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!

How is it achievable? I wouldn't say anything I have bought in the last 5 years other than very expensive designer items are particularly good quality. The dress I am wearing at the moment is a nice easy shape and the print is modern, but the construction isn't good quality really. It cost £45, 100% viscose, made in Indonesia.

It’s the feel of the shop, not just the clothes. I live in the city centre, near 2 flagship stores, which feature the full range & are nicely appointed. Both have busy food hall sections.

However, I was in a suburban shopping Centre yesterday. M&S there was truly grim... Sale like a jumble sale, reams of cheap fabric, fugly patterns, awkward shapes.

Mannequins with broken hands, peeling faces, shelves pulled here & there, no music, bored shop assistants. Even the food hall was all over the place. I left with nothing.

I’m order to beat online competition, shopping must be an experience. I’m past Topshop / Oasis / River Island (43). I enjoy browsing in & Other Stories, Benetton, COS...

Debenhams / House of Fraser will go. M&S should be gunning for this market. I want to love their stuff, but they don’t make it easy... A lot of it is twee, but simple / stylish is key.

Actually Boden isn't bad quality tbh. The coat I bought a few months ago was nicely lined and finished and well cut.

I am not too fussed about made in UK (unless it was a special collection), but I would want it to be made ethically where possible and especially for people to be paid a fair price for making it.

Who on earth wants acrylic jumpers FGS?!

Agree Sparks is the absolute worst loyalty scheme ever. So complicated for no reason. Click here to find our you have 10% off children's socks. Fuck that!

Oh god yes Per Una will always remind me of those awful frayed flopppy tartan pin on flowers 😱

Heh I just don’t understand the hate for Sparks. I really like the way it works! But I realise I’m in the minority with that.

Too many harsh colours , every time I go into M&S it’s turquoise, orange , hot pink, yellow or lime green . No one says it has to be pastels but the the tone is harsh . I used to always buy underwear but that’s not nice now so I only only in for tights

It isn’t obligatory to use Sparks, ditch the card if it pisses you off. I like shops that don’t play music at me so hats off to M&S for that.

but I would want it to be made ethically where possible and especially for people to be paid a fair price for making it

A fair price how? A fair price for their local economy? Beause in Indonesia that is unbelievably low. China and India have both started paying better wages to their factory workers and that's why fashion companies are deserting them in droves.

Oh yes and the Sparks thing is ridiculous, never ever sends relevant offers and the customer service queue at the Food M&S is always full of OAPs who have forgotten their password

Yes Boden has a lot of twee dresses and flouncy bits, BUT if you want a good quality cardigan or basic top in a non-ridiculous colour and a nice fabric, they will have it at a reasonable price with discounts (if not a rock-bottom price). That's what I want from M&S and what I used to be able to get.

Yes people suit different styles but you can still do different lengths of trousers, different necklines and dress shapes etc.

I am another who thought they had started to improve a bit

Yes they could still do a mix, they just need to get the mix a lot more right. They have too much tat, too much variety. Do fewer things and do them well!

They have definitely got better more recently.

I don’t want them to mess with the jeans, jeggings or leggings!

I've just looked at the m and s website and tbf I have found a pure merino wool crew neck in Navy for 29.50 (ordered one actually!), a white linen shirt in a classic cut and a decent pair of black tailored flat front trousers. So the basics are there, just hidden under the dross.

No I mean a fair price from a moral perspective, so more money than they have to pay their workers, to give them a better wage than rock bottom, and to put more money into welfare and support for their workers outside of work and in the local community.

I'd heard much better things about them this season too but most of it hadn't filtered down to my local store. They do seem to suffer from a mindset that people where I live aren't interested in nice clothes or else that we're happy to buy everything online. But I agree all those cavernous stores must be a massive drain and I I can't see anyone wanting to take them off their hands.

But I doubt they're the only company in difficulties. The sales seemed to start very early this year and a lot of places went straight to 50% off. That's not a good sign.

"a fair price from a moral perspective"

and who judges what that is?

"and to put more money into welfare and support for their workers outside of work and in the local community" Why should factory owners in Indonesia have to do that? The UK doesn't!

Our local one in a fairly affluent area isn't too bad, although the way they've re-laid it out is bloody awful. Whoever did the floor plan should be sacked.

It's quality of some things that annoy me. I can not wear jeans that fit well from two shops, M&S and New Look, I'm in my 50's and am starting to feel uncomfortable in New Look, but their cheap £7.99 jeans last longer than the M&S ones that just go very thin very quickly and as for the belt loops, they seem to rip quite quickly.

My main issue with M&S is their terrible sizing. I reliably pick up my size in most other shops (H&M excluded), but not M&S. It seems to cater to apple shapes. A lot of slim armed shirts and skinny legged trousers.

I tend to take my chances in the sales (always in store, their online sales stuff disappears in minutes), buy my size, try it on at home (their changing rooms lighting and mirrors are so awful I've had to stop using them) and then take back the majority which doesn't fit.

Also, when they get something right, why on earth don't they just keep stocking it?!
My favourite ever dress was from the collaboration with Livia Firth that they did a few years ago. I loved it so much that I bought it in both emerald and black and I stil love it - quite Audrey Hepburn style with a slash neck going into a beautiful square at the back. I think it was £80 and would suit absolutely anyone - I want more things like that from them.

I think you’re getting the wrong end of the stick, a bit. I’m talking from marks’ side of the equation. And I’m only musing...anyway what difference does it make to you what my ideal would be in terms of ethical fashion and clothing?

I am becoming less focused now on constantly buying more things, and more concerned with living well and buying well. If I have to, I will switch to far more expensive clothing, and buy less often. I just think there could be a better medium from big fashion behemoths like Marks. I realise it won’t happen (we’ve already had a previous supplier saying how much about the bottom line they are) but I can still make my opinion known.

Also, when they get something right, why on earth don't they just keep stocking it?!

I had a fabulous pair of black jeans from them. They faded over the years into a lovely grey. They were the most comfortable jeans I had ever worn. I went back a year or so later and although the style number was the same the jeans were completely different, different compotison and the cut, although still called the same thing, had changed and was nowhere near as nice. Sad times.

anyway what difference does it make to you what my ideal would be in terms of ethical fashion and clothing?

Because what people say they want is often not actually what they buy, and this is the problem that M and S have.

Well it is increasingly what I buy. And will be more so in years to come. If I don’t find anywhere to reliably buy ethically from, I will have to switch to buying the vast majority of my clothing secondhand (which I probably would do anyway even without the ethical aspect as you tend to get better fabrics and quality).