Clothes shops for elderly mother

[cantkeepawayforever]

Compared with many on here, this is an extremely trivial question.

However, my mother (mid 80s, frail, mild dementia) would like some new clothes. She wears - has always worn, for as long as I can remember - blouses, mid-calf skirts and high neck jumpers or long open cardigans. Plain colours - blue, maroon, rust, bottle green etc. Blouses should be cotton, buttoned to the neck, can be slightly floral or checked.. Skirts kilted, pleated plaid, or cotton chambray for the summer. Jumpers and cardigans - fine knit, lambswool. Picture Edinburgh Woollen Mill about 20 years ago, or the late Queen in her last photo, but in a more practical colour.

I am drawing a blank in finding clothes shops or brands for her. M&S has almost no skirts. Edinburgh Woollen Mill has gone all polyester swirly. No local House of Fraser. In person would be best as she is very very tiny and bent now, so sizes are uncertain.

Anyone found any excellent stores for the elderly lady who has dressed like an elderly lady for the last 50 years??

Thank you so much! Lots to look through. I don’t think she’s bought any clothes for years - maybe even a decade - and has never had a large wardrobe, and so I’m ok with buying a small number of ‘good’ items at this point.

She would adore the Liberty blouses in a subdued print. I’d have to hide the price.,,,,

Try David Nieper

Country Collection, David Nieper do this mind of thing.

Woolovers is great for natural fibres.

Are you anywhere near a more traditional independent dept store? I remember seeing clothes like that in the one in Penrith. But that's a while ago so could well have changed by now.

I've just seen a pleated wool skirt on the Campbell's of Beauly (by appointment to her Maj) website but it's £150!
There are still old fashioned outfitters to be found in small Scottish towns, Fife Country Clothing has a few ladies shirts.

My elderly relative struggles to find clothes in her style. We regularly sit down and do an online order but she’s usually disappointed, which I get, she needs to test the feel and fit. We finally found a solution in a large nearby garden centre - turns out they have a small area of clothing that’s all EWM style, including Honor Milburn which is her particular fave. (But she does like polyester).
Good luck!

Cotswold Country Casuals do Liberty print blouses like those shown, and generally “country” clothes, but it is expensive. Patra is cheaper and is basically silk, cotton, bamboo.

The Classic Boutique looks the right sort of style

I googled “pleated tweed skirt” and came up with a couple from riding wear outfitters so worth looking for a shop catering for the horsey market?

Must also recommend House of Bruar - bit pricey, but customer service is excellent and they do a nice mix of very, very old-school and slightly more modern. Sizes (particularly in woollen wear / tweed) are very true to size, which will help with online ordering.

When you say ‘true to size’, do you mean ‘true to modern size’ or ‘true to sizes from say the 1980s’?

I am very conscious of the changes - dd makes clothes from paper pattern, both modern and vintage, and is getting used to the fact that her size 10 (M&S) to 12 (more youth brands) measurements are usually 16s in vintage patterns. My mother’s current clothes are ‘old’ size 12s, now very loose, and I am guessing now she will need 6-8s or smaller in modern sizing.

My mum was a huge fan of Matalan!
Mind you, she cut the labels out so nobody knew where they were from, and despite my dad passing away, she didn’t want him to know what size she took.

Bless her - I miss her so much 😓

Get your DD to make some nice lined A-line wool skirts!.
I actually had a lined wool pencil skirt made for school by a local dressmaker when I had particular ideas about fashion ( it was the 80s). I afforded it on my clothing allowance.

It has occurred to me!

Seasalt
FatFace
David Nieper
Cotton Traders
Woolovers
Lands End

Very good point - yes, true to modern sizing, so you're right, your mother probably would be at most an 8-10.