What has happened to M&S?!

[JacksonPollocks]

DH as a leaving present from work was given a £80 M&S voucher, as he'd never shop there it was passed on to me. I was rather pleased as in recent years M&S have had some lovely stuff , particularly had my eye on knitwear. I've bought next to nothing in recent years.

I was SO disappointed. The knitwear section seemed to consist of colours that already look like they've been washed 40 times/ are blend into the background colours. Plus hardly any style, baggy shaped tut. The trousers had largely the feel of cheap school trousers, the fits were AWFUL. I looked like I'd gained 2 stone in most with small waists and over-generous thighs/ bums. I remember the fit from working at TESCO in my uni years! Overall the shop looked like the land of frump, honestly I've tried 3 stores and not found one thing worthy of buying even with a free voucher.

I decided to go for underwear in the end, got decent (but boring) stuff (beautiful autograph bra though, the only sign of the autograph collection I saw in store). However the sizes were mad, with the help of the shop assistant I found bras in 38B, 36C and 36D and they ALL fit well (She agreed) sizing was on a par with primark, in fact a lot of the quality was too. This was in the second store I tried as my local M&S runs an 'appointment only' bra fitting service, we no help or info on how to make one. If you're near Romford though the woman working there is great.

It just seems to have returned to the 'granny store' of my youth that I would have been embarrassed to dress in, most the women in there were older women.

Don't even start me on per una, once upon a time I actually found some nice bits from there-now it is frilly crap hell. It's an entire section of clothes that can't be worn together as they are so fussy.

Even the store manequins were badly dressed.

I still have £36 left to spend there. Will probably go on (unneeded) baby clothing.

[Balconygarden]

I also like some of the stuff from Autograph Weekend, but other than that I just end up feeling disappointed every time I go into M & S. I remember their brief "hayday" in the mid-nineties, was it? They had some great underwear ranges back then ( am I correct in thinking they had some connection with the designers from Agent Provocateur?), and really good basics (I remember their amazing, never lose their shape, black T shirts). Now it's just crappy fabrics, bad fits, awful underwear, and very wierd ranges (Per Una/Portfolio). Makes me feel weirdly sad.

[polyhymnia]

Oh, in fairness must say the Autograph opaque tights are good.

[frillyflower]

Long ago I would shop in M&S for basic good quality things that did not look as if they were from M&S (tee shirts, plain skirts that sort of thing). I still have a great black tee shirt with lycra in it and three quarter length sleeves (brilliant for layering).
It's impossible to find these things at M&S now. The quality is really poor and the design is super-ghastly. Better to shop in Zara imo (and I live in central London not far from Marble Arch M&S).

[echt]

I went to both the Hong Kong and Shanghai M&S recently.

Unbelievable mumsy middle-aged, frumptastic shite.

I am a mum in my late 50s.

So off I trotted to Muji and Uniqlo.

[FaffTastic]

Never really seen it mentioned on here but the Limited Collection stuffby M&S can be really good and definatley non- frumpy. Agree that it totally depends what store you go in. Have 3 near me, 2 are utter hell and full of crap, luckily the other one is really really good and a non-stressful experience (apart from their foodhall. Not matter what m&s foodhall I go to, the other customers seem to be ignorant miserable wankers - total stress attack)

[wildfig]

It would help a lot if the website models didn't look so scared/mortified.

[polyhymnia]

PS - find it hard to think anyone of 28 would go near Per Una - but then that applies to any age range as far as I'm concerned. As for who M and S are aiming the range at, hard to say, I think.

[polyhymnia]

Agree - Indigo is a mystery - not actively hideous like Per Una but can't see who it would appeal to either.

Shame only Autograph Weekend makes M and S worth looking at at moment.

Have to say I hated Portfolio - always seemed something a bit 'off' and frumpy about their stuff to me, even when they were trying hard. And aimed at people shorter than me (5'9'').

[ChrisPBacon]

Ugly purple coloured people I think
NObody I know anyway

[FunnyLittleFrog]

I'm sure Per Una was supposed to be aimed at younger women when it was launched. What happened there?

And who is the Indgo range aimed at exactly?

[wildfig]

I wish they'd get their act together because I love M&S; it's been the backbone of my wardrobe all my life, which is why it's so disappointing to go in and not want to buy anything. The Autograph Weekend range is really good but not available widely enough, Limited Collection still has more hits than misses, and there are always some gems amongst the shoes (up to a proper 42 - hurray!). It's just the rest of it that's so frumpy and uninspired - they should be nailing the perfect denim skirt, the perfect white shirt, at a price that reflects the quality of the clothes.

Is it because it has such a broad customer base that it seems to have lost touch with what women actually want these days? The Portfolio range was a curious thing: I know it was supposed to be for the 45+ market, but the first season had some really stylish DVF-ish wrap dresses that I bought for myself, as well as my mum. Then it descended into unspecific palazzo pantage, was axed, and now all their Portfolio lingerie is being rebranded as Per Una (age range, what? 28-45?) despite being exactly the same.

[gilbert26]

What about the Autograph stuff? you can sometimes get a one-off top/dress there which looks a bit different from teh usual M&S stuff and lasts well.

otherwise, I agree - M&S is immensely variable from year to year. Sometimes it can't put a foot wrong (in my view - however see my thread I've started entitled "I've got no casual style...." :)), other times like now it's pure tut.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

our huge one is utterly confusing, I have no idea which bit to look in for my stuff, they have nothing for dd at all (other than their school shirts and socks). i usually walk out in a bit of a rage.

[JacksonPollocks]

Romford/ Ilford stores are pretty big, yet have nowt.

A few years ago I loved them for work stuff (quality teacher wear).

[FunnyLittleFrog]

Not sure about the large stores being much better. The one in Leeds is dire, like a huge jumble sale. Lots of flushed middle aged women milling about desperate to spend but unable to find a single THING.

And the foodhall smells of sewers.

Yes, Mary Portas needs to give them a hand.

[ChrisPBacon]

Yes but there's always good stuff in a larger store, just by statistical probability. I'm just not patient ebnought to find it.

[notlettingthefearshow]

Most of my clothes are from m and s. OMG - I am a frump!!!

Think they do vary store to store - the smaller ones are dire, but bigger ones have a great range of young, interesting clothes. However, it's all about taste isn't it and what suits you. As a size 18, it's one of the very few shops that has decent clothes that fit and look good on me.

[ChrisPBacon]

But online, you have these mad women doing reviews & saying how fabtastic some orange monstrosity is. And you begin to suspect they are beardy trucker blokes having a wee 'joke'.....

[polyhymnia]

Sadly, the great majority of their stuff is a waste of space - Per Una particularly ghastly. I find it hard even to imagine that the human mind can actually devise the horrific designs, fabrics, and colours they offer (though friends have discovered an occasional OK jacket etc among all the garish PU tat).

Only things I do buy fairly regularly are from Autograph Weekend - stripy tunics, etc. They are the only one of the M and S brands which ever seems to realise that less can be more.

My local suburban store is depressing beyond belief, so, as I'm in central London several days a week, I rely on visits to Marble Arch, plus looking online for the few good buys lurking there.

[mippy]

I like lime green/chartreuse, maybe I should take a look...

don't get a bra fitting there. I went last year - the woman measured me at a 40C. I wore a 36FF. When I went off to find a bra and they didn't have my size, the woman said 'Well, we've got the 38 and we've got a 40 - why don't you take a 40 instead?'

No idea what the bras are like if you get the fit right, mind. I wasn't happy with the ones I bought but they didn't do an FF so I had to go straight to a G.

Their tights and leggings are excellent in my experience though.

[alice15]

I am in my mid forties, not particularly into clothes and wear the same things for a loooong time. I should be a core M and S customer, but I too find it almost impossible to find things there I like these days. I went in to our local biggish one a week or two back, looking for black jeans that weren't bootleg or excessively low cut. There weren't any, not in the whole store. And I completely agree with Sariska that their children's clothes, particularly for older children, are generally revolting. And wildfig is dead right about bra fitting, too - l took my 13 year old in for bra fitting. The place was deserted with three members of staff standing around, and they told me I couldn't have an appointment that day. That day! - for a 13 year old - how hard can it be? And the lime green frills - who wears them? Wildfig's right about that too - I go in there for good quality basics that won't date, and they don't have them. Froth, froth, teethgrind.

[ChrisPBacon]

There are no decent knickers. There have been no decent pants for YEARS. There are multipacks of sagging sweat shoppy cotton things. They are truly desperate.

And ladies shoes with plastic outers and plastic inners. Believe me, I have smelled the result, and I ain't buying any. Do they think that we think that women don't have sweaty feet?

[Sariska]

My smallish local branch has large photos of reasonably OK clothes (and sometimes even manequins modelling them). And signs that say "Not available in this store".

It also stocks no children's clothes other than pastel pink and baby blue sleep suits, slogan-bedecked PJs and school uniform.

Obviously there are a few vacancies in thier marketing department.

[DoubleDegreeStudent]

My local one is small and had a really nice knee length beige skirt (sounds horrid, but looked fab). Can't find it on website though...