Too old for usual clothes shops?

[Wineinbathtub]

I used to shop for clothes in Next, Primark and...well mostly Next. Now I am older (nearly 40) and not as slim (size 14/16) I don't find as much I like in those shops. Where else should I try? Any other useful tips to help me refund my style?

I’m 54. I buy my clothes from: Cos, Uniqlo, Other Stories, Zara and H and M.

I don’t think I’m too old for any of these. I buy what I like! I tend to avoid the Seasalt/ Whitestuff look, but have recently fallen in love with Arket.

Next is ok for trousers and jeans, and l line Sainsbury for some stuff. You’re never too old. It’s how you wear it that counts.

We have no independent clothes stores anywhere near us. None.

Wine you're in your late 30's. YOU ARE NOT OLD! Sorry but there's loads of too old threads lately and they're making me despair a bit.

You're not too old for next, you just don't like it anymore. It has gone down hill imo. Nothing to do with age. (I'd say their target customer was aged 35 to 50 anyway.)

Agree Mango sizing is daft.

Warehouse, French connection, Zara, Hush, & Other Stories, Oasis, Whistles, Karen Millen, Uniqlo are all good.

Top shop and ASOS tend to be very of the moment fashion but if you're wanting to put together a wardrobe (sounds fancy ) you can still find some things that will last and are classic.

You could try starting a pin board (on Pinterest) of some looks that you like and also have one board where you pin clothes you've seen online. After a while you'll be able to see a style forming and which bits don't fit in with your look. Easier to see which things go with what too. Perfect time as all the new season Autumn/Winter stock is coming in.

And you're not too old.

I’m 45 and shop mainly in Topshop, Whistles, and Warehouse. I like Cos for basic things like t-shirts and Breton tops, buy occasionally from Zara and H&M - although sizing is mental - often from Other Stories online - although returns are a huge pain - and ASOS. Funnily enough, I thought Next’s target market was actually older and never set foot in there. The Seasalt/Whitestuff thing is not my bag, but one of my friends really likes that look and it suits her very well.

😀 Thanks Enid

Nothing independent in my town, but could look a bit further afield.

I have got a few things in M n S before just find it is such a mixed bag of different ranges it's hard to find what I want ( and I think I fear becoming my mum who loves Per Una).

Got loads of ideas to look into now though which is what I was after 😀

Subscribe to Try Tuesday to get an edited version of M&S to avoid the over detailed per una look.

I'm 47 and buy very little in Next, I think it's quite cut for an apple shape and can be frumpy if you're not careful. OK for jeans if you're the right shape though (I'm not and managed to find shorts that were several inches too big on the waist but tight on the thighs).

I love COS for work, buy basics in M&S and Boden (Boden also fab for shoes, bags and belts), like UNIQLO, Gap for their ankle skimmers, Hush, Jigsaw, Rogue Matilda and Dune for flats, Zara and Mango have been good for summer dresses. Like the look of MeandEm and Finery but not so keen on the prices.

I think at 39 you can wear anything from anywhere as long as it suits you. Good grief- 39 is young!
I'm early 60s. I am told I look late 40s. :) I buy bits from all over but my one insistence is natural fabrics. I buy Boden, Mint Velvet, The White Company, Jigsaw (in sales) Oasis, VERY occasionally a T shirt from White Stuff, Hush, .....

I hate Next as it's wall to wall polyester. Won't be seen dead in M&S. Think Zara is cheap tat....but each to their own.

Oh and Whistles- lovely dress there last year.

I'm 38 size 16 currently and honestly I feel Next's stuff lately is too old fashioned. I tend to get jeans and trousers from there cos of the petite length. But everything else feels like it's trying a bit too hard.

I detest primark. Won't go in the place.

I like H&M. Online is better for the bigger sizes. I also like things from Oasis and New Look. Shopping online is definitely much better than the shops.

Wineinbathtub

I don't think you are too old to shop in any clothes shop. I am a couple of years younger then you and no shop is off the list for me. Even shops targeted for a younger market have pieces that most can wear. I have had a change in my taste though - I like to find stuff that I will want to wear a couple of years down the line rather then really trendy pieces. Not that I was ever trendy in the first place.

What is it that you don't like about the clothes you've seen?

I’m 53 and the only thing in years I’ve bought from Next is boyfriend shorts. My 29 year old Dd bought a trouser suit for university interviews this year that looked really good. Other than that I find it overwhelmingly synthetic and poor quality. I actually prefer H&M for the natural fabrics. I remember when Next launched.The quality was brilliant and it was unique at the time.

Massimo Dutti is the grown up version of Zara. I particularly like them in the Autumn and will be having a look in there soon. Zara has gone loopy. Everything is embellished to the max with rubbish materials. A shame, I used to love a trip to a big branch and used to buy lots of bits and bobs. Can’t remember the last time I actually bought something from there.

Next seems to be doing tops designed for those with no waist, very boxy on me. The accessories are all a bit cheap too.

Wallis sells the same clothes as it did 5 to 10 years ago. Lots of polyester and no imagination. They are really missing a trick. A huge market to be tapped. I miss Principles. The real one, not the brand that relaunched as Principles in Debenhams which is a boring and not particularly well made.

I now buy less. I have been steadily losing weight in the last few years and I am now 12 pounds away from my “forever” weight. I lost it just by cutting down and walking 4 miles a day, so no diet to stop so I am confident my weight will not increase. When I get there I plan to drastically get rid of a lot of clothes and replace them with fewer, targeted, more expensive clothes. Planned purchases rather than mood lifters or “that will do” clothes. I like a branch of House of Fraser (Guildford), they do some great brands. But just as I am ready to splurge they are going downhill. I am not sure the Sports Direct saviour will keep them the same despite the intentions, it will be like a Debenhams which is a mess.

Forgot to mention. I have had a few nice bits from Espirit later.

I don't really like Next at all. I'm 42, size 14 and shop in Zara, H&M, Hobbs, Laura Ashley, M&S and Oliver Bonas.

L or 14 fits me generously in Zara, am always a 14 in the other shops but sometimes have to get 12s in tops in M&S.

Cantthinkofnameargh don't know how to tag sorry. I find the jeans from Next lose shape very quickly. Some tops have fallen apart very quickly too. I don't think the tops look as good as they used to on me. Think the thinner material just doesn't work for me anymore? I think I want stuff that looks a bit better quality.

I bought a lovely quality pair of work trousers the other day in Laura Ashley, they had 20% off everything that day which meant they were much more affordable.

Wineinbathtub

Right I see- I had this problem with next jeans even 10 years ago so I stopped buying them- always had gapping at back and baggy at knees .My size has gone up and down over the years and I constantly stay with jeggings - I like Dorothy Perkins petite (cos I'm short) jeggings whether I am a size 14 or 12 or 10. In the last few months I have wanted things of better quality. I like sale shopping so I can look at Cos, French connection, Oasis, Whistles, Jigsaw Zara and department stores (where I can get different brands in one shop) and get at a better price is 70% off . You need to go try things as depending on the shop I am in I size up or down. I don't worry about the size on the label I see how it fits me. I don't like to buy full price from the above shops as I don't think higher price means better quality finding it a hit and miss these days. I hope this is helpful

I'm mid fifties and have recently started shopping Whistles, Mint Velvet, LK Bennett etc. Although I'm somewhat short for their clothes they do seem better made and 'on trend' rather than full on fashion statement. Not the cheapest, but hopefully I will enjoy wearing them. I too buy my trousers /jeggings from DP's petite range, but little else.

White Stuff was my go to if I was feeling flush a few years ago, but now nothing in there appeals. I must be missing something with Laura Ashley - I find it totally frumpy. (Maybe it depends on where the store is and their perceived target market). And I find Next truly awful at the moment.

I find Next frumpy. It's terrible quality and compared to how it was in the 1980s it's rubbish.

I think it's on a par with the worst of M&S to be honest.

OP I think you need to find your style then find the stores not the other way round.

I spend a lot of time in smart casual trousers, so I invest in those and good knitwear - cashmere and wool- with a fashionable twist- The White Company (sales), Jigsaw, Boden, Whistles.

I'm prepared to pay as I know I'll get years out of it.

My other winter staple is knitted dresses with boots and cardis- as above.

Then I add jewellery, scarves, hats, boots etc.

I like a minimalist look in neutral shades- black, grey, camel, navy, blues and some pinks.

I think once you know what suits you, you will find it in the shops. Stop thinking you have to 'go to a shop' but look at everything on the high st and online.

Oh I like Boden! Never looked at it before and only heard of it on Mumsnet used to have a dig at other mums! So who knows what it means but I like it 😀

QueenoftheNights I like the knitted dress with boots idea

I'm a bit at the notion that Next is for young people but I do understand the feeling that you're 'done' with a shop and want to move on. There are lots of good suggestions but I think it would help if you could be more specific about why you're dissatisfied because being nearly 40 is an age, not a look or a style.

Is it just the quality at Next (because quality has tanked pretty much everywhere)? Or is it also because it no longer works for your shape? Or for your lifestyle? Are you looking for something smarter? more casual? more fashiony? more classic? edgier? At the same budget or higher / lower?

Different solutions, depending on the answers.

I just popped into my local M & S for food but decided to see what clothes were in. Fairly big branch. There was nothing in there that I wanted to buy. Not one thing. I feel very sad about the decline of M & S.

TK Maxx is another shop that has gone downhill. The branches I go to rarely have genuine branded reductions now. You used to have lots of leather bags, now they are all plastic. I heard that they are now manufacturing cheap stuff themselves to put in their stores. And some big brands are making goods for them to sell on the cheap.

The High Street is depressing now.

Ok, I will try to give more detail. 'm prepared to spend more money if it lasts longer and looks better. I don't want latest fashions/cutting edge (I don't think) but don't want completely boring . I want mostly casual. I want some colour not just black/brown. I want mostly easy to wear ie not high heels, fiddly tights. I will wear a wide leg trouser or skinny jeans (with a longer top) but have never worn cropped trousers. I am usually size 14 on top and 14/16 in trousers. I don't really like frilly flouncy things. I am about 5'7 with broad shoulders.

I'm 48 and am finding everywhere pretty awful recently, to be honest.

I get my jeans mostly from M&S Autograph and from John Lewis sales (recently got some Levis and 7 For All Mankind substantially reduced).

I like the jersey skirts from Hush and the occasional jersey dress from Boden (plain ones only).

I used to quite like M&S but it's mostly dreadful now.

Plain t-shirts I generally get in John Lewis, but find their cotton too thick a lot of the time, so no good for warmer days.

I also look in charity shops for cotton stuff, as the shops have so little now.