What would you ask clothes and shoe designers to STOP bloody designing and trying to flog us?

[HouseOfBamboo]

On my list:

1. Tops/dresses with necklines which show your bra straps. As most women wear bras and most bra straps aren't designed for public display, this would seem to be a basic design flaw.

2. Skirts / trousers / jeans with pockets in stupid unflattering places. We don't need the extra bulkage thanks.

3. Yet ANOTHER bloody gladiator sandal. Just because I hate them.

What would be on your list?

Flares. Bad on average height bods, even with heels. Without heels, dire. On the more petite of the sisterhood, cruel.

Who falls for the 'balancing out the figure' guff?

Low cut jeans. No-one wants to see my tummy. Fair enough, some teenagers might like to show off theirs. But what about the rest of us, are we supposed to wear high-waisted slacks? (urgh)

Agree with whoever complained about the pants that match bras - I don't want huge ones as I mostly wear jeans (see above) and they stick out of the top (not a good look), nor do I want thongs.

Cotton jersey that is flimsy, floppy, clingy and practically see-through. I know the price of cotton has gone up, but must still only be about 20p per item. Let me pay an extra 20p please and get a thicker top.

Logos across sweatshirts etc. I have never been to Blah University, I don't support Blah Baseball Team and I have no affiliation to GAP, Next or any other clothes company. Plain, or simple designs would be fine, thank you.

Shoes. They don't fit. They used to but are now a slightly different length and too wide. I suspect they are now made in China by people with wide feet...

Love three-quarter sleeves - hate the feel of anything round my wrist unless weather is really freezing.

Embroidered / stuck on / sewn on designs near the bottom hem of toddler and children's trousers.

Meaning the trousers can't be turned up or taken up as the stupid chunk of 'design' is in the way. BAD design.

Has anyone mentioned exposed zips yet? Particularly big shiny metal ones. This trend peaked a full FIVE YEARS AGO (Balenciage A/W 2006 if I remember rightly) but the high street just won't let it go. I often pick up some apparently nice top, skirt or dress only to find it defaced by a ginormous industrial metal zip.

ALSO: cheap nasty material - transparent, shiny, so thin it shows outlines of your internal organs. I only expect this from Primark but am seeing it all over.

ALSO: why do all dresses currently have the waistband around one's lower ribs and not lower down, where a woman's waist actually is? Why would I want to hide the narrowest bit of my silhouette?

ALSO: tops/dresses that show one's bra. Armholes too big, straps too far in, back too low or cut out. Who do they think is going to wear these clothes? Most women are neither Alexa Chung nor Katie Price.

ALSO: shoes that have huge heels and no, a concealed platform doesn't help. I am 5'8 so 4" heels take me into drag territory, and since I turned 30, they also make my knees hurt. Why is impossible to find shoes with a smaller heel (2-2.5") inn any shops that have nice designs? I don't want to buy my shoes from M&S. Although they do half sizes, and nobody else does, which is another failing of the UK high street where shoes are concerned.

I like three-quarter length sleeved summer stuff. Marvellous alternative to sleeveless for the flabby and fair-skinned of arm.

Not so great for winter stuff though, obviously.

Re waistband relocated around ribs, I think this is another example of clothes 'designers' predominantly catering to one figure type, ie apple-shaped women. The high waistband accentuates the bust and disguises a thicker waist.

If you're not an apple, then the higher waistband (or anything 'tunic style') is just hugely unflattering.

Denim skirts that even my 13 year old DD thinks are too short.
Her dotty p one looked OK last summer, buts she's shot up 3 in since then.
Any idea if anyone makes them a bit longer and as others have said not square! Said garment spins round as it touches vaguely on the hips.

I think short, square skirts are another example of the fashion industry catering mainly to apples as well. Apples tend to have slim legs and squarer-shaped hips.

I love this thread. Some of mine are repeats but here goes:

• if you design knickers that on the hanger look lovely, generous, lacy, elegant and so on, with masses of fabric at the front, could you make them more than a thong at the back? Thongs in themselves are fucking annoying but at least I used to be able to spot them at a glance - I do not to wear a thong with a tablecloth-hem of fabric hanging coyly over my fanjo while my arse is still cheesewired. Topshop, I mean you. Ta

• Jeans with a waist. Please. LRD grabbing crotch/arse every few seconds to pull up her slipping hipsters is not a good look.

• Cardigans in material so thin my bra straps poke through. If you must design dresses such that I need a cardie to cover my boobs/arms, it needs to be slightly thicker than tissue paper. And a nice shape - with a waist, please.

• Flip-flops. They're ugly, they make you walk like a pigeon, and they tend to get dirt inside so your feet are black. I know you think you have the magic, 'comfortable' pair that let you stride along as if on an exotic beach ... you don't. You are still walking like a pigeon. It looks ridiculous.

• Overly expensive shoes that I can't get re-soled on the highstreet. I mean you, Gina - paper-thin soles and the nice man at Timpson says he'll damage the satin if he resoles them. I do not want to go into London to your shop to get them done, I have worn them about 8 times ffs!

• Clothes that fall apart.

• Dresses/tops with ruffles and bows, usually a-line, apparently made for five-year-olds. I am 26. If I look too old for your clothes, I would suggest something is wrong with you, not with me. By the same token, Hobbs, you make lovely-looking dresses but I am not that shape. That is old-lady shape. This is fine - you're not targeting twenty-somethings. But could someone else make a nice work dress I don't look either frumpy or indecent in, please?

Puffed sleeves on grown up women's dresses or tops. Puffed sleeves should not be worn by anyone over the age of six and a half!

DD2 who's 10 moans about her new Tshirt because it's got frilly sleeves and yet you make them for grown women, why!

I like exposed zips too.

I still think polyester is the worst crime: I've been to town this morning and absolutely everything that looked promising on the hanger turned out to be nasty polyester AND expensive. I don't mind paying extra for silk or cotton but I totally object to paying 50 quid for a polyester top.

Adults:

• Dresses or blouses with pockets on the bust - why?????

• Cardigans make of thick wool that immediately put 2 stone on anyone who wears them. Manufacturers - we women over, ehem, a certain age, want cardigans that are thin and stylish please!

• Trousers with uneccessary pockets

DC:

And why is it so hard to find a padded LONG coat for girls whose school uniform consist of skirts and pinafores ? All the coats seem to end above the waist or kidneys. We walk to school in all weathers and want a warm, LONG coat please (lots of wool ones around but these get trashed in the playground). And can we have a reasonably plain, classic long padded coat please that isn't covered in fur and zips and isn't covered in spots and isn't made of mauve or black vinyl?

Ditto, ridiculous "mini-me" items for 7 year old girls such as shrug cardigans. Do practical issues such as warmth even cross manufacturers minds nowadays?

Harrumph

Empire line tops/ dresses look awful on apple shapes too! Lacking much of a waist they just make us look 9 months gone. And, even though my waist is only slightly smaller than my hips, can I find jeans that stay up? I can not. But I don't mind sleeveless or 3/4 sleeves, as long as the armholes don't gape.

Tee shirts with tiny capped sleeves that show all your flab and spotty bits.

Jeans/trousers with no waists.

Hipsters

Those long, flowery dresses that look like something off The Good Life

Anything see through

Tops that don't accomodate boobs, so you have to buy a size bigger then look like a sack of spuds all day long.

Really horrible jackets - both winter and summer stuff

The assumption that big breasted/curvy women only want low cut tops to show our assets. I have a skin condition that means I'd prefer higher necks to hide it but have a hard time finding them.

"Dresses or blouses with pockets on the bust - why?????"

Because the underendowed like me actually appreciate them

"Cardigans make of thick wool that immediately put 2 stone on anyone who wears them"

Because us skinny ones feel the cold easily

"And, even though my waist is only slightly smaller than my hips, can I find jeans that stay up? I can not."

I don't know why. All the jeans I see are for women your shape. My waist is 12 inches smaller than my hips and I can't find any jeans that fit well.

I have just had a depressing walk around Meadowhall after work today and the shops are full of polyester, frumpy clothes and clothes for teenagers, but nothing that I am interested in (I am a young looking 52).

Seriously, bunbaker I think in a size 12/14 you are supposed to have a waist bigger than your hips! I have tried White stuff ( so low rise I have a muffiiny billow) next ( unbelievably awful, camel toe city), d Perkins ( similar to next but not quite so bad), Boden, monsoon, gap, ( used to love their long and lean but they have resized), and usually end up at new look( their hula jeans were fab but the replacement, yes yes yes is not as good. Would love to find a decent pair!
( sorry for spacings, on phone)

No to boys clothes in sludge colours
No to shorts for girls that look like katie price has designed them
No to bra padding Dd+bras

Oh and I forgot, why is it so hard, even for relatively small-boobed people, to find a shirt that fits over your chest without straining at the buttons or making it impossible to lift your arms? FGS what must it be like for people with proper big boobs if I can't even find one that fits?

See through tops that purport to be 'work wear'. Unless you are Kate Moss, totally useless.

Psst, StillChuckingIt "And why is it so hard to find a padded LONG coat for girls whose school uniform consist of skirts and pinafores?" - Sainsburys. Got a lovely navy blue one at the weekend. £14

I quite like non-waisted stuff. I have lopsided hips and a really short waist, so I prefer to draw attention to other bits. I also have IBS, and tight waistbands make my stomach ache.

I agree about puffed sleeves, and cap sleeves. Poorly-made cap sleeves just sort of stick out like space-age shoulder pads - fine if that's the look you're going for, but not otherwise.

Talking of workwear, I'm glad I don't need to buy protective workwear any more as of September. While men get a choice of nice, heavyweight combats and functional jackets, the womens' range is made of thinner fabric and has lots of stupid details you don't need. The most ridiculous item I've seen in this range is a pair of armoured court shoes - so much more ladylike than my cute teen-sized Totectors with the colourful laces.

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but those bloody drawstring things found on tops/skirts/trouserlegs that allow you to ruche the sides. WHYYYYYYY???? The number of times I've seen an item I like only to discover the stupid ruching strings up the side!

Re. sleeves - 3/4 sleeves on spring/summer wear, no problem. But winter wear - I rather like the choice of being able to have full length sleeves that I can then push up my arms if I need/want to - so I'd like the cuffs to allow me to do that! The number of sleeves that don't easily push up because the cuffs are too tight - and I don't have particularly fat arms, just muscular.