So M&S have sacked their head of fashion

[Isthebigwomanhere]

They say their fashion needs to move on at a pace according to sky news.
I say they just need to read the numerous threads on here and bloody listen to what people are saying!

I want quality basics.

I haven't bought knickers there for about 10 years as the sizing/styles went weird. T-shirts/ tops are always too fucking short. In general larger people tend to be a bit taller. Make the t-shirts longer in bigger sizes.
Really annoying.

I like natural fibres - cotton, wool, cashmere.

I normally buy a couple of cashmere jumpers each winter. The quality has deteriorated markedly over the last few years. But I've started darning/ doing visible mending to prolong life . Fast fashion is so bad.

Oh god, where to start?
Yes to quality basics - long and short sleeved t-shirts, and in fact most casual things are nice.
Shoes and boots have improved lately, and bags are good. Socks, nightwear etc all fine but I tend to get bras and knickers at other places now. They don’t even seem to stock my bra size - 44dd.
My mom who is in her mid 80s likes their Classic cardigans, blouses and skirts but too often the cardigans are acrylic.
Their plus size range is horrific. They need to take a look at the pretty tops in places like Yours.
Their sale stuff is often frankly hideous. I spotted this today - even the model looks embarrassed to be wearing it! No wonder it’s been reduced...

I think we are asking the impossible of M&S. We want good quality ethically produced basics in natural fabrics but we're so spoiled by fast fashion that we're not prepared to pay what it realistically costs to provide what we want.

Unlike a previous poster, I don’t think Autograph is too expensive. Au contraire. Great styling and quality at a good price. If M&S save any clothing range, it should be Autograph.

I am amazed that a previous poster thinks that £20 for a merino roll neck from Uniqlo was a proper price. That was made for 10p in Bangladesh by a nine year old, surely?

I bought the same excellent merino v neck from M&S as an earlier poster, for £45 or something. Fantastic. Do more of those, M&S.

I’m prepared to pay for quality but the Best of British collection they did a few years ago was such a misfire. I wanted to buy the clothes. Lovely fabrics, British made. However, the design was off. A beautiful flared skirt in wool made in a Yorkshire mill was way too short for the women prepared to pay £85 for a skirt. Such a shame.

I think there is a lot of dross- a lot of “old lady clothes” and I don’t think there are enough old ladies to sustain it. The rack and racks of midi polyester a line, fully lined skirts in a zany print!

Just don’t. Some, fine. Loads and load not so much. Same for the awful
Polyester black trousers.

And the kids section- it’s always minuscule in Bristol, Yeovil, Taunton- basically non existent- and Exeter. Wtf. Your girls clothes are lovely!

Whomever does your cosmetics/beauty range should consult across the store.

T-shirt- 10/20
Jumper- 30-80 depending on fabric
Dress- 30-70
Coat- 50-200
Tops- you need to wake up and stop adding ruffles, slits, frills, peplums, knots, and other crazy shit to almost every other top.

I want a good basic v neck, crew neck, something sort of gypsy/Ibiza, classics linen blouse and maybe something else.

I agree, Autograph certainly isn’t too expensive (providing fabric/cut/styling is on point).

The underwear has got a lot better again in recent years. Ditch Per Una (surely there's no point continuing to maintain the name?) and get the supply side sorted and there's lots to be positive about.

I am 52 and have a reasonable disposable income but not enough to afford Jigsaw, Hobbs etc so I should be their target market. However there is rarely anything I like in there. I only go in to look at the shoes as occasionally they do have a really good style.

I never look at the per una stuff. It's vile.

..on the plus side, I just did all my Christmas shopping thanks to the massive sale! Bedding for £6?!

I don't think mumsnet is at all representative, can't imagine m and s give it a second thought!

I agree. It’s all very well to demand natural fabrics, the amount of water needed to produce cotton is destroying some parts of the world. I try not to buy it now.

A friend of mine has a theory that they hire women in their thirties to design what they think women in their fifties want.Hence the constant misfire. We want long tops that don't ride up over our menopausally thickened waists. We want classic cuts in plain fabrics. If we choose to accessorise them with swags and bows and glittery bits we can add those ourselves but probably won't.

I want:

Your gorgeous gorgeous cashmere in long line v neck sweaters and cardigans

T shirts that cover the bum but are still fitted not baggy

Linen trousers, especially the pegged ones. They look good on everyone.

Plain very dark indigo jeans with NO rips, frays, diamante tat, zany patches, and straight legged not skinny or bootleg please. We're sick of looking like parsnips and carthorses.

Chinos with a bit of stretch or lightweight ones. Full length please. If people want 3/4 they can roll them up or go to Zara. We don't all want to show our cankles.

More size 12 clothes and size 5 shoes. Anything I like is always sold out in the shop. Also the Sparks card is a waste of time.

Simple styles. Quality fabrics and dyes. No tat, no slogans. Put all the frippery in accessories, then we can style ourselves according to our own taste.

I think they should have ditched the Per Una name. It has changed but clearly there are so many women who just won't look at it, having been scarred by the hideous frills of the past.

It might be better now, but what good is that if half your customers won't step foot in that part of the store or click on the bit of the website?

Cotton has some problems but there are natural alternatives which clothes companies should be working with. Polyester and other plastic fabrics are hardly the best option if you're worried about the world.

Also why should M&S serve a "representative" market? There are loads of much more fashionable shops that make cheaper clothes - it's trying to meet that market that has made M&S go so wrong.

Cotton production has become and environmental disaster because we're buying so goddamn much of it (and everything else).
If I buy, I look for organic cotton which is not quite so damaging.

Although I'm prepared to pay more for good quality, I actually think M&S have probably now missed the boat on that one. In reality, their biggest competitors are probably the supermarkets, who do seem able to produce better quality for the same price or less.

Yes I think you might be right there.

I would be very surprised if M&S weren't talking to women. The problem is that the women they're talking to won't agree. Middle aged women are not a homogeneous group. (Nor are old ladies and why it's seen as ok to fob them off with shit clothes is beyond me but anyway.)

Me, I like a modern cut, not a classic one - and I think M&S have been particularly poor at this. I detest linen trousers unless they're in a very heavy (aka expensive) fabric. My ankles are one of my best features so I love cropped trousers. And so on. We probably all agree about wanting good fabrics, and a lot of us want sleeves but that's about it.

So which of us should M&S listen to? It's less of a problem for other stores because they don't try and cater for all women but this has always been M&S's thing (except for their food).

As for being prepared to pay more - well made, ethically produced jumpers do exist but we're not talking £60 or even £80, we're talking John Smedley kind of prices - typically £150+ (but all made in Britain). That's what clothes cost. That's what they used to cost in the UK (in real terms). I think the problem for M&S is that a) we've forgotten or weren't even born then then b) if you're on minimum wage - or even on a decent wage but with a mortgage to match - there's no way you can afford that and c) the women who can afford those prices probably aren't shopping at M&S.

Yes Flo you and I sound similar in that respect. And I do think it’s much harder to cater to women of our demographic now because you’re right, it’s not as simple as just doing one thing.

Well I am 52 and would hate a t-shirt that covered my bum!

I never think of M and S when it comes to clothes and find it perfectly easy to find clothes elsewhere. I like Weekday, TopShop, Cos, Boden and I bought a really nice pair of jeans from Next.

The minimum wage in this country is 8.21, if you are making something in the UK that takes 10 hours to make then that's 82.10 in labour costs before you've even started. You can forget made in UK.

Yes - I think made in the UK is a pipe dream as would be too expensive and niche for such a huge shop. But, much better quality is achievable and I think would satisfy most people.

I agree about stock levels, always out of sizes.

Also there are too many ranges, it’s confusing. And too expensive really when you see what supermarkets are selling - M&S are in that category I think.

I guess in my 50s I must be within their target age group but I rarely bother to look nowadays.