Sali Hughes on high street fashion for women over 35

[elotrolado]

Just read this - so true.

www.the-pool.com/fashion/fashion-honestly/2017/20/sali-hughes-on-the-british-high-street-dressing-women-over-35

I too long for those 'flattering frocks, neat at the shoulders, sleeves and neck, but with enough fabric around the middle to invisibly accommodate a bottle of red and more than 19 calories ...'

I probably shouldn't be sniggering at the Bigg Market comparison. But I am!

I'm 28, short (5 foot 3) and pear shaped, I like none of what I see on the high street, it's all fugly. My uniform is t-shirts, (I got a load from TU last year in lots of lovely bright colours, in lovely cotton) high waisted skater skirts (eBay or charity shops) or long gypsy skirts (ditto). In winter I wear boots and have some nice leather ones, currently trying to find some leather ballet pumps that have a strap, a thicker sole and don't look hideous. Ha! I'll stick to my sneakers for now...
And I'm still trying to find some bootcut jeans, the ones I had as a teenager I miss, I don't want stretchy denim either. A lot of the shorter length stuff is still too long for me!

Lucked
'Dunnes is now being added to the list'
Which list ?
Where to shop.
or
Where Not to shop.

I also think online shopping has made it easier for retailers to palm us off with shoddy quality. I don't say that lightly because I bloody love the internet and it's given me so much more choice. But a garment can be described, correctly, as say, 100% cotton but still be low quality. You don't know until it you see it and feel it and by the time it arrives (please tell me I'm not the only one here) you're already half committed plus maybe you need it for an occasion and time is running out and .... well it'll do. I've made some poor buys that way.

Some nice pieces on the Dunnes site but no actual store in London

Which I realise is the opposite of usual complaints!

I've come late to this discussion but, yes, everything she says here is true.

I'm (in MN terms) old, short and podgy. Sleeveless, above the knee shift dresses or too-short tops with low rise jeans look dreadful on me. I steeled myself to have a 'no buy' year last year but it was remarkably easy to do because, when I did allow myself an online browse, there was nothing I actually wanted.

Do you think part of the problem is that nowadays clothes shopping is seen as a hobby rather than a necessity of life? I'm not saying clothes shopping wasn't an enjoyable experience in years gone by, but perhaps it was done less frequently, out of necessity to replace worn out clothes or for a particular occasion?

Now, visiting the high street at the weekend is the norm, browsing with no purpose is fine, wearing an outfit just for one night out is acceptable (I can't believe people do this!). There are only seven days in a week, we don't need bulging wardrobes of multiple items we can't possible use till they wear out. Just look at wardrobes in charity shops, they are tiny. Now we feel the need for wall length integrated cupboards and drawers, even whole dressing rooms are considered fine if you have a room going spare.

Whoever started this thought process, the consumer or the suppler, this is where we are. Providing clothes at this epic proportion you're going to see the quality drop. So perhaps it's our mindset towards wearing clothes which needs to change before quality improves? (and boards like S&B become defunct, oops!)

QueenoftheAndals
Dunnes do have stores in UK and deliver there too.

They do, but none near me and I prefer to try stuff on before I buy.

MrsMildred - Yes, I think there's much truth in that. Most of us own vast quantities of clothes, and the fashion industry relies on us buying more and more, hence the constant pursuit of novelty (and yet all shops at the same kind of price point sell almost the same thing). But that still doesn't quite explain why shops don't generally cater well for anyone who isn't a teenage wisp - it's an odd thing that most mass market fashion is aimed at the demographic who can least afford it.

Bras! I don't want padded bras!
I want unpadded supportive bras in decent colours not bloody neon pink/orange.-a week of horrendous bra shopping has just ended
Trousers in differing lengths
No to florals
No to cold shoulder WTAF?
No to see through shit
Not a decent skirt on the high street this season
Hush is New Look quality
Mint Velvet poor quality and too drapey grey nonsense
Boden ok for basics but even their £25 quid t shirts are see through
And dresses not lined now.
Whistles and Jigsaw quality dropped whilst price risen
Ted Baker Karen Millen - for girls who go to nightclubs scratchy lace and mad florals in what looks like nylon
White stuff and fat face - last resort for summer stuff but a bit mumsy and quality shocking
Seasalt frumpy although t shirts wash well
Never go to next oasis warehouse etc due to being a geriatric .
I want good quality basic t shirst with lycra in them , fitted trousers, dark tint jeans , pencil skirts good quality cashmere, fitted coats, dresses that are flattering
Marks and spencer need to reduce number of ranges they sell and have a specific range for women over 40ish who want quality and style and have a bit of cash to spend if the quality is there.
In the meantime I shall put my skinny jeans and Breton back on and await the revolution....

Totally agree MrsMildred. I notice it at work where I tend to be like my male colleagues - we wear basically the same series of outfits each week until something wears out and needs to be replaced. 'Fashion' doesn't cater for this well in my experience. Sometimes - shock horror - I wear something for a couple of years and then want to replace it with exactly the same item again and other than Clarks brogues and Gap jeans I never seem to be able to do so, which really grinds my gears.

Um.. clothes have always been a hobby for me But as I've said, I had far fewer when I was young and I had to save up to buy quite basic things and bought second hand as a matter of course. I also expected clothes to last far longer - and still do. I'm often surprised when I see posts that say 'I've worn this .... for five years' as if that's anything special.

Also the 'get rid of anything you haven't worn for a year' mentality really gets me up on my high horse. If it's still in good nick and fits you and you've got the space, put it away and it'll be around again in 5 years.

Oh thank you DirtyDancing, I didn't realised they were still online!

I have a friend who was a pattern cutter for Wallis, back in the 70s when Wallis did some really lovely designs, and were really good quality. She is in her late 60's now, very stylish, and makes most of her clothes herself. She knows what necklines work for her, that she doesn't want sleeveless dresses or tops, what colours suit her etc. I don't think I've ever seen her in a synthetic fabric. She always looks beautiful, but I can't imagine what she would buy if she didn't sew.

Another one who totally agrees.

I think M&S are listening - a bit. I got M&S vouchers for my birthday and mooched round hte local large store. Noticed they've got a t-shirt section with the same basic tee in a rainbow of colours. Now if they could just do the same with every other item of clothing they'd be onto a winner. (I bought perfume with my vouchers as there were no clothes I liked).

I like Cos stuff a lot. I also have a tunic dress thing from Toast which I love, and some nice Hobbs things too. (All procured from the local Oxfam shop, the Toast dress thing was £7 and still had the tags on). Not keen on everything on the Cos or Toast website, but it's better than the awfulness that is the "fashion" stores.

Macarena

The Cos website is awful. The models look pissed off, the clothes are oversized on them, they all look 15 and have strangely long necks

I would never look twice at anything on the website

Yes the website is awful and the models do look very grumpy.

Clothers are good though - they just need to work on their branding. Have just looked at teh Dunnes website and i'm really impressed! We have one near us and I haven't been in years, they've changed totally since the last time when I was in.

Ampersand1 where are all the neon orange/pink bras/underwear? I bloody love them

All I can find are sludge brown/cat sick yellow & khaki undies.

Old Town looks like an interesting website for clothes.

Anyone tried them?

Old Town looks like Cos on acid!

Wallis when it started used to buy designer toiles (prototypes) from the Paris catwalks. They were über stylish back then, and like nothing else on the high street. Now they are just a mess of patterned polyester nastiness,

I bought a lemon yellow sleeveless knit top from H&M, blue lace top and navy with white and black small square pattern knitted sleeveless dress and grey Jersey blazer in past 2 weeks.

I'm having concerns over the yellow top and navy dress and will probably return.

However I did buy 2 tops in Zara the other day, a peach and orange printed tshirt with leopard on front and a floral blue top with flounced shorter sleeves (above elbow length) - had to get this in medium as it was longer cut but it fitted well - the small was ok but a bit too short. They're probably man made fibres but the tshirt is 97% polyester and 3% elastane but worked fine today when out at a local park fair for a few hours which surprised me, eg kept me cool, minimal if no sweating.

I've been buying from Old Town since they first opened. Their clothes are really well made out of excellent quality fabrics. I don't get on with the dresses or shirts very well though, they aren't cut for much of a bust. I wear the trousers and jackets. Their sizing is small. You also have to wait weeks and weeks for the things to arrive as they are made when you order them, so ideally you need to try things on in the shop before ordering, to establish your size and if something suits you.