I don't know where I should be shopping for clothes...

[moleymoley]

I basically always end up getting stuff from Next, and I feel it's not quite 'me' anymore...

I turn 40 in a few months - where should I be getting my clothes from...??

I agree about Next....when i was a teenager in the 80's it was the place to shop...It wasnt till i was working that i could afford to shop there....however despite going in every time im on the high street i see nothing i like and havent done for years....also agree on those stupid cold shoulder tops...i bloody hate them!!!!

I don't like them either but I think 50 year-olds are as entitled to wear things I dislike as anyone else.

Those Fat Face tops are pretty. I don't rule out any shops - nowhere is consistently good or stays good for ever and I've seen nice things in the most unlikely places so I find it best to keep moving.

Begging everyone's pardon. The reference to 50 year olds in cutouts was on another thread.

I will take my blunderbuss elsewhere.

I think its worth looking at a few of the smaller brands - quality over quantity sort of thing.
Personal faves are Eileen Fisher, Gather&See, Plumo x

I'm 45 and a size 14/16 and 5ft 4 with a small waist and big boobs and thighs.
I don't buy very cheap clothes really, I find I wear them once and then don't bother again but I do quite like Sainsbury's jeans and got a nice shirt from there the other day
My favourite shops are Gap, mint velvet, Ted Baker and online from Boden, sosander or Finery.

Namechange678 we could share a wardrobe! I love the same shops and when a friend told me she was wearing a nice fat face top on a date I nearly despaired! She is with the man now though

All of these shops listed, like mint velvet, phase-eight, ted baker, jigsaw, hobbs, i might still look on line and not see anything I like. It's all hit and miss. I find Oasis very polyester. It's the fabrics that are horrible. Nice designs but then you touch the item and get a shock.

It's all hit and miss. The high street is just one massive jumble sale at the moment and I think the only way to find stuff is to forget any assumptions you had about brands and look everywhere and anywhere.

Or alternatively sit it out a few more weeks and save money for the autumn when - or so I have read - tailoring may be about to make a comeback

Mind you, I gather the other big autumn theme is space age. I wonder which one the buyers will pick....

Thanks Flois, I was beginning to think they were terrible but nobody wanted to tell me! I buy mainly in Cos but also like 'prettier' tops which Cos don't really do. I was really surprised by the quality of FF. I recently returned a few Biden ones as they were ill fitting and very overpriced. I returned some TopShop ones as they were wayyy overpriced too and nothing special.

I think you have to wade through a lot of that washed out fabric in FF though. Mataray in Debenhams and Next and the White Company favour that washed look too.

I particularly like the white one - if only I still had the arms!

The Toast sale is on for anyone who's interested. It's not all bizarre and their cotton Ts are the best quality I've ever had. I can't decide whether to buy now or hold my nerve for the archive sale or even follow my own advice and save my money for autumn.