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?

@RoyalFamilyFan you are right. That's hideous. Like a Victorian child's outfit.

I wear Boden to work quite a lot (teacher) and you are right. You have to be careful. Whilst some things are nice, they do make a lot of shapeless clothing. Sosandar is okay but would probably not be considered middle class. Hush lovely but huge sizing.

I have a very upper middle class friend who would look amazing in ANY of the clothes you have posted. She is beautiful and always smiling. I could even imagine her in those patterned dungarees! I am in awe of her (and try to dress a bit like her) but fail miserably.

@SleepingStandingUp Now I'm wondering what the middle-class aesthetic is. I have spent £300 on a garment precisely once in my life. It's a beautiful black wool coat. It took me a month to decide to get it.

I’d say Uniqlo is middle.

Plain understated classics, Co labs with the Louvre. Lots of natural fibres. Some synthetics, but engineered to perform well in cold or hot temperatures. Cashmere and Merino are very middle class.

@HikingforScenery I know someone who wears lots of Toast frocks. She's shortish and size 16 and looks fab in them.

@Parker231

What determines clothes being MC?

Don’t think I’ve ever shopped at Toast - definitely not appropriate for work and not how I dress outside work. Prefer fitted styles and with more shape and styling than their clothes.

I think there's two strands of what would be seen as middle class woman styles: the 'Neutrals and a Flat White Please Look' and the 'Still Misses Laura Ashley' look (I say this VERY affectionately !).

The first category contains anything not fast fashion.

Tends to be a bit more 'timeless and classic'/'boring and plain' (depending on your POV) so a bit non-descript for longevity and therefore not 'on trend'. And comparatively expensive cos it's (more likely to be) well made. Lots of natural colours and good materials, kind of a slightly earth-mothery vibe and obviously expensive - which I think conveys a kind of self-conscious 'caring but not caring' about appearance while obviously wearing quite £££ clothes that feels middle class. Generally the younger middle-class woman crowd.

And then the Still Misses Laura Ashley does what it says on the tin - Joules is a good example. Lots of sensible length floral dresses. Maybe a breton and a blue jean with boots for the outdoorsier days. DEFINITELY a gilet. Possibly the slightly older middle-class woman.

This feels middle-class to me just because all the middle-class women I know through work absolutely love this look - there is precisely 0 actual data in this assessment and I love them all so no judgement either.

Like I said, very affectionate stereotypes here - one of my closest friends is a moderately successful person in the fashion industry and is v much the former, she always looks very together and radiates the kind of calm energy I think you only have when you wear sustainable cotton and can afford to buy a Smeg fridge , I'm very envious!

@JaneJeffer

I like man repellent clothes! Men are not so easy to repel no matter what you wear.

In my experience very few men like a dungaree. I love a dungaree , practical, hard-wearing, comfortable but I would never have worn it to go on a date. Spending time with friends, clearing out the shed....nothing will ever be as perfect as a dungaree. My mum wears them too and she is 82.

All the pictures in this thread are admittedly disgusting. But none of the very middle class Mums I know would be seen dead in them. Posh Mum uniform round here appears to be white trainers, smart jeans, Breton tee-shirts, statement necklaces/scarves and smart/casual jackets.

(Sheepishly looks down and notes she is wearing a Breton tee...)

[quote housemaus]Someone posted Clothkits upthread - can someone explain why all of these clothes look like they'd rustle/crinkle if you touched them...?

www.clothkits.co.uk/collections/the-assembly-line[/quote]
Ooh, dress patterns! How come I missed that post?

I suppose they’ve made them up in cheap fabric, since they’re selling the pattern rather than the item?

@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 agree OP and know what you mean. Sludgy colours, loose fits, heavy curtain material. Good quality but just frumpy.

@topcat2014

I am middle class and currently dressed head to toe in Primark..

Maybe you’re WORKING CLASS but you didn’t REALISE.

I quite like the orange patterned dungarees. I have a similar play suit (from Primark though)

I wouldn't say Joules is middle class anymore - they've done so many race to the bottom sales and can be found in abundance in pretty much every charity shop.

FFS after gently mocking Joules for their floral mid-length dresses I just had a nosy and they've got a really nice stripy dress I'd actually love to wear with stompy boots but it's a nursing dress and I'm nowhere near nursing anything...

www.joules.com/Women/Friends-Of-Joules-Clothing/Cotton-Jersey-Stripe-Nursing-Dress/Black?size=10&id=FOJ|2680|SQ1240900|Black|Womens+Clothing+10

Can I get away with wearing that without people wondering why I've got easy boob access?

Haha so true about dungarees! DH obligingly still manages to fancy me when I wear my gloomy, shapeless Toast sacks, but I think even he struggles when I slip into my (lovely, dark denim) dungarees

Ha! You're right. Everything in Toast looks like a sack. I don't doubt it's a good quality sack, but a sack nonetheless.

At last, someone has said it. It's is like the emperor's new clothes.

And then the Still Misses Laura Ashley does what it says on the tin - Joules is a good example. Lots of sensible length floral dresses. Maybe a breton and a blue jean with boots for the outdoorsier days. DEFINITELY a gilet. Possibly the slightly older middle-class woman

I fit in both your categories. Not a bad analysis.Your first is the more accurate, other than age.

On "still miss Laura Ashley" theme Joules , for me, is a downmarket brand. I don't have any Joules (but see Palava or Edina Ronay) I haven't worn jeans since 1990 and have NEVER owned a gilet.

@tectonicplates

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?

If I pay more for clothing it's because I want better quality, preferably more sustainable fabrics etc. A better fit is not a given vecause we're all different shapes. I'm a shorter than average, slightly busty apple with a long torso and short arms and legs. I'm sure your shape is different and my sister, mum and next door neighbour are all different again.

If I want a good fit, I make it myself, generally lopping 2" off the arms and 4" off the legs and often doing a full bust adjustment or a bit of a belly and flat arse adjustment, depending on the type and fit of the garment.

@anungratefulwretch

Haha so true about dungarees! DH obligingly still manages to fancy me when I wear my gloomy, shapeless Toast sacks, but I think even he struggles when I slip into my (lovely, dark denim) dungarees

My husband is desperate to get me into dungarees, he keeps steering me towards them whenever we're clothes shopping

suppose they’ve made them up in cheap fabric, since they’re selling the pattern rather than the item?
The Assembly Line is a Swedish company and their patterns are made up in fabrics like linen and cotton poplin hence the rustling.
They are sold on the cloth kits website but arent what was being referred to up thread.
The original clothkits was brightly coloured skirts, nothing like TAL

Cornisharchitect - sturdy with pockets you say, would this work for you

Bideshi please keep your dress.

I'd love to look good in dresses like that, it's a style I really like. I can picture it with statement silver jewellery and imagine it would look fab.

This is an odd thread. I've read it all and some posts have made me laugh out loud. Quite a lot of it, though, has made me feel really depressed. The ageism is particularly unpleasant.

At last, someone has said it. It's is like the emperor's new clothes

People have been saying it ad nauseum in all the time I’ve been on MN. You don’t really understand the allegory, do you?