Marks and Sparks

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I try to stay loyal to M&S, really I do, but this morning's trip made me really angry.

Things I could not buy for love nor money:
a plain cotton or cotton mix work dress with short sleeves

a cotton jacket, or mostly cotton jacket, for work, without a polybloodyester lining

a skirt for work that was in mostly natural fibres and wouldn't have looked like a rag after an hour

a t-shirt bra that wasn't padded to high heaven, had at some point been near a natural fibre and was in my size

Things that I could have bought, had I been mad enough to do so:

a brown dress that looks like something a flasher would wear in the park and would have come to my ankles here

a skirt made of tinfoil here

a strait jacket here

something that looks like a cross between Lady Macbeth, Mr Happy and Abigail's Party here

A lab coat here

My own personal circus tent here

Who the fuck designs these monstrosities? And who the fuck wears them?

I was in a bigger M&S recently looking for holiday clothes and struggled to find anything that appealed. I did find a strappy sun dress which I bought but there was hardly any choice in the swimwear. The sandals were either too "weddingy" or really frumpy. Found what I was looking for in Sketchers instead.
M&S should be a reliable go-to for me (l'm53). I do spot things from time to time and I like their night wear.

That gave me a good laugh OP, it's true though, awful, it's like someones sabotaging them to bring it down. I don't even look anymore, just go straight to food hall.

Funny post OP

It does make you wonder who M&S think their target market is. They seem to have lost sense of who they're supposed to be catering for.

I went looking for shoes for my big fat pregnant lady feet thinking they may have some accommodating, comfortable, simple sandals but no, they were all butt ugly looking like something straight out of a catalogue which also sells mobility aids.

I can't see them lasting much longer tbh.

OP, can you tweet your poetic , accurate and elegantly composed post to their head office?

I agree, it's depressing. Saw a yellow dress i liked. Got up close and it was made of Crimplene or something. I buy food, kid's clothes and that's about it there.

Great selection OP- particularly the egg yolk yellow monstrosity. Do you think you'll ever see anyone actually wearing it IRL?

Thanks for giving me the best laugh I've had all day Remus, there are some truly heinous crimes of fashion on there. The designers are either having a laugh too or are on glue...😂😜. It's really quite sad though, Marksies was always my go to store for reasonably priced basics in natural fibres and now it seems to be wall to wall synthetics in ludicrous colors and styles. My 68 year old Mum can't find anything in there anymore and was a stalwart customer (not surprising as she doesn't want fancy a custard coloured tent either). Why don't they listen?

I kinda like the personal circus tent

People's expectations for M&S are far too high though. Every couple of weeks somewhere on mumsnet there is an angry M&S thread complaining about something related to cotton/sleeves/colours/fibres etc. And this has been going on ages. I can't believe people still expect it to sell these mystical perfect clothes when clearly that ship sailed a long time ago.

Last year there was a really lovely maxi dress in Per Una, of all places - flattering sleeves, super-flattering cut, toned-down pattern for PU (ie, it had mad butterflies and a lot of pink/purple but no applique or ruffles or random sequins, so, you know, borderline minimalist). I bought two. They haven't washed brilliantly but then nothing from M&S does any more. Most things I've bought in the last five years have had the laundry basket half life of a prawn ring.

this year? nothing. Just a looooad of cold shoulders which are going to look like Last Year's Dress by September, and 'Bardot' dresses, because what everyone woman wants in hot weather is to wrestle with a strapless bra and the vague sensation that your breasts are sliding down your body.

They have done longer length swimsuits this year which I have bought but I didn't get anything else

I haven't bought from them this summer but then I think I've only bought new at H&M, Uniqlo and TK Maxx - everything else has been second hand. I don't buy many clothes (by my normal standards) in the summer because they don't suit me and besides the weather only lasts a few weeks. Despite all the threads and the odd high profile comedy cut, I can't honestly say I've found M&S any worse this year than all the other summers of the last decade. I'll judge them in the autumn.

I'm never loyal to any shop though. When they stop selling stuff I like, I just stop going there. Like woolly I don't really understand why there's so much anger directed at M&S when most of the issues, e.g. ruffle mania and poor quality, are endemic to the whole of the high street.

I bought lots of cotton tops etc this year at H&M and DP

It seems to be the only 2-shops that sell lots in cotton

I quite like the lab coat dress by the way, although it wouldn't be good for eating chocolate in.
But I'm also coveting a flasher's mac for the autumn so you probably shouldn't listen to me.

I only buy perfume,underwear and Jeans at M&S now.I did buy a couple of cotton things last year.H&M is brilliant at the moment.Though I tend to head straight for the Logg section for its natural fabrics.Also Tk Maxx for the odd gem.

I think this is what happens if you take high end fashion ideas from the catwalks of the world and think now how can we make this a bit less outre and affordable? Personally, I think this year's designs from Paris, Milan etc etc are quite tricky and added to that m&s haven't gone far enough in the right areas to make stuff work. They just seem so desperate.

Glad you enjoyed my OP, but I still haven't got any new clothes to wear to work. :( :(

Have sent them the link to this thread.

It's sad because I do think, in some ways, they think they ARE listening to customers. There's definitely a bit more cotton available, for example. And I think the lab coat is probably their attempt to go for a kind of Cos vibe. Unfortunately though, there's so little that's wearable. I was prepared to spend quite a lot of money yesterday - and I didn't spend anything at all.

Oo that yellow dress . I quite liked the lab coat in navy. But haven't seen it IRL.

Flo - I think, for me, the anger is because, as a middle aged woman who's not as skinny as I once was, and who doesn't want throwaway fashion, I don't really expect places like H&M, Topshop or Zara to produce good basics that last well, or to suit an increasingly wobbly and old person.

M&S' market, whether they like it or not, ISN'T youngsters, or people who want to be 'fashion forward' or whatever the fuck the phrase is. it's people like me, who want to maybe buy something to wear along with a bunch of tulips and a £10 meal deal.

It makes me angry that they won't accept who their most probable market are and listen to what that market wants.

I absolutely agree op, I spent 30 minutes wandering around my local store and couldn't find a single, simple shift dress in cotton or linen/linen mix. And there were a number of bilious yellow offering that quite frankly must be taking the piss the infamous pink fright /shroud was missing though!
I've returned the last few purchases and have given up with them now.

All I buy at M and S these days are the £15 jeggings, sports bras ( surprisingly good ) and a pair of ankle boots each winter. Even the autograph range is utter crap these days.

Did anyone see last weeks Woman's weekly magazine? There was a picture of some wonderful items of clothing they have in store for us next Autumn.In particular a silky looking brown dress with ruffles.
Please excuse the phrase, but I wouldn't put my dead granny in it.
They have well and truly lost the plot.

I bought a few bits in M&S a couple of weeks ago. I make most of my clothes, but I've been really liking M&S recently, even per una.

I don't get the ire M&S receive on here,there isn't a single shop I can go into and like everything or buy everything I need.

See I'm not sure I agree they're only trying to market to us or ever have done ('us' being middle aged women). I think they've always tried to be something for everyone, from cradle to grave if you like. In that respect, they've never really satisfied anyone. I can remember my mum and my aunts talking about how they weren't what they used to be and this was back in the 60s.

One of the things I do like about M&S is that you can go in and see most generations in there. That's unusual these days - even department stores are becoming more segregated - and I guess it's one reason why I do still have a soft spot for them. It may be an impossible dream in the 21st century to try and have something for everyone and it might be the death of them in the end but I like it that they still try.