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?

I think with Cos, the sack dresses are very distinctive/odd compared to other human clothes, so people in the know, will know you’ve spent a lot on it. That’s my theory anyway.

Agree OP. It's a wonder anyone gets laid. A lot of posh clothes look more like upholstery than something you'd wear on a human body.

To all the people asiking disingenuous questions about class: it's pretty simple. If you can sink 160 quid on a shapeless dress without thinking twice (preferably using a debit card) you are definitely middle class.

And agree with you OP, the outfits you linked to gave me a headache. Horrific!

I totally agree. Some of those dresses like something from Little House on the Prairie. Just hideous, although to be fair I’ve seen similar stuff in Primark.

DIFFERENT PEOPLE LIKE DIFFERENT THINGS SHOCK

"plain grey sofas and white walls and wooden floors2
Yes I don't like this look in home decor either. The individual elements are okay, but together so boring and dull.

Well heaven forbid that a woman might not give a shit about how she looks! Looking attractive is the primary purpose of womankind, after all.

@RoyalFamilyFan

Just posting the ugly dress someone else linked to. People talk about how women these days are not frumpy like older women used to be in the past. I laugh at that because my 90 year old gran would have rejected this dress as too frumpy.

I think it is way overpriced and I wouldn;t buy it but if someone gifted it to me I would wear it. I walk a lot and take the Tube, so I like comfy, less restrictive clothing. I am not too bothered about looking frumpy.

Are you going to show us your idea of a nice outfit @RoyalFamilyFan? I'm dying to judge see it.

@JaneJeffer

Gorgeous

Ah the beautiful Sinead

Toast isn’t middle class particularly it’s just frumpy. The only thing that makes it middle class is the price.

My mum is 84 and even she is too young for Toast.

OP you are so right. I look shockingly bad in pretty much everything available. I'm pretty average looking, with a pretty average figure so there should be something out there in which I could look reasonable. Doesn't seem to be. Everything is baggy, frumpy, frilly, flowery or cut to hang like a sack. I have clothes in my cupboard that are 20 years old and they look better.

People on here always go on about the quality of clothes. I ordered some Racing Green clothes on the basis of comments here about their high quality (when they first started). I sent them back because I was shocked at the poor quality. I honestly have bought much better in ASDA.

Maybe the shapeless grey dresses though are of great quality. But I don't want an ugly but high quality dress.

[quote TheAntiGardener]@UserBot989 - I’m the same height and tried on a long puffer coat that caught my eye in the sales. Turned out to be shapeless. Assistant asked me what I thought. Me: “I look like a sausage roll.”[/quote]
Most people wearing them do but they are beloved on MN, I want to be warm and comfortable but can achieve that without looking like a sausage roll.

If you think the clothes are bad OP, what about the shoes? The style and type of shoes that tend to be popular and promoted on MN Style and Beauty tend to be the most hideously ugly frumpy articles imaginable. I read a thread on there once where a poster posted a picture of a lovely pair of sandals they were thinking of buying and the poster was deluged with "Oh no, you need these ugly, frumpy, unstylish ones" the cynical side of me thinks posters promoting them want the poster to look unstylish.

It's a wonder anyone gets laid.
Ugh

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@Incognito22333 but why buy ugly clothes in the first place if you have to work hard to team them with other things to look good. Why not just buy nicer clothes, or at least more classic looking clothes that you can accessorise?[/quote]
‘More classic looking clothes that you can accessorise’ isn’t that what some people are doing?

Taste is individual, what is ‘classic’ for some people is dull and old fashioned for others, what is sexy for some, is tacky for others.

Why not just let other people wear what they want without making judgements?

@TatianaBis

Toast isn’t middle class particularly it’s just frumpy. The only thing that makes it middle class is the price.

My mum is 84 and even she is too young for Toast.

@TatianaBis - actually Toast isn't necessarily frumpy - it's a certain look as some people said.

I know a mother and daughter (daughter worked in TV, had 2 young boys), Toast is their preferred brand to wear (amongst others). They're both quite tall and slim and a certain 'look' if you know what I mean. I couldn't carry it off in a million years.

@RoyalFamilyFan

Just posting the ugly dress someone else linked to. People talk about how women these days are not frumpy like older women used to be in the past. I laugh at that because my 90 year old gran would have rejected this dress as too frumpy.

I have that dress. I bought it 2 sizes smaller and it looks really nice on, Ive had several women asking me where its from. You are being somewhat spiteful here. How does it affect you in anyway what other women wear? Interesting that clothes which cover womens bodies are called frumpy. Over on the Toast thread we do giggle a bit about the stark styling mushroom in the pocketbut its very anti male gaze and so I applaud them for that.

This thread is going to help determine what goes in the next sale

@Porcupineintherough

Well heaven forbid that a woman might not give a shit about how she looks! Looking attractive is the primary purpose of womankind, after all.

The funny thing about this is that nobody who does not care about how they look is spending £160 on a shapeless grey dress. If you care about comfort and don't care how you look, you buy men's jumpers and t shirts pretty cheaply.

I don't know about the class thing but looking about the streets yesterday I was really struck with the drab colours everyone was wearing. The overall impression was very dreary with the dreary weather too. I notice this in the winter in particular. I wonder if we all do it subconsciously or whether we all just feel less outgoing in the dreary cold dark months and whether we would all cheer up a bit if we put on brighter colours particularly at colder times of year. I realised people are not even in bright wooly hats and scarves - everyone was in dark greys and dull near black. It's also a time of year where there are dark early nights and it would make so much more sense to be more visible and safer on the street - as the murky colours just merge into the background at dusk. I thought I would start to try wearing more vibrant winter clothes as an experiment. I only mention it on this thread as I notice a lot of the "middle-class" clothes posted are in very drab colours so wondered why this was. (Err and I agree the links you've posted are pretty awful OP! Very shapeless and with wear doily collars!)

Ok as you won't post an outfit I presume you're sitting there in your nylon tracksuit typing away @RoyalFamilyFan

There’s nowhere like Mumsnet for women bashing other women for what they wear and look like. For goodness sake everyone, have the confidence to know what you like without putting down other people’s choices. I write as someone with every label from Tu to Toast in my wardrobe.

@PlacidPenelope I think there are a lot of people employed to post links from small firms on style and beauty. Cheap advertising.