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Original poster

I am baffled by the popularity of Cos

285 replies

crystalgall · 23/09/2016 13:24

Who wants to look like this?!

The model looks like her head has shrunk or that she is wearing clothes about 10 sizes too big for her.

Everything is so shapeless and blah and yet it's lauded as a style haven.

I don't get it.

I am baffled by the popularity of Cos
OP posts:
Thread gallery
12
Marmalade85 · 26/09/2016 07:51

Cos make me feel old, fat, short, confused and extremely uncool. I'm 31.

SirChenjin · 26/09/2016 09:13

Flo - totally get what you're saying.

I feel it's as if they're deliberately making their clothes as inaccessible as possible (via their website, which is where I'm guessing most of their business would come from) in order to appeal to a particular demographic whose club is very much members only because they 'get' them. The rest of us just look at their offerings and ask 'what is this shit' as we try (and fail) and imagine an area of our lives which is sufficiently hipster to warrant spending £90 on an oversized shirt dress (which can't be described as anything other than hideous).

phoolani · 26/09/2016 09:33

Lol Marmalade! I'd shop somewhere else then, no shop is worth that!
Flo - I suppose that's just their chosen marketing strategy to distinguish them from other shops? Tho I'd agree there's a difference between making the clothes look different and making them look awful, which seems to be their website strategy and which I don't get at all; nobody looks good in wide, cropped cullotes and an oversized shirt dress for god's sake! Whereas old, short-arsed me has bought said cullotes and they look fabulous with a normal top 😎

Lweji · 26/09/2016 09:42

Earlier on the thread, but
Why don't you just go for somewhere that sells mainly good stuff as opposed to mainly shit stuff?

If I went with this evaluation, I'd never shop anywhere. Grin I tend to like 30-10% of any collection. And that may vary with the trends. Some years I struggle to find anything.

Lweji · 26/09/2016 09:49

Having looked at their site, I don't think it's bad, actually. I like the shade of green they use. :)

And I may have some straight wide trousers similar to many. Just need to put the hem up.

Floisme · 26/09/2016 10:02

It's not just the look of the website. Their sizing, from what I hear is all over the place too. (Like their sister company, only H&M have at least got the excuse of being cheap). So what's the point of ordering online?

It means people like me who are quite interested in the clothes but don't live the London / metropolis life, are cut out. Ironically I'm a professional in a creative role Grin

bluebellation · 26/09/2016 10:03

My two favourite tops are Cos. One is a straightforward shirt style, the other is a rather more voluminous effort, but great with normal jeans or smarter trousers. What I love is the fabric, a lovely feel to it, and washes beautifully. I'm currently hankering after this . I've seen it in store but foolishly didn't try it on as I was in a rush, so I'll wait until I can get back to the city.

MsUnderstanding · 26/09/2016 10:40

means people like me who are quite interested in the clothes but don't live the London / metropolis life, are cut out

I get what you're saying Floisme, I used to work near the Covent Garden branch, but moved out of London quite a few years ago now so don't spend a penny in COS (or Uniqlo) any more because there are no branches in or anywhere near the city I live in (Bristol) I don't think it's a deliberate attempt to exclude, I just don't think it makes financial sense to open shops any more. If they could just open a concession in my local John Lewis then I would be there like a shot.

Floisme · 26/09/2016 10:47

But but but ... they have 13 stores in London.
Thirteen.
Out of seventeen.
I understand stores like Uniqlo who only have a small number of branches and base them in London. But 13 out of 17 doesn't sound to me like a purely financial decision.

Floisme · 26/09/2016 10:49

Or if it really doesn't make financial sense then why don't they sort out the fucking website?

Florathefern · 26/09/2016 10:52

I do t mind buying from the website tbh. 50% of my clothes are from Cos and I find it easy to visualise them. I'm a size small consistently across their dresses, tops and elasticated trousers and a size 12 in skirts and trousers that have a 'band'.

I will admit that if they were available on every corner, they would lose their some of their appeal to me.

Florathefern · 26/09/2016 10:58

I posted too soon, the thing that drives me crazy about the website is they won't allow you to return to the store. Given their shipping is high and they charge for returns, it makes buying expensive and often off putting.

Florathefern · 26/09/2016 11:01

Pipachi I love that dress.

TheVeryThing · 26/09/2016 11:07

I'm in Ireland and there's no Cos store near me, but here is a Cos concession in a big department store, so I'm surprised they don't have similar in the UK.

I'm not a hipster or achingly cool (or even aspiring to be), nor i am an intellectual or any of the other stuff trotted out on this and the many, many similar threads.
I'm a pretty ordinary, slightly overweight women in her forties, who needs to look smart for work on a tight budget.
Most of my purchases are in the sale (usually 50% off), and they just wear so well. Maybe I'm delusional and I look like a sack of spuds, but I don't really care.
I'm so used to buying from Cos that I'm pretty confident in ordering online, although I'll never understand why they team everything with a massive pair of culottes, so you can't see the shape properly.

But neither do I understand the angst expressed about it on here.
There are loads of shops that I never go into but I'm not offended by their very existence.

Florathefern · 26/09/2016 11:22

They are in Selfridges I think.

It is the old Boden v Cos argument. It gets boring and I often wonder if people say they dislike Cos not only because it doesn't suit them - horror!!!! I wouldn't put a foot inside the door of River Island, Boden makes me look dumpy and frumpy and there are countless others that I don't shop in - but I often wonder if other ppl are using reverse psychology about disliking it Smile

I will continue buying there for as long as the clothes suit me.

Another thing I like is that there aren't any silly discount codes. I only buy children's clothes in Boden but the constant codes drive me batty. They should just price at a fair price and stop with all the stupid pretend discounts. I don't think anyone is naive and stupid enough to believe they are getting a 'bargain' 25% off etc. I respect Cos's business model so much more. There is one price and at the end of the season there is a sale price. It is transparent and fair.

Floisme · 26/09/2016 13:24

I will admit that if they were available on every corner, they would lose their some of their appeal to me.
I appreciate your honesty but why? They would still be pretty niche - there is nil chance that everyone would suddenly start wearing their clothes. Why would it diminish your pleasure if it was accessible to more people?

I'm not asking for a shop on every corner. I'd happily settle for either one branch in my city - a concession would do - or for a more accessible website with consistent sizing.

While I'm here, I don't understand all the posters saying 'Oh I'd never shop at .....' either. Maybe it's because the shopping isn't great where I live but I look everywhere and anywhere, be it New Look, Boden or the charity shop.

banivani · 26/09/2016 13:40

I happened to be in Cos only yesterday because my daughter and I took a trip to Mall of Scandinavia (the borkiest of names), or as it's called colloquially in Stockholm, Moset, which means The Mash (as in of spuds), which is funny. Anyway, I'm kinda loving Cos now. There were lots of stuff I'd try on, even if I'd probably not suit all of it. Nice colours, a lovely green and red. Tried on some trousers that I liked, just not enough for full price. Will keep an eye out for a sale price online. I fit nicely into a size 42, which felt more consistent than normal H&M sizing where the 42 should fit according to the chart but doesn't always.

Oh yes, Swedes love that Cos look. Mostly Stockholmers do, but all Swedes are drawn to it.

taybert · 26/09/2016 14:40

I always get defensive when people do the "I would never shop there" thing because it feels so much like the "you're not cool because the cool girl at school has decided you're not" That's the thing that irritates me about the Boden threads- there's always someone who says it's ALL frumpy or awful. Really? All of it? Every last thing? I'm with Flo. I'm wearing uniqlo, Boden and Sainsburys today. I wouldn't really rule out any shop.

allegretto · 26/09/2016 14:48

Btw do the blokes in your COS store wear skirts or is it a local thing? Just wondering.

banivani · 26/09/2016 15:07

I don't think the blokes I saw yesterday wore skirts but then there was only the one fella I think and I didn't really look at him.

Florathefern · 26/09/2016 15:22

Mine wear skirts too. I asked one of them about his and he told me it was a white dress that he restyled. I think from overhearing the sales assistants conversations, many of them are fashion students.

For me when I say I wouldn't shop in x or y, it is because I'm not drawn to their clothes. Twenty years ago I liked River Island, then it seemed to become full of bodycon dresses and cut outs in the tops. So I moved on and found other shops I preferred. Oasis was one of my go to shops fifteen years ago, then I found the styles were too similar year after year so I moved on. I never liked Primark or New Look. The two nearest me are huge and I dislike the untidiness of the clothes and the clothes themselves are poor quality and badly fitting IMO. TopShop is somewhere I pop into and have gone so for over twenty years. These days I buy mainly jeans there and little else. I still go to Zara too. With online shopping I discovered other brands like BR. Me&Em etc. I find their clothes less disposable.

The shops have changed, i have changed. I have less time for shopping so want to go to stores where I know I will like the majority of the clothes. I tried Boden and felt old when I tried on their clothes. I have made numerous orders and kept precisely nothing but I will continue to buy kid's clothes there. I have tried FatFace and White Stuff and found them too faded and ill fitting. I dislike Next, both their cut and fabrics.

I can't shop everywhere. I don't have the time or money. So when I say I wouldn't shop somewhere it is because the clothes do t appeal or I have tried them and moved on. I expect in time, this will happen with some of the shops I currently dress from too.

hollyisalovelyname · 26/09/2016 15:30

I'm an apple and some Cos suit me.

hollyisalovelyname · 26/09/2016 15:36

Florathefern I'm with you re Boden and their discount codes.
Price fairly and then have a sale.

DianaT1969 · 26/09/2016 15:41

Another vote for dropping the discount codes and pricing fairly. I never buy anything at Boden because I know the prices are inflated and refuse to play the game. A thread on here made me laugh - a ruched skirt in clearance at hallf the normal price - only it wasn't in clearance - it had a 12 week wait.

GiddyGiddyGoat · 26/09/2016 15:43

Hahaha. I'm sitting in a cafe killing time between meetings and catching up with this thread. I was interrupted by a woman admiring my shoes and asking where they are from.... yup, Cos.
They are in most ways unremarkable- heeled black brogues. Very very simple. But this is the third time in 2 weeks I have been asked by a stranger where I got them!