I am 43 and never been to TopShop, what am I missing?

[BikeRunSki]

Well, I have walked through TopShop to get from Meadowhall car park into the rest of the shopping centre. But it scares me. Too bright and fashiony and cool and young.

Am I being silly?

[Floisme]

The last time I was in Top Shop, I actually saw very few teenagers/early 20s there. I think it's become too pricey for them and it wouldn't surprise me if TS started 'repositioning' themselves sometime soon.

[Sonotkylie]

As others have said, shoes and bags. I have also recently bought a couple of necklaces and brilliant boyfriend jeans - not too baggy or too long. But the best thing is being totally ignored by the shop assistants as you are too old for them to compute! (Although they are fine if you actually accost them.) But then I get my kicks in odd ways ...

[SarcyMare]

i am your age and i think i was 22 when i last shopped in topshop so some time early 90s, we are not it's target audience.

[looki]

I bought a lot there in the late 90s and early 2000s. At the time they seemed to have 'normal' clothes. They gradually changed to more fashion/style clothes - great for parties but not for work etc. I continued walking through the shop for another year or two and passed by neons, oversized t-shirts, 80's styled clothes and I found myself avoiding the place completely

UNTIL last week when I was passing time and decided to wonder in and look around. I saw a lot of tiny skirts, skinny jeans, cropped tops and then I found some great printed trousers. They are supposed to be 'ankle grazers' but as I'm five foot two, they fit perfectly. Zara have a similar pair (which I also got) but the TS ones have a more interesting pattern in a similar colour. I love them! So much that I went back to the shop yesterday and bought another pair of casual printed trousers and a plain t-shirt. Perfect for flip flops. I can never find anything other than plain trousers and am wearing ones from H&M that I bought ten years ago so I'm delighted.

The prices reflect the quality so I'm not expecting them to last forever but someone mentioned the quality of Oasis clothes and I'd strongly disagree one is of any better quality than the other. It just depends on the fabric. I have good quality dresses from Oasis and I have terrible knitwear and t-shirts from them. I find Oasis clothes are so repetitive - the same style season after season so I'm hoping and willing Topshop to keep stocking more 'wearable' clothes!

[dun1urkin]

Oops!

Wrong time of year, I know, but they do the best leggings. I think they call them 'heavyweight'.

Good length, no bagging or sagging, and definitely never even slightly see-through.

[dun1urkin]

Wr

[Corygal]

I like the expensive ranges they do - Edited and Boutique. These are clearly aimed at the more mature ladee and are perfect for non-frumpy workwear. Silk shirts, decent trousers, leather-lined boots and wool jackets. Not much pricier than the rest of the shop, but much better quality, no knicker-flashing issues and decent value.

[Marylou2]

Waterproof eyeliner pencils.They are fab, don't shift all day and cheap as chips.

[BikeRunSki]

It's not do much I think I am too old, just that I gave never shipped there and wondering if I'd been missing anything. Footwear and skinny jeans seem popular, bit I may have to pass on those, as I gave size 9ish feet and huge, muscly calfs that don't fit into any skinnies! I'll go for a browse next time I find myself in town (rare) without a child (rarer).

[umiaisha]

34 and also a massive fan!

I buy pretty much everything there, but partcularly love the jeans (jamies for me), coats, shirts, dresses, tshirts, tops and shoes/boots. The only thing I avoid is the knitwear as it never survives the first wash..

[SinglePringle]

44 years old and I buy anything and everything from there - depends on the item. Recent purchases:

Shoes - loafers and wedges
Coral shirt
Denim shorts
T- shirts
Short denim dress
Long silk skirt
Kimono jacket
Jewelry
Jeans


This lot in the last 4 months or so.

I often shop there as well as places like Zara, River Island, Jaeger, Massimo Duti, ASOS, Lk Bennett, Whistles, Mango, Selfridges, French Connection, & Other Stories etc etc.

[GingerRodgers]

Sinister it's in sheffield

[JonesH]

Missing nothing - anything you can find in Topshop you can pretty much find anywhere else - it's all become very generic and not nearly as affordable as H&M. Much prefer Zara, better quality of clothes - prefer the jeans from Zara (£25.00) much cheaper than Topshop (charges £40)

[Pointeshoes]

Haven't been in there since I was 16, I'm 24 and much prefer shopping on asos.
Very expensive and the quality is awful.

[sinisterfish]

where is meadowhall?

[sinisterfish]

agree with wfrances, online is usually better. i just got some nice swedish hasbeen copies and a fab leather bag. i try to stay away from the trendy stuff now as hate seeing teenagers in the same stuff

i think you have to be quite anti-fashion not to find anything in topshop

[wfrances]

plain t shirts
jeans
leather bags
sandals /boots
some of their shirts/blouses
wool winter coats

[boogiewoogie]

Not a lot. I very occasionally shop there if I'm looking for basic items but the quality seem to have deteriorated somewhat and prices increased. I bought some pants recently to match an expensive bra as they do some unusual colours.

I'm quite petite and I used to buy all my jeans and trousers from there before they changed to skinny styles which doesn't really suit my short leg.

Most of it is too young and trendy for me now.

[oliviafrombolivia]

a friend supplies TopShop with some of their kitschy, gift things. He says they are the highest 'marker uppers' of all the UK retail stores. V. expensive.

[BrianButterfield]

I bought some Topshop summer dresses on eBay. The prints are lovely but they are SO SHORT. I don't mind showing my legs so that's not the issue - these are actually unwearable without showing underwear. How does anyone wear them? They're not the sort to wear with leggings either. And I'm not a tall person. It's a shame as I see these lovely dresses in my wardrobe but they're impossible.

[Hulababy]

I haven't bought anything from Top Shop since I was a teen.

Dd is 12y and looks in their sometimes. Tbh though it often looks very cheaply made and tatty, and yet the prices don't seem to reflect that.
And the meadowhall one, though big, seems really crammed in and messy.

So no - I don't think you're missing anything!

Even for dd I give it a wide berth

[sunflower49]

TS intimidated me as a young teen, I was WAY too cool for it (!) as a grungy upper teen, was too chubby in my twenties-now in my thirties and It's just off bounds as It's never been in it. I see my friends wearing outfits that I love though, and ask where they're from and if they say topshop I am surprised.

Disclaimer I am now reading the whole thread to see if I really am missing anything.

[Naicecuppatea]

Oh dear. Almost 39 and got a pair of denim shorts there yesterday. They call them hot pants but luckily they come to mid thigh so not too short and the fit is good. I love their skinny jeans, vest tops and boots. I don't like 90 percent of it though and it is expensive for largely man made fibres.

[Floisme]

I don't get the intimidating thing at all. For me, a place like LK Bennett or Jaegar where, as soon as I walk in, I'm accosted with 'Can I help you?' which (rightly or wrongly) I always take as code for 'What do you think you're doing here?' - now that's what I call intimidating. In Top Shop no-one even notices you.

[ZaraW]

I have never bought anything in Top Shop even when I was young(er). Have gone in a few times over the years and have always left empty handed. Has zero appeal to me now I'm in my 40's would rather buy better quality but less stuff.