I am baffled by the popularity of Cos

[crystalgall]

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.

Well I've come full circle on this thread. I started off defending Cos because I like shops that are a bit different and that have a signature style. But I'm now so annoyed by their inconsistent sizing, their useless website, and their smug 'you really need to try on but you don't live in London so 'nerr'' attitude that you know what, they can fuck right off.

I accept I might be overthinking this

I also reserve the right to change my mind next time there's a thread about them.

Iirc it took H&M ages to figure out how to run a website and how to deliver stuff reliably - they used to be awful and their parcels took eons to arrive. So maybe somewhere down the line COS will get the brief. My one and only online order from them some years ago was disastrous and a pain to return, but I find great items instore nearly every time I stop by.

For example, try this MN staple.

Final word for now I promise. I tolerate H&M's website because they have a squillion branches so I can shop there in person. Even so they've still managed to raise their online game lately.

I see no reason to make any excuses for Cos. Hennes and Mauritz are not a small, struggling company trying to figure it out. It's lazy and it's arrogant.

Ok I'm off for a lie down now.

I guess we all have preferred "go to" shops that we tend to shop in first. I can't remember the last time I bought something from H+M or
River Island but as long as the quality looked OK, I wouldn't rule any shops out if, for example, I saw something on the threads on here that I liked the look of. I have generally shifted towards shops which have a better hit rate in terms of quality. I guess the way I shop is slightly different in that I have literally no shops near me so I do almost all of my shopping online. Topshop and Cos are equally inaccessible in that sense. Sometimes I'll just put a phrase in Google and see what it throws up or otherwise I get ideas from here or blogs.

Cos sale online!

Cos are opening a shop in Leeds soon. Looking forward to it.

I think I agree with Flo. Never thought of it like that before.

Why should I only shop there 6 times a year?

Bugger. I liked Cos

Oh littlered now I feel bad! Don't stop if you like them. If you shop there 6 times a year you presumably have access to a branch - or you've fathomed out their website / sizing?

I will concede that Leeds would be an improvement. They're never going to open where I live. As Victoria Wood (RIP) once put it, we've only just got muesli here.

I don't think that only having a few branches in a handful of places is snobby tbh. Retail businesses are primarily driven by making money. Where I live we don't have loads of mainstream shops (we only got a Gap recently!) so I just assume that the demographic here doesn't lend itself to Cos, Other Stories, Uniqlo, All Saints, Whistles, etc.

Uniqlo's a good counter example actually, they are absolutely mainstream and aiming for broad appeal. Both offer reasonably priced, generally good quality clothes in largely natural fibres. Uniqlo have fewer stores than Cos and all are in London. Their websites are similar, except Uniqlo less often show garments on a person. I don't think anyone would accuse Uniqlo of arrogance though, it's just the business model. It's really interesting how polarising Cos is!

Presumably they do market research on whether it pays to open a store somewhere or not.
Businesses don't open shops for the convenience of a handful. They open where their market is.

So, my tops arrived. I can't link on my iPad because the cos website hates it but I got a "top with curved hem". It's plain black with a silk panel in the back. Feels lovely, nicely drapey and well finished but unfortunately the shape didn't suit me at all so that will go back.
The other thing I got was a "relaxed knitted top". It feels and hangs nicely, nice fine knit, probably quite useful but I hadn't noticed when ordering that the edges are all unfinished and I would've preferred a hem. It looks nice but I'm a bit sceptical about how well it will wear and think it might come out of shape easily. We'll see.
So, overall I probably would order again and will keep my eye on the sale but not overwhelmed this time. I wore the second top today and my head hasn't shrunk and I am still capable of smiling so that fear was fortunately unfounded.

Previously on this thread....
Various posters:
'Just look at the Cos website. What do people see in them?'
'Yeah the clothes look awful'
Me:
'I quite like the look of some of them but everyone says the sizing's all over the place. It puts me off ordering.'
Several Cos fans:
'Oh don't use the website - it's crap. Some of the clothes are lovely - you just need to come in and try them on.'
Me:
'I can't just come in and try them on because, even though they have 17 branches, they're nearly all in London. Why?'
Other posters:
'Why should they open more branches when you can use the website?'

Sterling MN advice

You missed the bit where you called them lazy and arrogant for only having a few stores and mainly in London. I just thought that was an interesting interpretation of the business model, and one that probably wouldn't be applied to other similar stores eg Uniqlo. That's all I was commenting on

I have three dresses from them which are awful, and as PP have said - they work great in pregnancy. There was one dress I ordered online which was horrific. Really heavy material for a "summer" dress and shapeless. I got a cardigan from there (online) and it's gorgeous - nice material, nice shape. It took me a few years to start shopping there as I found the whole aesthetic off putting but now I'm a fan

Not awful - awesome I mean! The three dresses are awesome

Dulcimena You have ignored half of my argument. You say Cos are similar to Uniqlo but there are two very important differences. One is that the Uniqlo website does at least attempt to display their clothes in an attractive manner; the second is that their sizing is reasonably consistent. So although they don't have any stores outside London, it doesn't matter that much because shopping online with them is straightforward.

I don't expect all stores to pitch up in my city, nice as that would be. Off the top of my head, I shop at Uniqlo, Hush, Boden, Me and Em and Baukjen, all of whom have functioning websites and sizing.

I'm quite sure that Cos could sort this out if wished so I can only assume that they choose not to. Arrogance or laziness? I don't know and to be honest, I'm past caring.

Back again, at the risk of sounding like a fully paid up member of the Cos fan club...

I don't think the sizing is inconsistent / random at all. I know exactly what size to order from the website. More difficult to know if it will be flattering or not / suit me without trying on. Uniqlo for instance is a much simpler proposition - they are simple basics, not really aiming to be fashion. Some of the Cos clothes (as op posted) are oversized / asymmetric / draped etc. This may look good on some and not others - but I'd still know what size to buy in the dress op posted the image of - and it would look like that. It's err, meant to you know - which is why it's styled like that on the website.

I don't understand the random sizing argument, either; I'm always the same size. The problem with the website is that the clothes generally are such that it's just really difficult to know if something will suit because of their often unusual shapes (like giddy said). Cos don't help with their (imo) unflattering styling on the website, but I think they just have many, many things which just have to be tried to see how they look. I am a seasoned cos shopper but even I try on 7 things and at least 2 look bloody awful, including things which look on the hanger to be slightly different versions of something I already have but which are actually totally different on. It's worth the effort though; I get compliments all the bloody time when I'm wearing the stuff that does work. Cos may well be the thing that keeps me living in London 😍

They are opening a branch soonish about 5 mins walk from my house - I am thrilled and a bit scared of how tempting that's going to be in equal measure!

The random sizing comes from other Cos fans on similar threads to this - where ironically I have been known to defend them, just as I was at the start of this thread!

Agree Uniqlo clothes are a different proposition. Half my knitwear is from there and I don't really care if I never step foot inside a store. They do what it says on the tin.

I disagree. I love Cos but their sizing is crazy. I have a local branch so I can try things on but I've been size 8-14 while remaining a modern size 10 or so in other brands.