Who's the 'mint velvet' woman?

[imlovingangelsinstead]

How would you describe a mint velvet customer?

I wear MV, my Mum wears MV and my Granny wears MV. I suppose therefore, we are all ‘mint velvet women’
We are early twenties, late forties and late sixties
I’m an outdoorsy type, size 10 and short and I work with children, drive a sensible car, and am considered fairly sensible —boring—
My mum is a high flying career woman who is tall and slim (I’d guess an 8, as she lent me some jeans last week but my fat bum was too big!) who is utterly fantastic, has a sharp as hell haircut, wears super cool cat eye glasses and drives a retro convertible.
And my granny is retired and worked for a fashion company, she likes to potter around and go food shopping in M&S

I don’t think their is a MV woman.
I don’t think it matters.
I do think this is a bizarre thread.

Some of the outrage makes me laugh. The question is who is the MV woman? So you're going to get some negative as well as positive responses. The Mint Velvet Woman is not going to be for everyone.

It's too frumpy and mumsy for me but I wouldn't say it was quite the same market as Hush or Boden.

Sorry wrong there. Must be past my bedtime 😴

i agree flipflopflap, I don't understand this thread either. Does OP work for them, or a competitor, ie, Is this product placement/endorsement.

Hush is just very expensive casual clothes. There's no 'look' at all that I can see. Scruffy? Boden like children's clothes.

Whose question is ''who is MV woman?''. Why is this being discussed?
I'd say most people between the ages of 14 and 80 could pick something out if it were offered to them.

So sick of ''mumsy'' being used interchangeably with frumpy.
I dress so much better than the much younger childfree women in my office.

Hush is a rip off. Over £100 for a viscose jumper. Agree. New Boden

I would be interested to know where the posters on this thread shop and how they describe their style.

This!

I like them and am pretty much a carbon copy of creaturefeatures so we must have nailed it.

Derailing slightly but is MV a real shop or a virtual retailer? I don't live in the UK and I have only ever seen them online - they look scarily expensive and I am not sure where I would wear the clothes. Seem to be for someone with a very different lifestyle to mine.

I love the look on models, but I look ridiculous- all so grey and drapey that it makes me look like a ghost of a Victorian consumption victim.

Zara. Gap for trousers jeans and Lbd.

Some of it I like, some is a bit old for me yet. I have five pairs of the capris - four patterned and one plain. Perfect for summer. I've just bought a pair of the biker skinnies as they are really flattering. And I have a black/navy sheer shirt that is lovely. I'm not keen on the drapey tops as they do nothing for me.

I've never bought anything from there as it's not on my radar. Interesting comments on the thread though. When does someone stop being a pretend rock chick and become a real one? Equally, surely a biker jacket is just biker-style unless it's worn by a biker?

I would describe anyone who buys exclusively from one shop as a brand victim.

I'd really urge people to buy clothes they like, not because they have a stereotype about who 'should' or 'would' wear something.

(That's something I usually post on those depressing threads about 'can I wear that age XYZ?' but it seems thinking in stereotypes rather than looking at the individual garments isn't necessarily solely ageist)

I don't think we are criticising the shopper by saying the clothes are boring to us. We all dress differently. I don't find it inspiring.

I shop at &Other Stories (lots on here hate), Zara, some independents who stock Scandinavian brands (maison scotch etc).

Some post are most definitely about the shopper, not the clothes. Big difference.

Some post are most definitely about the shopper, not the clothes. Big difference.

Agree. Of course they are, it's disingenuous to suggest otherwise. I'm not particularly a MV fan myself but I hate the sneery comments on here, like some posters think they're super cool because they shop at Zara. It's Zara ffs, not Chanel.

I personally hate man made fibres, so will wear any brand within reason/price if it is made with cotton, linen, wool even if it is not 'trendy' and yes that includes sea salt/ fat face The White Company and boden

Tbf I think it was the question about 'the woman' that meant people described the woman, not the clothes.

Some of it's too sneery and judgey for me, but goodness knows there's a lot of snobbish sneering on mumsnet (Greggs, fruitshoots, baby names, sneering at 'chav' brands etc). But seems anyone judging an expensive clothing brand is regarded as jealous and being personal.

Wear what you like but if you ask for a summary of the woman the brand is aimed at then you'll get that, uncomfortable as it might be for people who wear it.

Threads like this make me wonder if it's time to give up on S&B. You don't need to hang out here for long to realise how many posters have lost their confidence. Pregnancy, child-rearing, weight gain, menopause, ill health...they all change how you look and make you doubt your style. The very last thing you need is a load of naysayers practising their one-liners.

If you want something to sneer at, let me tell you what got me back into clothes ..... the Boden catalogue. Because it was colourful, didn't take itself too seriously and because I could look at it in the bath. I don't buy it any more but I'll always be grateful to them.

And please spare me the, 'we're only having a laugh/ just talking about the clothes.' Most of fashion is silly and it's perfectly possible to laugh at it or say you don't like something without talking down to people who do like it.

Apologies if my post is one of the ones that offended. Didn't mean to believe it or not. I don't really care where my clothes are from. I usually have something in mind that I want. For example, I wanted a pair of black, biker pants. I went in MV and saw a few pairs and tried them on and thought the material was awful. I then went into GAP, found a pair that were fab and 1/2 the price. That's why I don't like MV. The materials they use are awful. I also think their merchandising and product layout makes the clothes look loads better than they are.

I've only got two pairs of MV jeans and the material is lovely.

I agree with you Floisme

So easy to type something snarky and we can't see what the typist looks like herself

Any label or brand can get a pasting.

Well said Floisme

I have a couple of gorgeous sweaters from MV, one a kind of wool cable knit biker jacket style (much nicer than it a, promise), one in cotton. They were gifts - I think MV is a bit overpriced to buy it for myself, tbh.

I'm 35, veer between strong colours and neutrals, abhor patterns, care alot about fabric and fit but not a lot about trends. Usually pretty androgynous - love a tailored jacket and flat shoes. I'm quite sure that most onlookers would struggle to find my 'look' interesting, but I pay more attention to details than they would think, and I love it when my clothes etc feel right.

I completely agree with floisme. The amount of ageism in this forum is surprising. A good portion of the threads are about random articles of clothing being frumpy and mumsy, or the opposite, mutton (can you get more misogynistic than that)? It's as if there is a a sweet spot between 27-31 and size 8 that you can wear everything, and if you fall outside this you are a lost cause. And then blanket judgements about a brand, from louis vuitton to boden.

I hope I don't sound harsh, I do understand people want to express themselves freely and they probably have all these doubts in their heads and look for reassurance, but the way these threads go instead of reassuring the poster, people contribute to this self doubt becoming more ingrained not just in the poster, but all the other readers. Those that sneer and judge, I am curious, do they do so in real life too?

I think a lot of women who have lost their way for various reasons shop there, and also Hush. I think it's seen as an easy go to when people are caught in different life stages, or are trying to lose weight. Which is why I said it's for women trying to find their mojo.
Personally I find their clothes overpriced, ill fitting and always look a bit wrong. It's just missing something for me. I find Hush the same. I think the brand in general needs to decide what place it has in the market.