White Stuff- is there any hope?

[QueenoftheNights]

About 10 years ago I loved WS. Not the droopy skirts, but they did do some nice tops, cardis and jumpers.

Now, I rarely buy anything because it's all overpriced and usually full of garish prints in weird colours. My local store is inhabited by women aged 70+ who browse the racks with their bored husbands looking on!

Last week I spotted a nice sleeveless cotton top for this hot weather- a cotton jersey vest- £30! Every cardi is at least £45 but the quality isn't there - they bobble or go out of shape and develop holes on the seams. Anyone else share my disappointment?

Try Mistral

I've bought a couple of nice things from Seasalt, again, they do natural fibres. I do wish these places would do more plain tops though. Patterns on everything!

Nomads too

Urgh yes. Terrible drop in quality - very few natural fibres now, everything is viscose or modal or poly. Awful cuts and prints and muddy colours.

Try cos or sea salt or uniqlo.

That would fit, ellapaella. I bought my favourite summer dress ever in WS three years ago, and don’t even bother going in there now. It was the perfect cotton jersey dress with a waist and pockets. I really dislike their shapeless gaudy offerings now.

Fat Face used to be more surfy and outdoorsy, I used to love loads of their stuff. Now it's just more expensive versions of stuff you'd see anywhere.

And Nomads - uses to get some great hippy bits there, now again it's all very frumpy/mumsy but very expensive.

It's all the same stuff now, no brand individuality any more.

Somebody recommended Brakeburn on a similar thread recently and I got some great stuff online. 50% sale and a further 20% off for signing up to their newsletter. Good quality and true to size.

Ah, you can still
Find gems in WS and FF. I also go there for the pure cotton. I got a lovely thick cotton navy skirt from WS this summer. But I tend to avoid the prints

I used to love FF hoodies but they don't do many now and the ones they do are so drab. I always try to get replacements of old favourites on eBay. When I've looked in WS I've loved the cardigans but so expensive. I like the jewel colours and both brands used to do lots in them but now no so.

White stuff seems to be oversized on its tops, or they have a fascination with pale draining colours, and Mr Frumble styles patterns. It's very 'art teacher with a hangover'.

Fat face keeps going for the ditsy girl in the fields look with a city wallet.

Both appear to work well for the bustier lady. Sea salt just screams "mum" to me.

Hope they don't go down the Marks' route of frump central needing help from Mary Portas and the likes.

Yes I used to love their stuff but lately the quality isn't there.

Seasalt is awful IMO. It looks so old and I say that as a 50+.
I look at the dresses and imagine them on 80 year olds- in fact my mum who's 90 liked some of them.

Maybe their clothes work for rural Cornwall but anywhere else they look so frumpish.

They had one dress I liked this summer and it sold out quickly.

I am pleased to see that Boden have some muted colours this season and less garish prints.

It’s shocking. All of it. And the quality...!

This season's Boden looks very dated and frumpy. I used to buy a lot from there.

It’s not ageism in the OP - it’s reality. The brand has an image issue.

Sea salt used to be better, that’s gone downhill style wise. No idea about the recent quality as I wouldn’t buy anything. Oh that’s a lie actually, I had a swimsuit come today from them which is nice! But the actual clothes aren’t grabbing me recently.

Uniqlo are brilliant, as is Cos - if you want natural fibres. Seconded.

Maybe the midi length fashion and shapeless boxes don't help

OMG I buy WS, Seasalt and Fatface but only in the sale or from Next Clearance. I am tall though and I suit long tops better and I am 60 and semi retired, so fairly old, at least it’s not beige, I’m trying to justify myself here

My OP was hardly ageist which is a bit rich considering I'm ancient myself! I've simply noticed that over 10 years the demography has changed in my store at lest. before it would be anyone from 20 upwards to maybe 50 ish now it's really older women I see in there who may have previously bought Per Una. For me, the cut is unflattering; I'm a petite 8-10 and almost without exception the dresses are A line or wide with no waist. Or if they are fitted the patterns are ghastly- huge prints. .

I wish that they'd read some bloody forums and react. I'm sorry to sound sexist, but I bet that the top management are all blokes thinking about what they like to see or what 'mums' used to wear when they were growing up. That was the main lifelong problem with BHS and Marks and Sparks. They need more effing diversity on the top boards and in the design rooms, more women, more women with non English heritage (*) ffs, enjoy some colours but stop with the clashing and polka effing dots, I ain't 5.

(*) I write this because the colours that my friends with Indian or Caribbean /African heritage wear are warm colours, lively and healthy, trendy yet stylish. And the high street seems to think that only pale sludge greens are attractive or black.

OP definitely wasn't ageist just really stating a fact, I shop there as I am tall, fairly broad shouldered, oldish and suit wearing straight, long patterned tunics with not much shape, the more fitted ones don't suit me. I wear them with jeans or trousers, never leggings and at least if not many people like them there are plenty left in the sale for me, likewise Seasalt.

There must have been a change of designers?

They’ve got a new CEO- a woman- who’s taken over from the original founder of the brand. I think the idea is to get back to their ‘core/heritage’ collection after a bumpy year trying out new things that didn’t always work (not helped by the new buying director).

You're right about boxy tops being unflattering. Some of the colours, too. Not many people suit mustard yellow, especially combined with that khaki brown.