Per Una

[anniewoo]

Who is it aimed at? What age group? Strange section in M&S.

Old ladies, lol....I hate M and S - Frumpy and overpriced...

Have never been able to work out - fascinates me. People with a taste deficit? Certainly not aimed at anyone who understands the fashion maxim 'less is more'.

Am 'mature' now, but have to avert my eyes in passing, and can't imagine ever shopping there, whatever age I attain.

Wish someone from M and S would come on here and reveal who Per Una's target market is!

PS Can't really understand target for Indigo either - aging hippies??

For people who like the waistband of their jeans to come just below their breasts.

HTH.

per una say it faster and faster

= prune -a

The type of customer that would wear a maxi dress and anorak (together).

"For people who like the waistband of their jeans to come just below their breasts. "

or for tall people like me who don't like jeans/trousers to hang halfway down their backside. I find M & S pretty hit and miss with clothes. They tend to cater more for apple shapes than the pear I am - skirts especially gape by several inches on my waist, but I always buy my undies from them as their sizing suits me beautifully.

i honestly thought when per una started it was actually aimed at bringing a younger audience into m&s! this was a good few years ago though. now, either the designers are on acid or it's well and truly lost it's way.

It definitely used to be for younger ish females- but it is definitely over fussy and designed for 60 year olds with a rather fluffy taste now. Very disappointing, I used to love it, but rarely find anything now. Much prefer indigo, or autograph. But autograph overpriced.

My mil loves it. Say no more!

Hideous stuff. For a company who get food so right how can they get those clothes sooo wrong?!

They are the only trousers that seem to fit my mother who is aged 72 and size 8 BUT she only ever buys the plainest ones they do- plain cotton, linen etc or jeans (but NEVER with any per una 'embellishments'). She is not remotely fluffy or muttony...

For those who think it's for 60 year-olds, I'm closer to that age than many/most MNers, but would not be seen dead in Per Una, nor would any of my friends. Style and taste are not things that erode with each birthday, thankfully. I only like (occasional) Autograph now and am still sulking at their having killed off Autograph Weekend, their plainer but often more stylish sub-label.

In passing, must add another clothes horror - the 'Twiggy' range. I'm afraid they probably do aim these at the 60ish market as that's Twiggy's age, but the stuff is naff as can be. Horrific.

On food, don't wholly agree they get it right. Their fresh fruit, for example, is second to none,but much of the food offering is ready meals which, at best, tend to the bland. They don't aim at a sophisticated palate, so perhaps it's not surprising their clothes don't either.

Per Una is for people who think any dress can be improved with the simple addition of a ruffle, a fabric rosette, some sequins, a fishtail detail at the back, a visible seam, and just a tiny dash of tartan contrast trim. In lime green.

It's genuinely baffled me for years, Per Una. When it was introduced it was definitely the 'young' M&S line. Now, from the browsers I see in it at my local store, it's being bought by the same market M&S are trying to get with the Twiggy range. I thought it was interesting that when they discontinued the Portfolio line (ostensibly for 50+ women but with some really classic, elegant jersey dresses in the first season that I bought myself), they simply put Per Una labels on the lingerie, as if the markets were identical.

I liked Autograph Weekend too. I wish M&S would get in a decent designer and create a simple, non 'edgy' capsule range of really good quality wardrobe staples. I also wish they would put the entire Classic Collection into a nuclear waste container and bury it somewhere in the North Sea.

I used to like Per Una, but I find it too fussy now and I loathe lime green. However, there is still very occasionally the odd item that I will buy.

My mum loves it - the frillier and brighter the better !!

Brilliantly put Wild Fig
Dexter what age group is your mum in?

I wish the same as you wish in your last para., wildfig. Why can't M and S offer some genuinely good, simple staples (I suppose their cashmere pieces are about the only eg of this I can think of now).

I'd be very happy to pay an extra premium on these compared to their tacky 'main' ranges because they would not only look and feel better but give me so much wear.

I guess I'm an ageing hippy then. Love Indigo!

But the weird - actually, not weird, probably totally deliberate - thing is that every so often, one really fabulous piece will turn up in Per Una, just to make you do a double take and wonder if there might be more in there that you're missing. A while back, they did a perfect tomato red cocoon coat that was beautifully cut and could have walked out of any top designer store. For £60!

I do love M&S, but they need a rethink, I reckon, post supermarket clothing lines. Their buying power have must be extraordinary, especially combined with the equally extraordinary brand loyalty they have in their customer base (second only to John Lewis?), but I wish they'd use that to regain their old reputation for making quality clothes that lasted, and stop competing with the Tesco/Asda/Primark for the rock-bottom nylon basics end of the clothes market.

And also sack Nancy dell'Olio as their Head Per Una designer.

Again agree that, if you look really carefully and keep looking specially in bigger stores, eg Marble Arch, you can just occasionally find a really good piece in one section or another (Autograph Weekend used to be the most consistent) that will become a well-loved wardrobe staple, or even star.

But it takes a hell of a lot of looking and you have to look through so much dross. Wish they would revisit their policy as you suggest so it's the opposite way round.

aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhh Maryz my EEEEEEYYYYYEEEEESSSSS!

Well I do buy some. The trousers are a perfect fit but have to be plain. I have some nice pieces but they are grey, cream, navy, etc.. It is useful for work but then my job is one where I need to be neat and professional but don't want to come across as being too well heeled.

Maryz recurring