M&S blames poor clothes sales on the weather

[GobblersKnob]

Okay, you keep telling yourself that, just the bad weather......

I do buy things from M & S But I went a couple of weeks ago and came away with nothing. The stuff was totally dire. And they just can't seem to manage to match up the size on the hangers with the size on the clothes. It's not rocket science. Other clothes shops seem to do it.

Nothing to add but this thread is hilarious, especially DonaAna's pinboard

I think we should send this thread to M&S as a form of constructive feedback.

We should give them some top tips.

TOP TIP #1 - Put the clothes rails further apart
TOP TIP #2 - Ditch polyester. Entirely. It's not cool. When the ladies in my grannies nursing home have abandoned polyester, it's time to abandon the fabric.
TOP TIP #3 - Carry a range of sizes. One or two in each size. Count them up. Start at 8 and work up to 22 and have all sizes available.
TOP TIP #4 - Employ some clothes designers. People who might be daring enough to cut on the bias.
TOP TIP #5 - Colours. There really needs to be someone in the design department who has a sense of colour. Just one person (with a right of veto) would be enough. So for example, a shapeless skirt of an indeterminate length would probably be okay. I'd probably buy one for one of those days. But not if it is black and bright yellow with a slash of red across the middle with a bit of beige thrown in (it's M&S - there's gotta be some beige). Not one of those colours actually goes with the other.

TOP TIP #6 - Carry a range of styles. I accept that not every shop will design clothes for a beanpole (me). But I don't accept that every woman in the land is 5' 2" with no waist. You can design fitted t-shirts. It's possible. You do not have to produce 395 t-shirts in poor quality fabrics designed for ladies whose boobs have long since melded to their tummy-buttons.

I could go on for pages for I have been traumatised by having erred into M&S recently. Don't even get me on the subject of nightwear.

Mmmm, so if it had been sunny my local M&S would have suddenly stocked:

(1) A size 10 dressing gown. That's size 10. Not 8-10, not 12-14 but a 10. I know it's only a dressing gown FFS but it doesn't need to come down to a choice between a nun's habit or an overstuffed sausage.

(2) Plain black knickers. In cotton. Not g-strings.

(3) Grey school socks. (For the love of all that is holy, why has my local store stopped doing any schoolwear?)

(4) A bra that fits me and a measuring service that doesn't need pre-booking.

Gave up and discovered that, luckily, Debenhams was not affected by the weather. Neither was local underwear boutique shop.

Crying with laughter. I tried to buy a coat in M&S last winter. Could only find 2 I liked. Looked at the price in the ticket compared to the quality of the coat. Walked out.

Bought 4yr old ds some pjs online though, which were nice.

M & S are too expensive and the quality is rubbish. Their shop assistants are snotty and rude.

And another thing, maternity wear. You would think that a store with this many ranges would do a maternity basic range. Since maternity wear doesn't have to last forever and should be suitable for people with no waist, you'd think it would be right up their street. But no, when I enquiries the assistant told me that most peo

Oops
Most people these days don't bother with maternity clothes, they just buy bigger sizes.

Erm no, a pregnant person is not the same shape as an over-all large person.

Oh yes and the child clothes are beyond horrible! Sort of downmarket asda but less tasteful. I seriously walked in and walked out again.

I find it really annoying when high street shops blame outside sources for their poor performance when everyone knows its their own incompetence. M&S could do really good simple stuff at a good price, like a classy and better value Gap. That's basically what we all want them to do (& yummy food!!). The shops are depressing (& expensively located) and they haven't pushed online sales as they should.

The media always use high street companies to judge the economy. So if M&S are doing badly because of the weather, the recession, etc etc, what about ASOS which has been growing massively?

Oi M&S, new items added!

Shop before it's too late...

Those mustard leggings are for MEN

No, but would you wear them?

Not even if I was a man. They are the colour of bile.

If they're not reading it, their shareholders are ...

Ooh you're all meanies - M&S do a lovely salmon & cream cheese bagel

Superman after a sex change, that would be a great film and the costume is already sorted thank you Dona

What they do well:
School uniform, good quality, good range of styles and 20% off or 3 for 2 def make me return

Kids basics - pants, socks etc

Baby ranges (eg snowsuits at reasonable prices)

Boys clothes (1-7) I havent looked above this age.

What they do badly:
As earlier posts - plus
Children's clothing has lost it's way. Innocent clothes for 4-9yr olds (Boden good at this) would be welcome
I rarely bother for me. Some of the work wear is ok but soo many shift dresses, which don't suit everyone..
School skirts and pinafores are much too short and we have to size up, on slim children, this isn't a good look.

I really miss M and S. It didn't used to be fuddy, did it?

yy kids clothes that are practical (as in easy to wash and iron) - mix and match well - and aren't logoed / sparkled / Disneyed up to the hilt.

More Jojo Maman, Gap, Boden and less Matalan-stylee.

I saw this on display at M&S last week. It's even brighter in the flesh, and don't miss the lime green panel down the side. It was in the 'business clothes' section .

I wouldn't even use it as an ironing board cover.

Maybe it was a refugee from the Housecoats section? Cos the housecoats were too hideous to hang out with?

Lately it feels as if M&S are confusing cheap with good value - the typical M&S shopper (cough, me) probably prefers to pay a pound or two more for clothing that won't fall apart after three washes and hasn't been stitched together by a 5-year-old in a sweatshop. That's the reason I don't shop in Primark.

They don't have to be trendy (didn't they try that a few years ago, with mixed results?) but they really need to get out of this awful frumpy rut, starting with those smug-mungous ads. This just isn't the right economic climate for them. And would a panel of women really pick the super-irritant Myleene Klaas, and Danniiiiiii Minogue, and Twiggy (a woman who still irks my mum on account of an entire decade of miniskirt-induced dieting in the 60/70s!) to be their aspirational role models? Or is that what a bunch of middle-aged men think women want to be like? I'd quite like M&S to be the first store to say, 'right, we're ditching the celebs - we're going to sell our clothes on their own merits. Now look at this brilliant pair of trousers. And this white shirt. And this amazingly good value but quality leather handbag.'

Yes in the 90s I remember saving up for M&S things like silk knit t-shirts, silk shirts, decent leggings, 'smart' summer skirts for work - good quality plain stuff.

I do still shop in M&S, I like some of their jersy tops for work, casual tops and long shorts for my hols. I like their baby section and quite a lot of the boys clothes. But, their maternity bras are horrid and really badly fitting, which I didn't realise until I tried an NCT bra on. Their tights aren't as good quality as they used to be and wrinkle at my ankles ( a la Nora Batty) and I hate that their long work skirts never come in a 36 inch length in smaller sizes (like only size 14 and above are allowed to hide their legs). And their sizing has gone to pot. I can be a size 10 or 12 in skirts, 12 in shorts and jeans, except when they make some where I need a 14, and cardigans are always a 14 due to tight arms but ladies tops recently have been anything from size 8 ( and I ain't no size 8!) to 12. Makes ordering over the Internet impossible.

It's got to the stage where if I go to M & S I think not is there anything I like but is there anything I could possibly wear. The last time there wasn't. And what's with those weird short sleeved coats. Who wants a coat with short sleeves.