Q1. Have you bought Shapewear from M&S before? When you first started investigating the shapewear range as part of this product test, how easy or difficult was it to find out about the different types of garments available? Did you find what you had in mind?
I have bought the shaper tights before as they seem to stay up longer than normal tights, but not any underwear. I first looked in store, and it was really difficult to find - and (after looking online later) only a small selection was in the "Shapewear" section; but there seemed to be other pieces scattered throughout the lingerie section.
I found one item that I had in mind the Secret Slimming Thigh Slimmer which was reasonable priced - but only came in black in store. The rest of the shapewear section was muddled, and most sizes appeared to be out of stock. I was very unimpressed with the store in this regard. The assistants were also fairly clueless regarding the range, and the changing rooms were dirty and horrible - and the staff unwilling to fetch different sizes.
Q2. Did you shop for shapewear in store or online, or both? Which method do you prefer for buying things like shapewear and why?
I used both methods - primarily because the store had such a bad selection available. In an ideal world, I prefer looking at shapewear in store, as it is hard to gauge elasticity/fabric type online from a picture.
However, the charge for delivery did put me off buying online - luckily I have an M&S card and was therefore entitled to free delivery.
Q3. Do you think there is enough choice in terms of styles, shapes, sizes, colours etc or not? How was the stock availability when you did your shopping? Were you able to get what you wanted in your size or not?
Online, there was a good range of options, but definitely not in store; the store seemed to be out of the 10-16 range in most items - there were only 8's or 18's and over. I found one item I liked in store, and then looked online.
I would like to see a better range of colour - definitely a red colour and maybe a navy too.
Q4. Do you think that the shapewear item(s) you bought were good value for money or not? Why?
As stated above, I bought the Secret Slimming Thigh Slimmer in store, and the Ultimate Magic Secret Support Body Define Low Leg Knickers.
In general, I found the range quite expensive compared with other shops, and probably wouldn't have bought from M&S had I not had the voucher.
Q5. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the shapewear item(s) you bought and why? Is there anything you were particularly impressed with? Or anything you were disappointed by?
The Thigh Slimmers are great, and I am considering another pair, but the Ultimate Magic Secret Support Body Define Low Leg Knickers don't do much for me - I'd prefer them to come lower down my leg as they do rather create a bulge.
Q6. Do you think there's anything M&S could do to improve the range? Do you think there are any items missing from it at the moment? If you were going to shop for shapewear again, which other retailers (if any!) would you consider buying from?
I'd like to see a better range of full slips to go under dresses - the ones online are quite low in the bust, and low in the leg if you are petite, so a shorter/petite option would be great.
If I'm buying shapewear, I do tend to go for John Lewis as the staff are much more helpful, the fitting rooms are clean and tidy, and they will fetch different sizes - something M&S staff are seemingly incapable of doing.
Q7. Lastly, if it came up in conversation, do you think you'd recommend M&S shapewear to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?
It's unlikely to come up, but if I was to recommend it, it would be to buy online and not in-store, due to the reasons above. However, I'd be more likely to recommend other stores first.