Do you 'want' to have your clothes recognised? Just musing...

[PacificDogwod]

Inspired by the Boden thread, but not about Boden OR the thread IYKWIM:
is it important to you that people recognise what you are wearing? Or not? Or would you rather that your clothes were NOT recognisable?? And why?

I love quality and great materials, but don't give two hoots about brand/designer or what 'season' something came from. I will happily wear my favourite stuff to death and couldn't care less whether it came from TKMaxx or was bought online or from a charity shop. ebay has been a real revelation recently, but I don't get this 'Oh, Boden is no recognisable, I couldn't wear it for more than a season.'

And here's a follow-on question: is there people amongst us who actually buy a 'new wardrobe' every season?!

Please indulge my nosiness.

I'm a Boden wearer. I love Boden and I love it being recognised however I live in skinny jeans, Breton tops and ballet pumps which could come from primark for all anyone knows/cares. So no, I don't change my wardrobe every season as there is no point as I wear timeless clothing.
I do love the big funky prints but they just aren't 'me' so o admire from afar x

Nah I just wear what suits me, wear my favourite things LOADS. I have slightly unusual tastes tbh a bit retro tbh.

Could never afford to replace my wardrobe every season!

I wouldn't want to be 'noticed' as a Boden/Primark/Dior wearer as it suggests a lack of imagination.

Boden especially is so middle class mummy it's like a uniform, reminds me of a permanently post natal woman. Nothing wrong with the clothes, but head to foot everyday, no. The same goes for any outfit put together by one designer or shop. It just says I couldn't put stuff together myself so got Johnnie/Dior/Next to dress me.

I prefer if people don't know where my clothes are from just by looking. I don't mind so such with sports gear but I prefer the rest of my clothes not to have visable logos.

I replace stuff each season but only the cheap stuff. Pricey (to me) bits keep going until they fall apart.

I think caring about such things makes a person a bit of a loser. I think it's much cooler to have your own style and wear things which suit you and flatter not just carry a logo. I also think the primark mention is a bit daft. I don't think anyone wants to advertise how little they've spent on things.

No I don't want to have my clothes recognised - probably quite hard to anyway as I shop anywhere and everywhere from charity shops to eBay, high St to designer, UK or abroad
Some clothes I have owned for over 25 years, others I buy wear briefly and get bored with very quickly so pass on or sell if worth doing so

Follow on answer first: I don't really feel I've got to know any of my clothes properly until they're perhaps a couple of years old - so replacing everything seasonally would be excruciating for me.

Do I want my clothes recognised? I take tremendous care in choosing: searching and falling in love and stalking and committing. I dislike keeping or wearing anything that doesn't strike me as the best thing ever - but that's for me. (I'm sadly capable of putting this hot off the machine thing with that iconic design only to end up looking so beyond ordinary that it might as well all have come from Tesco at the end of the sales.)

On the rare occasion that I have an event to drag myself to I dread the thought of anyone noticing that I have bought something new. So would far rather put a few elderly but beautiful things together in ways that were never intended.

And I don't watch much TV - so if ever I buy something in a high profile mainstream shop - say Selfridges or Harvey Nichols I run the extreme risk of finding myself wearing a frock last seen on a Daily Mail columnist ...

So no. On the whole I prefer my labels to remain my secret. But once, about as far north as you can go and still be in the UK, a stranger, handing me a drink reached over to the sleeve of my coat and exclaimed at the beauty of the cloth. That was nice.

I would hate my clothes to be recognisable. It's why I'm always baffled by people who wear GAP sweatshirts with the logo emblazoned on the chest, or those awful track suits (Juicy Couture?) that had the brand name written across the ass. If I've paid for a garment, I don't then expect to do free advertising for the company!

I'll wear what suits me, no matter how many seasons ago fashion tells me it is, which probably also factors into my preference for anonymous-looking, comparatively dateless clothes. For example, all those fringed kimono things are going to scream 'summer 2015', so they're not for me, as I'll only buy garments I'll still want to wear in many years' time.

i only buy what i really like. i dont care where it's from and i don't expect other people to really. i have a few things that are i suppose, obviously a certain brand as they have a recognisable thing on them but they are accessories, not the whole thing. i never dress head to toe from one place and i shop anywhere and everywhere that catches my eye if it's affordable to me. i'd honestly hate someone exclaiming over everything i was wearing for it being from a certain place, cheap or expensive. i don't mind if someone says they like something and ask where it's from though

I buy stuff that I like, and rarely wear an outfit that is all one shop unless it's something like a pair of jeans and a stripy top which could be from anywhere. Today I'm wearing a Whistles dress which is about ten years old, with Clarks boots (quite a new purchase) and a Topshop duster coat which is, again, about ten years old. I definitely don't buy a new wardrobe every season, but I am a regular shopper and will pick up bits and pieces every month.

No, not at all. I like Boden/Joules/White Stuff stuff because that's what I like, ie conservative, comfy, colourful stuff. I buy my clothes from a variety of places, but my very, very favourite places are charity shops - nothing beats the thrill of a good find for a few quid! Definitely don't buy new clothes every season.

I just wear what suits me. I am totally brand oblivious when it comes to clothes and don't get this Boden angst as I wouldn't know a Boden outfit even if it slapped me in the face. Having looked at their website a few times I find their clothes rather ordinary and very expensive.

I have clothes from M & S, Phase 8, Sainsburys, TKMaxx, Debenhams, White Stuff, NewLook, BHS, Wallis, Levi, Next etc. I keep my clothes for years and still wear a dress that I bought in 1995. The charity shops round here are just full of ex Primark and supermarket clothes.

The only thing I woukd be a label snob istraibers, couldn't care less about anythung else. Most if my clotges are Next ir Supermarkets.
I work with a bloke a twice in ibe say ast week he nentiobed kabeks. I admired his shoes and the reply was "Tommy Hilfiger". Then later on he complained that someone had made his "Timberland shirt" wet

God sorry , didnt proof read!
is trainers
twice in one day, last week
mentioned labels

There was a thread about that a while back Coco - something to do with not calling your boots, boots, but calling them your Uggs, or not referring to your flip flops as flip flops but havaianas. Funnily enough, only ever done for stuff that you've paid extortionate amounts for, as opposed to your "George shirt"

How many people would actually be able to recognise the clothes someone else is wearing, though? I do a lot of online browsing and very occasionally might look at someone and think "I saw that at Oasis" or whatever. That probably wouldn't happen to most people because they are not as sad as me. Unless you mean not recognising an actual item, but looking at someone and thinking "That looks like a Boden outfit"?

For this reason I don't want/expect anyone to recognise the clothes I wear. Bags, shoes and accessories though - maybe. I love spotting a nice handbag out and about, or someone wearing Acne Pistols, say. My doctor was wearing the most killer pair of shoes the other day and I got home and looked them up. Think they were Jimmy Choo Agnes.

But then bags and shoes are much more likely to a) be status symbols and b) have noticeable logos on.

I don't mind people recognising my clothes/accessories, but I would certainly never make an effort to have them do so, or choose something purely to have it recognised. I have a couple of fairly distinctive designer handbags which are instantly recognisable if you 'know' the design, but apart from trainers I don't think a single other item I own has a visible logo!

Do I 'want' to have my clothes recognised?

No. Like you I care about quality, cut/fit, colour, etc but I don't really care where the clothes come from with the exception of trousers (because I know certain labels fit the shape of my bottom and certain other labels don't).

I want to wear the clothes, not the clothes wear me.

I wear clothes from all over the place so I don't think anyone would look at me and think Boden, Hobbs, New Look or whatever. I have no problem with someone asking me where I got something from and I'm more than happy to tell if its Primark or cost lots more.

I'm not a big fan of massive emblazoned logos but I can't get worked up if there's a label on a item. With many brands the labels are very much part of the design, I don't think you could get a pair of CAT, Ugg, Timberland winter boots without the branding as a integral part ofnthe design. This summer I got a couple of the Superdry Essentisl t shirts, they're made of thick material and long in the body and worth the £17. They do have a visible label but its a pleasant looking one on the side.

I do quite a lot of hiking and most of the higer technical spec clothes I have shout the manufacturer very loudly.

Oh, wow, thank you, all

I detest huge logos (but love the Gap sherpa zipped hoodies for the kids so am very conflicted about that ).

Yy to liking the quality/feel of something nice and more likely than not expensive.
I love some of my George/F+F stuff, as I do some of my high-end ebay/charity shop bargains.

It's 'seasons' I don't get, you know: "This seaons's colour is 'plum'" - well, 'plum' is a lovely autumn colour and just because it was called 'aubergine' last year does not make last year's jumper any less cosy.

So, where are all these people who have a 'new wardrobe' every season?!
It's an advertising conspiracy, isn't it?

not that it has happened or is ever likely to happen, but the answer to 'whose clothes are you wearing?' is 'mine'.

you can't escape logos totally but I do try to minimise them. New specs recently and there is no way I was going to wear a pair with someone else's name on them. As an aside, my rule of 'go for bloke's stuff' worked again, all the 'women's' range of specs were ghastly pink, stupid sparkles or other horrible extras. Much better choice and better manufacture on the other side of the shop.

No I don't give a toss and would be astonished if anyone could pick out the labels of the clothes I am wearing.

For the record:

Today I am wearing white skinny jeans from Next, a black slash neck top from
mexx and a vivid pink wool coat from M and S. Grey Mint Velvet boots. I feel happy with the way I look but wouldn't garner a second glance from anyone.

I would far rather someone thought my clothes were well cut/a good fit/nice fabric etc. rather than them be able to tell the brand. I don't like logos on clothes and wouldn't know the 'right' brands to be seen in even if I did care.

Having said that, I was wearing a fairly smart Hobbs dress recently; I thought it flattered my shape, looked nicely-cut, the fabric hung well and the style was appropriate for the time and place. I'd pushed the boat out a bit price-wise but felt it was worth it.

Colleague: "Nice dress! Is that from boohoo.com?"
Me: Uh?

I'm certainly no snob but I was still a bit disappointed!

I think there are two things here: the basics that you keep and wear year in year out, and the "on-trend" items that you may buy because they're in this season. So I'm thinking about buying a bit of boho floatiness at the moment as the shops are full of it, and maybe flares or some faux fur.
But I'd still keep my skinnies and Bretons.