class anymore. It's more expensive than Primark and new look but that's it really

I've never bought from them for that reason. I don't buy Toast because their clothes aren't made in the UK or EU.

I have a lot of & Daughter and Palava because it is all natural fibres and made in the UK. Cabbages and Roses are too. I haven't bought from them but definitely will.

I expect the OP will hate Palava.

palava.co/collections/womens-dresses

@JaneJeffer

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?

If you're married to the bloke checking the boiler you're not in Toast's target demographic.

You can crack on with it if you want but you're not who they're after....

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?'.

When I wear loose/shapeless clothes, that is absolutely not the thought process that leads me there. If nothing else, these clothes are damn comfortable and practical - I have a Toast jumpsuit and not only is it incredibly comfortable but it has huge, practical pockets. I prefer muted colours because I think they look softer, nicer, suit my colouring and work better with other colours in a similar palette when I layer things. I wear what feels and looks good to me; it's not the Western equivalent of a burqa.

@JaneJeffer

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?

What about if you're the woman checking the boiler? Just saying.

OK, in that scenario you'd be wearing a boiler suit, but YKWIM.

Leggings under dresses should be banned.

I said trousers, not leggings.

@KimikosNightmare not at all. Again not my taste, but perfectly nice dresses.

Utterly hilarious to see myself described within ‘older ladies in their fifties’ - as if that determines where I shop or what I wear.
And all the assumptions about profession, income and education as well. Just shows how people who are judgmental about clothes can be so wrong.

Is this ok OP?

I don’t think more expensive relates to better made.
Regardless of price, you can shrink , have colour run issues or snag an item. That’s before it looks dated.

My bete noir are dungarees. The were in fashion in MC circles a few years ago. I’ve got one pair. Maybe with nothing underneath and super toned arms it’s vaguely passable in terms of attractiveness but lord, you do have to work it to not look a bit of a twat.

@FestiveFruitloop

It's a fair cop

I agree the brown check dress has quite...ummm....niche appeal. But so does the luminous green spidersweb dress. There are also plenty of £1000+ items on the net-a-porter site (for example) that make me feel a bit queasy.

@ufucoffee

Is this ok OP?

I want to be buried in this outfit....

Um… it’s just fashion. Like it or don’t like it, but it’s what’s in style right now. Some people treat clothes like art and buy stuff because it’s an interesting or fresh shape or cut, and it has nothing to do with whether or not it makes them look sexy because they are not 22 years old and aiming to attract a wolf whistle from every man within a mile’s radius. 🤷‍♀️

@ufucoffee you look lovely mum.

@MidnightMeltdown

What are 'working class' clothes though?

I bring you Asda....

Whatever class they are , they're grim.

The green dress is obviously aimed at black women because this colour looks gorgeous against very black skin.
Different people suit different colours.

"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?'."

When I wear loose/shapeless clothes, that is absolutely not the thought process that leads me there. If nothing else, these clothes are damn comfortable and practical - I have a Toast jumpsuit and not only is it incredibly comfortable but it has huge, practical pockets. I prefer muted colours because I think they look softer, nicer, suit my colouring and work better with other colours in a similar palette when I layer things. I wear what feels and looks good to me; it's not the Western equivalent of a burqa.

Absolutely agree, and I really, really hope the post you were responding to was slightly tongue-in-cheek because otherwise it's pretty fucking offensive.

If it helps at all, I would definitely be classed as 'working class' by anyone who cares about that sort of thing, I have an income well under the national average (really well under) and am a short (5'1") size 14/16.

And I love Toast and think the bits I have look great on me. Not sure how that fits with the stereotypes on this thread...

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.

It bore a very strong resemblance to shalwar kameez, both longer dresses/top garments over trousers. How obtuse to pretend otherwise just because it isn't to your taste.

It was a way of making trousers suit people who found them hard to wear. The difficult bit was covered, the legs got the trousered look. A form of layering. A form of Western shalwar kameez.

You are allowed not to like it.

@phishy

It looks nice and comfortable to me.

I have sensory issues and I'm more interested in how clothes feel (super soft cotton, long sleeved, neck not too high or too low, nice and loose).

It's great that women are dressing for comfort rather than the male gaze.

I'm the same. But I also like that dress. I like to feel free in my clothes and not trussed up with belts and tight waistbands but then I'm also a bit vintage Boho in my style. But def comfort!

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@KimikosNightmare not at all. Again not my taste, but perfectly nice dresses.[/quote]
The Asda dresses? You might think they are "perfectly nice dresses". I didn't. To me they are hideous and obviously 100% artificial fabric.

You could wear elasticated trousers and a cotton jumper from B and M then? £30 for the whole outfit.

@FestiveFruitloop

Actually looking again at some of the styles we're talking about, there's more than a whiff of 'modest fashion' about lots of them. Which I find depressing, not because I think we should all be showing acres of skin or wearing super-clingy stuff unless we want to, but because some of the styles almost read as self-conscious feminist posturing i.e. 'we're covering ourselves in sacks so everyone can see we're rejecting the male gaze.'

Possibly I'm reading too much into it and some will probably think I'm talking rubbish, but out of interest can anyone else see where I'm coming from on this? It's almost like these loose 'flowing' clothes have been specifically designed so that there's nary a curve or glimpse of flesh on show. It feels quite retrograde tbh.

I can see where you’re coming from, and it picks up on a theory an acquaintance of mine has, that modesty is becoming more of an influence as fashion goes global and aims to attract non-Western markets… not that I’m arguing you’re saying this it just reminded me…

but I would argue that for me, it’s definitely not self conscious feminist posturing - I don’t think about men at all - it’s more about the genuine freedom of disappearing into comfort and invisibility. And I can’t be the only person who thinks like that, I’m sure there are plenty of people who do.

As for the argument that if I truly didn’t care, I’d buy and wear men’s clothes - nah. The most shapeless sack is still more comfortable and better fitting than a pair of men’s trousers.