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 ...'

@SuperFlyHigh Diet and exercise! My weight has yo-yoed a lot over the years but I'm changing habits to try and maintain a more healthy lifestyle. I do two gym visits per week and run 3K 2-3 times a week plus generally trying to be more active. Diet wise, I haven't followed anything particular, just cut out snacking and aimed for 1200-1500 cals per day.

Mintychops why don't you use An Post's delivery service - it's like Parcel Motel but the item gets delivered to your local post office. They give you a UK address and at €3.50 it's great value.
Check out the An Post website or enquirer at your local post office.

I have had some decent Jasper Conran stuff from Debenhams, but the jeans are utter balls. Far too shallow and the leg length is rubbish. I'm not that tall (5ft7). I might look at Cos, but some of the other suggestions are just too expensive for me. Next and M&S are more my price range.

I'm not sure that Cos is meant to be worn with stilletoes! 😊Isn't it more of a flat chunky shoe/ ankle boot thing.

I wear loads of Cos, but l hate stilletors!

OMGoodness, what happened to Gap? I havn't been in a branch fir a couple of years since they closed my nearest branches (Sheffield and Leeds). I used to really like Gap, but not their website, to I was very excited to go find a branch to Harrogate today. It was like a jumble sale! Everything was far too packed in. All the clothes were creased and shabby looking, and the sale rail of baggy khaki green jersey took up half the shop. It was like a jumble sale.

Gap looks like an end of season sale in BHS in the nineties.

Too right !

I've never bought anything from Gap because it's always creased and nasty and loads of nasty clothes stuffed in together. It was like that when I last went in,oh, about ten years ago.

Yes yes to Cos and clumpy shoes. Their own shoes are clumptastic. Part of their 'sod all that prettiness malarkey' aesthetic.

There's quite a lot of Gap in TK Maxx at the moment, just like there was with Jaegar for a year or so before they went down. Not looking good.

I think, as a woman over 35 and no longer as skinny as I could be, what I want is a shop that does for women's clothes , what JojoMamanBebe does for children's clothes:

• A range of simple and unfussy basics, in natural fibres and classic colours, that change little year to year - maybe new colours, a different trim, something like that. Skirts, dresses, tops, trousers, knitwear in this range.
• pieces you can mix and match as much as you want, or wear separately.
• The odd more trendy piece
• The odd more formal piece
• Great quality, that washes and washes .,,,,

GAP used to be great... Just like all the other shops! I hate the way everything is packed in tight. TK Maxx actually do a better job of staying tidy!

Floisme, yes. I got some 100% GAP jeans in TK, recently. I hate stretch / skinny jeans!

Banana Republic has shut all their UK stores down, I wonder if Gap will be next?

10% cotton, that is...

They did Cream. That's why I was so pleased to see an actual branch!

100%!!!

I think I'll end up getting my sewing machine out, again. For the first time since college!

We need a thread for clothing recommendations, affordable items in natural fabrics. Specific items, with links.

Really enjoyed reading this thread, and hoping the manufacturers are listening..
Lovely to hear good reviews for Old Town - have a pair of trousers (think they're called dreadnoughts) that must be over 15 years old and still going strong. Much prefer wide leg jeans to skinnies. Recently I bought some of these www.freddiesofpinewood.co.uk/product/285-jeanies . Excellent quality again, best for hourglass figures though (I'm more of an apple).
I've also been inspired to get sewing, love the Japanese dressmaking books, and done a couple of dresses from Lotta Jansdotter's Everyday Style. Just need to get some more time at the sewing table!

Those of you who sew, do you wear what you've made?

I'm genuinely interested, I did watch the Sewing Bee but don't think I would want to wear anything they made on it, and they were supposedly the best amateurs.

I wear something I've made most days. I stick to fairly simple shapes but use lovely fabrics. The patterns I've used most come from The Makers Atelier and Merchant and Mills. I tend to make several versions of things in different fabrics/colours and adapt patterns which isn't that difficult to do once you get the hang of it. I didn't like the clothes on Sewing Bee either tbh.

I've made a couple of tunics that I've worn lots. I do have an overlocker but I've not got good enough on it to make decent sweatshirts so far - leggings are quite easy though. I like bloggers like Ivyarch for inspiration www.ivyarch.co.uk/ and like the look of these patterns www.inthefolds.com
Realise the shapes might not suit everyone but love the different colours and like learning how to adapt patterns to my measurements. Lots of trial and error though!

That sounds nice, niminy and Artura.

I suppose when you're not under pressure and can take your time fitting and finishing the results would be better than on the Bee.

Sewing is the way forward, but it is time consuming. I don't bother making things out of stretch material. It's harder to sew than woven and since I don't have time to sew everything, I save my sewing time for tailored, woven pieces.

Goldhawk Road in Shepperd's Bush London is a great place to buy fabric. I have made channel style jackets with boucle ordered from Lynton Tweeds in the North of England and you can order proper Harris Tweed from Lewis. These are both easy fabrics to sew and you get real value for your sewing time since jackets and coats are expensive.

There are plenty of patterns around. Finding the right fabric is the tricky bit. I particularly like Burda magazine patterns and Vogue patterns for dresses.

Here is an example of all the patterns you get in a single issue of Burda:
burdastyle.ru/stati/pervyy-anons-burda-5-2017-/

Loved Sali's article and loving this thread