If Boden, White Stuff, Fatface & M&S are all out, what's the alternative?

[Merguez]

for a middle-aged lady like me?

Totally depends on your style I shop at J Crew, Izzy Lane, Me + Em, Plumo, Shopbop, and COS.

To add to the above how about Baukjen, top shop, whistles, Zara

What do you class as middle aged? I love Zara, Top Shop and H&M.

I like Marks not keen on boden although bought a t shirt recently first thing ever and its very nice! I shop at Gap Zara and buy loads of things that I know fit from those brands on ebay. I love vintage too but you have to be careful as it can look student gone mad if not decent and good fit. Depending on budget I also like french connection and comptoir for high street but usually too expensive for day to day for me.

I'm 50 and my favourite places are Top Shop, H&M, Cos, Baukjen, Me&Em, Reiss

Depends why they are out? Do you mean you don't like those brands, or want similar clothes to those brands but cheaper or in smaller or bigger sizes etc.?

I like Autograph and John Lewis cashmere,Woolovers,Next and Seasalt.

I also get the odd plain thing from Boden like their light weight Boat neck tops.

Who says they are out?
A bunch of people on here????
Be an individual. Pick and choose what you like for your own body shape. If you see a dress you like from fatface, it may look good on you!

I'm 42, I like H&M, COS, &Other Stories, Madewell, J Crew, The Gap, Old Navy, MiH, Maxmara Weekend, Comptoir, APC, Maje, Sandro, Pinko, Mango, and some Danish brands (Vila, Second Female, Pieces)... Mixing quality basics with cheaper items works well.

Think it's a bit silly TBH to totally exclude some brands.
I don't like the White Stuff 'look' of tunics with everything or bird prints, but have picked up some nice plain knitwear there now and again, and ditto Boden.
I think OP you need to define your own 'look' which suits your lifestyle and then find pieces that fit the look.
I'm always quite casual and in some combo of 'jeans and T shirt'' which might be skinny jeans, straight jeans, nice knitwear (sometimes from The White Company) or smarter trousers perhaps from Jigsaw with a more formal top.
Comptoir has nice stuff but is very expensive.

What pinkfrocks said.
I am mid 40s and mainly buy from M&S, Boden, Phase 8 and John Lewis. A bit of T M Lewin and Jaeger for work. I will go for cheaper Next, H&M, New Look, Peacocks and supermarket bits and pieces too depending on what the item is!
I avoid White Stuff simply because I think they are stupidly overpriced for the quality but cannot comment on FatFace as I have never bought anything there.

It is the saminess of Boden, White Stuff etc that I don't like.

Nothing changes much from season to season, and it is all a bit clone middle-aged, middle-class Mum for me.

I would just like to find something little more stylish, have bought nice stuff in Cos before, & also Comptoir but no Cos shops anywhere near where I live & Comptoir is a bit beyond my budget & targeted I think at thinner women than me.

But some good brands suggested here which I haven't heard of before so i will check out their websites.

Quite like seasalt but it's a bit similar to White Stuff & fat face.

I am 51 (but look 10 years younger!)

It's samey to an extent but then every brand is.

But it's not hard to mix a plain cardi from White Stuff with an edgier dress from French Connection or Ted Baker, or All Saints- as an example.

I do understand your problem because I feel there is little choice in the low-medium price range for women aged 40+.

Brands like Reiss and Whistles are ok but mainly manmade fabrics and I wouldn't pay £200ish for an everyday dress.

Have you thought about Hobbs, LK Bennett, Phase 8 , Jigsaw, Kaliko etc?
These are mainstream and mid-high end but not designer prices, and then there are other brands like Warehouse, oasis, Banana republic, etc where you can pick up some pieces very cheaply.

Depends on your style and work needs. I need casual for 80% of the time and rarely wear dresses, so find it easier to mix and match across brands without having a 'look'.

Why not just buy what you like? I'm not a fan of Boden but just bought some of their breton tops and a stripe jersey dress and love them. Some of their stuff is way too colourful and some far too frumpy. Personally I think cos is very odd - all boring colours and unflattering fits but that's just my opinion about what suits me. Go for what you think suits you not what you think others on here like! I'm 35 but would shop in all the high street shops mentioned and I do buy from fat face, white stuff and Boden occasionally and have done since I was in my early twenties.

Zadig and Voltaire? Bit pricey but more of an older cool vibe.

Uniqlo is also often good for some Cos and Comptoir style pieces. I love TK Maxx for more obscure brands but it's a lot more hit and miss.

I'm 38 and shop at White Company, Boden (for classic stuff like Breton tops, plain cotton dresses etc), Banana Republic, Jaegar for coats and smartish stuff, Tomny Hilfiger for plain tops and knitwear (like the quality) and also French Connection. I don't like white stuff or fat face prints either (or the mumsy tunics!), however I have picked up some great cotton basics from there in recent months (I love the fact they do loads of pure cotton).