At a loss where to buy stuff

[Sarcelle]

After a period of not buying stuff due to expenses elsewhere I wanted to buy a few things for the summer.

Me, early 50s, my preferred style is pared down - i.e can't afford it but Armani/Jennifer Anniston. Occasionally like some colourful stuff (Anthropology etc.)

I have recently been to Bluewater, Kingston and Guildford - all good shopping areas but I could not find anything. I am a slim hourglass but find a lot of stuff just hangs with no defined waistline, or has a high neck which is no good if you have a bust.

The High Street is in a shocking state. No wonder shops are closing. No effort is being made by retailers. The Primarkification of the High Street really has filtered down to all shops. They don't present the clothes well, they are crammed on, creased. Why would you part with cash to buy this stuff?

The clothes on offer are a sea of polyester, dowdy, shapeless or leopard print. What is it with leopard print, after a winter of it they have continued it into this season. Fashion has not moved on at all.

Zara used to be a great place for a bit of affordable continental styling, but most of the outfits in their border on fancy dress costumes - who is buying it? Their stores are packed but I don't see people wearing the stuff in the streets. (A colleague told me she went to Spain recently and the Zaras there have much better offerings.)

Guildford has lots of vacant stores. The demographic of the town is wealthy so thats worrying. The big Debenhams there is closing down. Its on a great site by the river, no doubt it will be sold for luxury rabbit hutch flats, as I think John Lewis( who would be a natural fit) won't be taking over the site. The House of Fraser there, which was one of their better stores, is now a dowdy mess. Marks and Spencer is still lacking. They seemed to have improved the Per Una range (never thought I would say that) but one of the offerings from that range is a £250 leather biker jacket. A nod in the right direction but who is going to buy a spendy item like that from Per Una?

It's very depressing and I am now making do with what I have. Unless you can tell me otherwise....,

Just having a rant really.

It’s such a shame Guildford is going downhill. I used to enjoy shopping there. The HoF beauty hall was my spiritual home!

Oliver bonas.

Very, very sadly, I have concluded from recent excursions, that there is not much quality clothing to be bought in the high street. I have several lovely independent boutiques in a Devon market town, all stocked with lots to like, but there's nothing cheaper than £50, even for a simple T shirt. Uniqlo is superb for the basic basics. I like Cos and Arket, and Me&EM, but the prices for simple stuff is high. I am on a no-spend year, apart from replacing essentials, and vintage/pre-loved items. The pressure on quality is already working down the food chain.

I'm loving massimo, boss orange and Ralph Lauren. They can be relatively ok prices. Jigsaw is not bad. I covet rag and bone too.

I've recently been disappointed with my usual mint velvet and all saints and the rest of the upper end high street.

I rarely buy anything from the high st anymore. It’s pretty much all awful quality & samey. I keep thinking it’s my age, but seriously don’t remember clothes being so bad. French Connection used to be good but now it’s just well presented Primark quality pretty much. I buy a lot 2nd hand. Just got an Isabel Marant blouse for £30 from eBay, Helmut Lang jeans for £60 etc.

Yes ! This could be me writing this thread.Whistles styling great but these days mostly polyester and acrylic mix for knitwear whilst charging the same as they used to for silk.Only worth the sale prices.Used to live in Baukjen but last couple of seasons have been off the boil in my opinion. Bits of jaeger ok. Some Zara styling I quite like but the quality is for the most part not great and tbh I think at a size 10/12 I shouldn’t have to be buying a large in trousers ! Karen Millen everything just looks stiff and uncomfortable and a bit flashy.

Really struggling to find nice stuff at the moment. I went in Uniqlo today but a lot of it is very boxy.

Every time I’ve lived in uk or Ireland, I majorly struggled. I never found the “in between”... the in between young and old, in between high street and high end designer.

I adore shopping at home in Nz, we have the in between Nz designers. Not mass produced crap, simple, beautiful working pieces that look amazing and last the distance.

I’m sure it’s there somewhere, it’s just finding it :)

Remembering those disheartening trudges around the shops :(

Mid-50s here. I'd second uniqlo for basics - the quality isn't bad at all, and always worth looking at every few weeks because they refresh their stock frequently. And their website is pretty good and their sizing reasonably consistent so once you've worked out what size you are, buying online becomes easy. Another Cos fan, but I'd totally agree they do themselves no favours with their website. I'm also a late convert to Boden, but only in their frequent sales (25% off until Thursday!). I buy trousers, shorts, t-shirts there - all of which are wearing well.

nzeire are there particular NZ designers you'd recommend? I wonder if they might be for sale in a boutique here somewhere.

I went yesterday to Zara, H&M and Topshop looking for a jumper (it got cold suddenly). You're all completely right, it was depressing sea of polyester and leopard print. And everything very boxy and high-necked.

Today I'm wearing my new M&S cream slim-leg jeans and a cotton oxford shirt from Gap circa 15 years ago. Maybe I need to go back to Gap and check it out.

I struggle to believe you all about Cos (I'm the same shape as you OP, hourglass with a bust that needs careful dressing or I look like the prow of the QE II in full sail). The very first picture when you land on the website is a model dressed in a literal pillowcase with spaghetti straps ("Modern Summer Dressing", apparently). I would look like a giant potato ready to be weighed.

Don’t believe us about Cos. Go and see for yourself - the website is woeful. Try the stuff on. Then come back and tell us we’re wrong.

No I'm sure you're all right, I'm just really having a total imagination fail looking at the website. Nearest Cos shop is an hour away so I'll just have to wait until I'm up in London one day.

Do not use the Cos website. It’s dreadful and I can only assume it’s part of some inverted too-cool-for-school anti-marketing campaign.

I only get to a branch a couple of times a year which is just as well really. I went a couple of months ago and would have bought half the stock if I could. My only complaint was the amount of high necks (including their T shirts which were otherwise great value). Every shop I went into afterwards looked like shit in comparison.

I’m short, reasonably slim but with post menopausal boobs - somewhere between pear and hourglass.

Same here. The only time l get to Cos is when l go to London, which saves me spending £££ there. Unfortunately, now l’ve got my eye in, l can spot what’s going to suit me on the website.

The very first picture when you land on the website is a model dressed in a literal pillowcase with spaghetti straps ("Modern Summer Dressing", apparently). I would look like a giant potato ready to be weighed

Brilliant! I know exactly what you mean. Ive got broad shoulders and a 34D bust so cant do high necked shapeless stuff but it’s everywhere at the moment. Ive taken to wearing a few things back to front if theyve got a v-back or a tie back.

If you are in London then definitely try & Other Stories. They have stores in Regent Street and Covent Garden, possibly others. Arket is good too (same group)

I still buy some pieces from Jaeger. It seems to be styled to fit my size 12/14 big busted 50 year old body.