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 ...'

Um, no
www.finerylondon.com/uk/products/purbrook-wide-leg-jumpsuit-in-poppy-flyers-print?taxon_id=14#details

Even a rather sweet looking dress is 97% polyester.

Finery, tits and hips are a terrible combination.

Wow, this is so on the 💲💲 (and if you think it's bad in the U.K., try here 😭).

I'm tall and slim, if not skinny, but Cos is out for me. I look terrible in drapey, non-structured clothes. I envy people who can carry that look off.

Anyway, there's no Cos here. There's next to nothing here. It's all either cheap crap, or eye-wateringly expensive (and even then, the choice is so limited). There is so little middle ground.

I can't be bothered to go into town any more.

Me neither.

Dowager I don't know where you are in the US (is it the US?) but I remember being really shocked the first time I ever went to New York. I'd been expecting a shopping spree but it was exactly as you say for clothes - designer or supermarket (think B&M, not Sainsbury's) and nothing in between, apart from 2nd hand shops which admittedly, were fantastic. At least we do have a high street here.

I like what she says but find it disingenuous since she tells us she's a size 8!!

I like what she says but find it disingenuous since she tells us she's a size 8!!

Why? Are slim people not allowed to dislike shapeless, cheap-material, badly designed clothes?

Re the grey COS dress I posted. So shapeless. Exactly what all the hops are full of.

I like the grey Cos dress too.

I like some Finery, but not for casual wear.

It used to better because people expected clothes to last longer. Now it's all cheap and disposable and it seems everybody accepts they will replace their wardrobe every season.

I must be in the minority then because I think it's vile.

Though it does fit Sali's criterium of having "enough fabric around the middle to invisibly accommodate a case of red still in the bottles bottle of red and more than 19 calories."

Every top I pick up is 3 inches too short- to flatter anyone

Yes! I'm taller than average but not super tall by any stretch and I'm so sick of tops that don't come down low enough, I don't want bits of back exposed to the cold! Nor do I want my stomach on display if I lift my arms!

I also spent this week getting annoyed at maternity jeans without belt loops, how can I wear jeans without a belt?!

On the plus side for shoes I love Seabago and they last so well, Ted and Muffy (formerly Duo) are great for boots.

I find the odd good top in Joules or Gap but my collection needs updating, at the moment I get round the too short top problem by living in a schoffel gilet, one of my best investments!

I don't think there is s cotton crisis anymore. The harvest failed about 7 years ago, but has recovered l believe.

Polyester is just used all the time. Ow as it's so cheap.

Clothes did last longer - it's absolutely true and the decline in quality began when retailers moved their manufacturing overseas. However they were also far more expensive then, in real terms. And we all know why they're so much cheaper now.

Finery is mostly polyester though.

And I still mourn the times where you knew you could rely on GAP for something well made and wearable.

The tat they had this spring was scary.

Those Cos dresses look unwearable to me.

I want a dress with (short) sleeves, made out of natural fibres (cotton, silk, linen, even accept viscose/rayon) with boob darts, goes in at waist and out at hips, and around knee length (not fussy, can be a few inches above or under) , machine washable!

I have been moaning about this loads! I'm in my early 30s,hourglass/pear shaped and a SAHM. I'm not bothered about following fashion and I'm mostly at home, play group, parks etc so I need casual clothes but I still want to look stylish.

My wish list:

1. non-skinny jeans with no rips, random pointless zips etc, that won't give me a builder's bum.

2. casual trousers that are flattering on bigger thighs and bums. I have thighs, an arse and cankles- surely there are some kind of comfortable wide-legged trousers that could still look chic? No dropped crotches and weird draping, but also no pyjama style fabrics.

3. casual everyday dresses that go in at the waist, are just over the knee, don't fly up and show your knickers at the merest hint of breezy weather and aren't covered in cats, birds, butterflies, or random 'retro' stuff like martini glasses and vinyl records. I don't want to look like a toddler, but I also want to look like a (much chunkier) Audrey Hepburn rather than a vintage pastiche or a rockabilly.

4. cotton tops that are well-made and not faddy.

I don't have loads of money, but I would like to be able to go to the high street and pick up some relatively elegant casual clothes that aren't going to date much so that I can build up a capsule wardrobe. Is that too big an ask?

Agree 100%! I'm living in the £15 m and s jetting she, , either whistles suede stilettos or superga pumps, a basic top and my trusty Baukjen leather jackets at the moment.

There's literally nothing in the shops I would waste my money on, and I absolutely loathe those cold shoulder tops ( and I've got good arms amid shoulders ).

Any ideas on where to buy fitted jersey or silk tops or thin t shirts to tuck into my leather skirt as well?

JL seems to do one dress a year like ^. I bought a white linen one 2 years ago and a blue on last year

I will happily pay a years clothes budget for a dozen well made, stylish garments. I don't want a wardrobe stuffed with crap.
So they would get the same amount of money from me.
At the moment my money is staying in my bank account.

I wanted some new bits for the better weather, but like others come back from recent shopping trips with practically nothing.

Jeggings I meant !

I agree with nearly everything Sali says, but I disagree that it's only women over 35 who want this stuff!
Women under 35 might also have jobs, or good taste, or want to only have cutouts in their clothes some of the time.

The Cos dresses look hideous to me.

I was shocked to be in Cos the other day, found nothing.

Then saw an orange sort of polo top and a black grey tie top next to it. Tried on both was going to get the black grey top but found it was double the price of the orange one. So didn't buy as the top wasn't worth almost £70!

Meanwhile in Jigsaw....

Even the model looks

Cos doesn't work for me, it does work for my taller and slimmer female relatives.

I did like &other stories and have a couple of nice, flattering dresses from there but this season their stuff is dire. Pity really as their new store near me on Long Acre is due to open soon.