Why are clothes colours are still so horrible?

[reptile]

I've just had a totally fruitless clothes buying trip to Oxford. Why are so many clothes still (after what feels like 3 years) purple, petrol blue, grey, or that vile mustardy colour? The only one of those that suits me is the purple and even I'm tired of that.

Oh yes, I didn't even mention that tomato soup red that's all over M and S

Well, I can wear grey and the right shades of purple (plus navy - no camel though), but it looks like my resolution to avoid jeans won't be happening this season.

Not sure what to put on top either.

Why ruin a perfectly attractive dress/top with a freaking swingy hem?!

What woman wants her hips to look bigger?!

What colours do I want to see?

Mmm ... chocolate brown, pretty blues (not bloody petrol or navy), lots of autumn-y shades of dark red/berry red. Green that doesn't look like mud or army uniform ... that's a start!

I also wish there were some decent shapes about - I was looking for a nice dress today and everything was clumpy, chunky, saggy knits that would look adorable on someone size 6-8 and tall, but make my boobs like like a barn door.

Oh, and nice purple. Not that hideous reddish-purple shade that looks cheap even if it's expensive.

Proper red, also nice greens, blues, purples (i like them :)), some interesting patterns would be a welcome change too.

I am well-endowed in the arse-al region, and would thank someone very much for killing off the kind of skirts that go in again at the knee. Everyone's noticed it already, thanks. Likewise the kind of dresses that are otherwise lovely, but make no allowance whatsoever for the fact that many humans have bums that are actually convex, and instead just carry on straight down as if we're supposed to be torso all the way down to the floor.

reptile/LittleRedDragon - part of your problem may be Oxford. A few years ago I read a report saying it had the worst shopping area in the UK.

DW just goes in Hobbs and I go in Walters and that is it.

I quite miss clean colours. I know they are a little passé, but everything in the shops at the moment just looks muddy to me. I would love to see proper reds (especially wine reds), bluey greens, greeny blues, cool greys and saturated, rich browns.

I had a good laugh about the granny skirt, missbeehiving and elephants . Trends that look quite desirable on the catwalk made the poor ASOS girl look like an orphan.

I am, however, very grateful for the granny shoes. They are perfect maternity footwear :).

I was in JL at the weekend and thought the colours were lovely

I wonder why I never see any muted shades of red in the shops. Always Santa, pillar box RED. And which is easier to wear do you think?

It's a mystery. I love red if it's not in your face GOTCHA red. like this would you wear a coat that colour?

you are right about that BeenBeta - there is that shop on the high street called Toast or something that sounds cosy, but all the clothes look like they are to be worn by drowned people. All sweeping baggy rumpled sea greens and dingy blues and greys.

There are sometimes nice things in the covered market but it's a lucky dip.

I'm safe then.

I have a coat exactly that colour, but it's nice, honest!

littlepurpleprincess so do I, I love it!

Me too! I have trousers that colour as well, and I'm currently wearng a large fluffy dressing gown in a lovely bright red!

Shineon - I just dont like the Google, Facebook, Twitter thing following me about.

Snurk at 'drowned people' (and I never thought I'd say that).

But that is Toast to a t!

I think Oxford is rubbish for shopping too!

duckyfuzz, littlepurpleprincess, I also own a loud coat or two.

Thanks to Elephants, I have just discovered the Toast on-line shop with their offerings for aspiring Ophelias.

hmm some of those things actually look ok, youngblowfish :o...the stuff they used to have in the window was more along the lines of this

:o TwasEverThus

yum skip through to the pre-raphaelite lady on the stairs.

Thank-you all so much, especially ElephantsAndMiasmas and LittleRedDragon, I feel so much better. I think the thing is that I just want to see something DIFFERENT. The last time I'd been in Oxford was 3 years ago and all the clothes seemed to be purple/petrol blue/ vile mustard/grey then. I just want to see something different.

So agree about skirts that go in below the hips.

I remember someone like Julie Burchill writing that those kind of skirts were gay male designers' caricature of the female figure. If you'd ever witnessed me trying one on you would have to agree!

I went into Mango a couple of weeks back and they had some really different and interesting shapes, which heartened me. Of course that was the day I had to rush off and get the train never to return!

On Women's Hour the other day they were saying Mad Men was the inspiration for Autumn Fashions, and I thought - great, I can do the hourglass thing. Then I saw e.g. this and just thought, shit. :o

I love green, esp nice olivey and sagey greens. When the bloody hell are they gonna ome back into fashion please? I'm all purpled out.

This dress in the red is a great colour and really comfy and easy to wear. Plenty of arse-room as well which is nice.