So when is M and S actually going to improve?

[Orangeanddemons]

Because it hasn't yet. They have the odd Cos type thing in Autograph, but the rest is dire, just dire. And the older girls is also dire. Drab, dull, boring safe and polyester.

Is it really going to ever up it's game?

lalouche agree re knickers, I get mine in Sainsburys now, very comfy. When Sainsburys does knickers better than an actual clothes shop....!

The clothes for younger girls in M&S are brilliant. Not logo'd tarted down shuts you get anywhere else the moment they move out of the baby stuff.

The thing is bunny in the MA store is that there can be an escalator's difference between the ranges so you end up exhausted ( hopeless air con too) traipsing between floors.

M&S- just put all the bloody trousers together and stop pigeon-holing us into these ridiculous labels within labels.

I went in to their Grafton st. branch in Dublin last week hoping to purchase a navy wool blazer. They had one navy blazer. It wasn't what i was looking for. It was very much a work style blazer, and the fabric felt cheap. I wanted an off duty one for teaming with jeans and bretons etc . No such luck! That branch is huge, it's over 3 floors and they had one navy blazer!!
Same with their cashmere. I wanted a crew neck plain cashmere sweater in either biscuit, navy, charcoal or black. Without buttons or sequins, embellishments at all in fact, or slogans. It was mission impossible.
If they cant get the basics right they are being very foolish.

Oh and the toilets stink in that one too, so smelly toilets in Uk and Ireland!!

I love the school uniform, all of DD's pinafores have looked like new when out grown. Usually get a good winter coat from younger girls and have started to buy school shoes and boots too. The leather and quality is better than anything she's had from clarks.

Find it hard to pick out a nice outfit for DD, although indigo is usually ok. You find the odd nice thing but a lot of it is quite gharish or weird colours.

My biggest issue with M&S is that for womens clothes, the prices go up but quality goes down. And sizing is off.

Agree that the younger girls and babies wear is lovely. But the older girls is dire, just dire. My ds is 7 but takes age 10-11. nasty how to turn the current trend for textured knits into a frumpy mess both man made fibres of course. Sick of them talking about modal like its some big deal. It's just viscose by another name

Meaning of course the garments not the models! I used to be a children swear designer, the younger age groups were always easier to get right that the older ones. However the buyers used to think that this age group wanted to dress like teenagers, which we now is a load of bollocks. My 7 year old isn't going to dress like that

I think they just have TOO MUCH. Too many collections. Too much choice in each collection. Cluttered

I think M&S has shot itself in the foot by trying to compete with the supermarkets on price and the high street stores on quality fashion both at the same time. They can't do both. And ironically, they have the only shopper demographic in the country that's willing to pay more for quality basics... and yet still they persist on filling their shops with cheap fabrics and frumperie.

It's like the entire country is trying to stage an intervention.

I hate that the sizing is so WRONG. If I see a picture on their website of an item I like the look of, I want to know that I can trust their size guide. I.e. if the website size guide says my measurements make me a size 10, then I expect the size 10 item that turns up to fit me like the picture on the website, not be 2inches too large all round!

I think M&S and Next have trodden the same path to fashion faux pas- for me anyway.

Years ago - 30- Next was up market, and used to include fabric swatches with their catalogue and most of the clothes were natural fabrics. It was affordable for me then but only just.

Now both M&S and Next are dominated by manmade fibres though if you look hard M&S do have some real wool etc.

Next seems to have the 20-35 demography in mind, whereas M&S seems to cater for the 50+ age group ( that's me and I hate all of it.)

It's disappointing because all we are left with - if you want natural fabric and a bit of style- are the more expensive ranges like Jigsaw, Reiss, and so on.

Next and M&S both do cheap, nasty shoes.
We seem to be paying much more for clothes, shoes and bags in nasty fabrics/ pvc from factories (sweatshops) in the East. WHY?
Are cotton/ wool and leather too expensive?

Sorry I posted too soon... Not to mention the human cost in those factories

I think their biggest problem is not getting their supplies of sizes right. They always run out of the more popular sizes or so it seems. Until the get that right which they never ever seem to do it's all a bit of a waste of time.

Agree their s tock control and supply chain is useless!!!!

The minute they have a 'winner' it flies out in sizes 8 and 10. MY sizes!

Same with bras. I find their bras fine as long as you fit yourself but try getting the popular sizes when they have a nice glam bra - 32C, 32D - not on your nelly- all fly out the shop or online too.

Far, far too much cheap nasty stuff, whether in shoes or clothes . On rare occasion I do find something I want to try, there are usually availability issues for my size.

I actually saw a couple of really nice things today. Unfortunately their sizing was insane - could have fit five of me into the 12s and I couldn't be bothered to go back out for other sizes, as was so hot in the changing room.

They never have the 12s and 14s in stock either.

Far too many of each style though. Search their website for dresses (260), trousers (216) and tops (535). Surely a hundred of each item would give us more than enough choice.

And I see that they are now doing a Plus range in sizes 20-28. Now if I was a size 20+, I'm sure that seeing the clothes aimed at me on a tall and toned size 16 maximum would make me want to buy it. Or what about this, which I quite like. I bet it looks even better from the back with all the clips holding it in to the size 10 model.

Tbh that first model is about the average size for high street plus size ranges. Even Simply Be etc have similarly-sized models - in fact I'm pretty sure that first blonde model is a model for Simply Be too! It's pretty crap.

I'm more miffed that the Plus range is entirely online-only, yet Per Una shit is proudly displayed in store. It's a reasonable if boring plus-size range, why not get it in store and ditch the other collections, just making it like other shops and having regular/petite/plus sections. But that would be too sensible

Totally out of their depth re online shopping. Complete balls up trying to sell into two different markets, EU & UK, don't seem to have a clue. It's not hard - all their competitors are doing it. Wise up M & S!

I disagree with everyone who thinks their cashmere is OK or (heaven forfend) even "good". It's cheap, shit, poor-quality short-fibre cashmere that pills when you breathe on it and looks good for one wear. And it'snot cheap to match, either.

I now buy even my underwear from John Lewis. Speaks volumes.

Their work suits have also gone down hill massively. About 8-10 years ago, I used to buy all my work suits from their petite range - they were all a little bit quirky (yes....really?!), washed fantastically and couldn't be beaten IMO. I managed to buy one petite suit from them last year - it's no where near as stylish (bought in desperation, really) and was pilled and with all the buttons falling off within a few months. I don't even look any more.

Yes, the suits have gone downhill a lot. I don't mind their cashmere.

This looks nice and is silk - too long for me though, and a bad colour.