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?

@MrsWalrus, I live in a shit town and the streets are littered with burger wrappers and vape & gas empties

@ReadySteadyTwins I like navabi for special buys. But mainly Isolde Roth. Some of the other designers are ugly.
I am sure now my preferences for special wear will be torn apart.
For everyday wear just plan jumpers and tops from ASDA or other supermarkets. I do go for comfort. But just ordinary stuff. I used to sometimes buy stuff from that French supermarket online before Brexit.

I share your view OP but there are lots of people who love those sort of clothes and/or think the women wearing them look amazing.

There was a mum at my son's primary school who clearly spent a lot on her clothes which I thought looked bloody awful. One top she wore looked like a cross between a grandads nightshirt and a deckchair but I hear her being complimented every time she wore it. Ditto bright red trousers and emerald green blouse. I thought she looked like a middle aged Santa's elf but again lots of gushing from others.

I also remember a mumsnet discussion about Sharon from Catastrophe's wardrobe. Lots of people raving about her "teaching clothes" which I thought were ghastly - voluminous blouses stuffed into waistband of voluminous pleated skirts- she had a gorgeous figure and those outfits made her look a stone and a half heavier. I liked her sexy, fitted evening outfits though.

We are all different!

I might be the person PP mentioned upthread who loves bodycon dresses (which PP thinks are revolting). I love fitted, stretchy clothes! But probably loads of people think I look like a dog's breakfast and for every "you look nice" someone else is thinking "mutton dressed as .. ". The fab thing about being middle aged is that you no longer care what other people think and just suit yourself. Hurrah!

What shops do you prefer oh great one op?
I don’t have anything from toast because they don’t suit my figure but the clothes aren’t that bad! No different to half of the high street!

Yeah the majority of Boden and Joules clothes are a bag of shit. I’m also noticing that these ‘middle class’ clothing stores are charging high prices for still pretty shite quality/material clothing. A place I looked the other day was trying to charge £125 for polyester trousers

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Heavens! I had no idea clothes had a class system

You bet it does! I used to lecture in History of Fashion. It’s basic anthropology. What you wear sends so many messages even if you aren’t aware of them.

Yep. Why do you think clothing companies do branding and targeted advertising? It is basic marketing.

@WorraLiberty

One person's ugly is another person's pretty.

Love the thought of clothes being middle class though. Who knew? 🤣

Of course they can be !

Toast, Oska and & Daughter are perfect examples of what the OP means. I have Oska and & Daughter but don't have any Toast as unlike Oska or & Daughter their clothes aren't made in the UK or EU.

Is Pretty Little Thing middle class or working class? The clothing in their ads is beyond tacky.

@KirstenBlest

How do I know what social class a garment is please, OP?

You look at the price

Why are there so many threads on mumsnet about class at the moment?

I agree, toast and cos is shapeless and quite ugly , but there are plenty of mid range clothes that are not, it’s just those two brands do a range of clothes that look like they either belong in the handmaids tale or cbeebies.

TOAST used to be really lovely when it first launched. I have a few early pieces that I have mended and mended and spend my life on ebay trying to replace. Then they suddenly forgot that women have boobs and now nothing they sell seems to suit me. COS is also a problem I went in earlier this week and there was literally nothing I liked. I'm not in to colour and patterns so I'm basically stuck with Uniqlo and Me & Em and a wish that I could afford Margaret Howell.

@Itsmemaggie

Why are there so many threads on mumsnet about class at the moment?

There always is.

If you want drab and shapeless at Matalan prices well here you are.

@CaliforniaDrumming

Is Pretty Little Thing middle class or working class? The clothing in their ads is beyond tacky.

Definitely not middle class. PLT is influencer tat.

Pretty Little Thing is young and lowish class.

Fatafce and Whitr Stuff are middle class mum brands

Ditto Biden and Joules, aiming at a slightly different market.

@Isababybel

Yanbu Who would wear this: www.toa.st/products/swingy-denim-dress-indigo?gclid=CjwKCAiA5t-OBhByEiwAhR-hm9Z9CnmiBr1nrrS2MNp-kyYcULaAk0CASlJi0O8xpLPAXyBV7NlIZhoC7J4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds An art teacher??

A colleague has that dress! She's tall and willowy and it looks fantastic on her.

I like Toast clothes but because I'm the opposite of tall and willowy, they look awful on me.

I think OP and those who agree with her should give us examples of clothes they think Toast-and-patterned-sock-lovers should be buying.

I don't have a problem with other people liking that stuff but in my opinion it isn't attractive, and would make me look hideous. I can't think when I would ever consider wearing the examples the OP has posted.
the trousers she posted at 11.42, for example?
How would you style them, on what occassion would you wear them? I'm sure I've never seen anyone wear this kind of style but maybe I just don't go to stylish enough places to see them?

@Isababybel

Yanbu Who would wear this: www.toa.st/products/swingy-denim-dress-indigo?gclid=CjwKCAiA5t-OBhByEiwAhR-hm9Z9CnmiBr1nrrS2MNp-kyYcULaAk0CASlJi0O8xpLPAXyBV7NlIZhoC7J4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds An art teacher??

I would , although probably not from Toast as I prefer to buy clothes made in the UK or EU. I'm a solicitor.

Class in Britain is famously hard to define, but very easy for British people to detect. Clothes and looks (such as hairstyles) is one way it's expressed. You're not just signalling to other people what your class is, but to your own class that you're in the gang. It's not just linear either as in from working to middle to upper class. Within middle class there are different tribes like lefty middle class, arty middle class, managerial/lawyer type middle class. Whether or not you actually have a particular amount of money or particular job, particular brands, looks and styles are linked to the different categories. Of course you can break out of sticking to one style but I think a lot of people like using clothes in this way.

@RoyalFamilyFan

This is the cult look.

I love this outfit

What do you wear OP?

Toast and Cos are architectural minimalist types

@RoyalFamilyFan

Or this shapeless dress. It doesn't look good on a model, it isn't going to look on good on someone without model proportions.

But how do you define "looks good"? In what way does it look bad? Do clothes have to accentuate our bodies in a certain way? I think she looks comfortable. (I do not have this dress)

It is the marketing and branding that tells you the class of a clothing company. There is a correlation with money, but it is not as simple as that. Branded sports kit for example can be expensive, but is working class.
You really all think clothing companies don't decide the type of people they are aiming at and design their branding and marketing in response? They know exactly who they are aiming their clothes at.

@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'm none of those and I have dresses very similar.