What the hell is going on at Mint Velvet?

[WilburIsSomePig]

I'm not a huge fan of their clothes, but I do like their shoes and accessories. However I was browsing their website and they seem to have some truly awful tops.

My friend has an almost identical top to this one from Matalan for about £12.

www.mintvelvet.co.uk/product/cerise-star-foil-printed-tee/16682

£40 for this? Really? What are they up to?

Hush truly is over priced mummy shite

I'm so pissed off with trawling the websites with my £££ and finding nothing worth buying. Where ARE the good clothes?!

Zara

Interesting to read people’s thoughts on Hush. I see it being raved about on here so I went to a John Lewis concession to have a look. So disappointing. Really boring and ordinary.

There’s a couple of things in Mint Velvet I like. I love the dress someone mentioned that costs £129 but that seems like a ridiculous amount of money.

Zara is another shop where everybody else manages to find lovely things but whenever I go in, it just seems like a more expensive H&M!

Looks exactly like the Hush stuff to me right down to the same lightning bolt and star graphics. I don't understand the other threads raving about Hush doesn't even look good on the models.

Plus it's really recognisable at a hundred paces which I prefer to avoid.

I hate Hush. Really hate them. Very overhyped.

I dislike mint velvet but not to the level of Hush perhaps because marketing is more subtle. .

I hate Hush. Really hate them. Very overhyped.
Really? I rarely waste that much energy on clothes companies.

Like everything else, you need to pick and choose. Sometimes its not about the planeness of a garment but how it is cut. My maturing body has an awkward shape and a lot of hush garments suit me. Yes, the tees are overpriced and very see through so simply don't buy them, yes some of their knitwear is poor and on the Hush thread amongst the things that are crap, like every company there are little gems that are beautifully made and cut. I have their cashmere and it is beautiful. Their boots are made of beautiful leather.

I don't buy from mint velvet. I agree though they are overpriced too and I am also a bit tired of paying a premium for polyester but its not just hush that does this. Lots of shops are.

It’s like everything you have to pick and choose. I have some really nice knitwear from Mint Velvet and a fabulous evening top which although I thought expensive when I bought it 3 years ago I have worn and worn.
Zara - Dd has a few bits but I’ve yet to find a single thing despite everyone else raving about it, all synthetic fabrics and tbh to me is like an overpriced Primark but other people I know find lots that suits them.
Hush - (who everyone seems to love bashing on here) again you need to be choosy. I have long sleeved vest tops and star jumpers which have been worn and washed loads and still very good, also jersey dresses and tops. I also have t shirts which have not worn particularly well and yes are expensive, so now tend to avoid those. I can’t see it any different to any other retailer.

Unfortunately we’re in the era of fast fashion, everything cheaply made and not lasting so that people head out to the shops and replace things all the time. Big industry needs lots of shoppers and by creating fast fashion they’ve really done a number on society.

There are some fascinating documentaries about this and the amount of clothing that litters the world.

Have a look at some of the more eco friendly brands.

I don't hate Hush. I genuinely don't understand why people use it as a comparison of greatness when it just seems to be your average slightly higher priced fashion brand - no more special than MV or anything else like that.

I find MV very overpriced and mostly poor quality. My leather biker jacket from there hasn't worn nearly as well as a much cheaper one from Oasis.

Hush has some great things (camo jacket, jersey skirts) and some rubbish. I do think a lot of it is very overpriced, just like MV.

Neither place's quality justifies the cost overall, I'd say.

I was in Zara at the weekend and they had a range of 100% cotton three-quarter-length sleeved Breton tops for a tenner. Their coats are always lovely too. But I agree that they sometimes have some very odd-looking skirts and dresses with random tassles and zips, and weird Eurotrashy patterns.

Mint Velvet has always been out of my price range but even when I've occasionally come across some of their stuff in charity shops I've disliked the general aesthetic and the cheap-feeling fabrics. Can't get my head around how they justify those prices for the new stuff.

I can think of very few high street brands at the moment that combine good quality and styles that suit me and I like. Maybe if I spent twice what I’m willing to then I could get all of those things but more often than not I just choose the fit and style, if the quality isn’t great then I’ve started to accept that because buying stuff that’s high quality but doesn’t fit well or suit me isn’t better value because I don’t wear it.

Gosh! I love the new MV stuff! I went in and came out having accidentally spent a fortune... but I love all the bits I got and have had lots of compliments. This is a particular favourite:

www.mintvelvet.co.uk/product/ivory-cold-shoulder-top/16565

I really like MV knitwear - I have jumpers from 2&3 years ago that have lasted really well - my Hush ones were more expensive and are only good for slobbing in the house after a couple of washes. MV skinny jeans are lovely and wash well.

I like the way Zara pushes me a bit. Unusual styling. Not safe

“Instant aging properties”

Mint Velvet seem to have lost their identity recently. It used to be all about soft colours and shapes and different textured fabrics in neutral colours. Now they seem to be branching out into lots of colours and just a copycat of Hush (which is all about badly fitting clothes made of cheap fabrics and metallic prints)

I do love this outfit though
www.mintvelvet.co.uk/product/scarlet-boyfriend-cardi/16520

I bought a camouflage shirt/jacket in their sale and I love it. It cost £39 but was £120 at full price! Unbelievable.

I have three or four really great bits from MV over the years (a boxy heavy 3/4 sleeve cotton knit, a silk dress and a bag) and so I will keep coming back to it to see if anything grabs me in the sales. Everything Ive bought from hush has gone back apart from a tshirt which was the best tshirt shapewise Ive ever had but lasted 3 washes (and now theyve shortened the length by an inch and shortened the cap sleeves so they no longer suit me anyway so I cant be sucked into getting another!!). I dont mind the styles of hush though, its just you can find similar cheaper in many cases. And the dresses never suit me.

Out of desperation I bought a MV t-shirt for £39. The first time I washed it following the label instructions by the letter it shrank. It's unwearable now.

MV's quality is pants.

Hush is very much emperor's clothes (and I do buy some of their stuff).

Whistles and Jigsaw's prices are just ridiculous; in the past you could trust them to at least offer decent fabrics but Whistles is all polyester these days.

Phase Eight is ridiculously mother of the bride territory; there are some decent offerings on their website (plain stuff) but the shops are all flowers and floaty crap.

Where does one shop nowadays I simply don't know.

Oh yeah whistles is crazy! I love their stuff but even in the sale, it is overpriced and much of it polyester (albeit with good cuts and prints!).

MV doing colours is definitely weird! Not that I mind colours, but I thought the whole point of them was very soft neutrals.

I've had some nice bits from Laura Ashley actually, but I'm giving up on their woollens — I wash them exactly the same every time (carefully!), they'll be fine for the first few, then shrink.

Ah yes, Phase Eight. It used be good. I got a great pair of jeans in there years ago. Washed well, great fit. Then I spilt bleach on them. 😞

I also bought a brilliant Dr Who length orange wooden scarf there. I still love that.