River Island to launch 40+ fashion.

[SheWoreRedVelvet]

Anyone else seen this in the media today? Can't do links but the few pieces I saw looked really good.

Nope. It’s not going to work.

I'm 43 and shop at a mixture of Oliver Bonas, H&M, Zara and M&S mostly. I don't shop at River Island as they are more expensive than the likes of H&M for no apparent reason, and having an over 40s range will not change that.

Leaving aside age, I would love to see a high street store that was unashamedly Fashion but with decent fabrics. The nearest I can think of to that is Cos, but they're not really about fashion and it's not to everyone's taste. I think the problem is that we would have to accept - and be able to afford - much, much higher prices.

But Cos clothing isn’t outrageously expensive. It just needs someone to step in there.
But this gap has been here for years.

I would like to see a store that was unashamedly fashion but also had plenty of classic items, and all in good fabrics and good value for money. That store could have been M&S for the last twenty years if it knew its arse from its elbow.

Yes I was just going to say that - instead of trying to think up another ghastly version of what they think middle aged, invisible, re-discovering themselves, ‘oh wait I can still be confident??’ Women want (what patronising twaddle), they ought to focus on having a line that is broadly the same in terms of fashion but in higher quality fabrics, at a higher cost. That way anybody of any age that likes that particular brand could buy a cut above if they prefer. But they obviously don’t want to do that because it would devalue the rest of their brand (oh wait, now we have to admit that the rest of our clothing is actually pretty shit).

No it's not but then I wouldn't call Cos isn't high fashion either - they often repeat the same style every season but in different fabrics. Plus they have H&M as a bargaining chip when they're finding suppliers. I imagine that must help to keep prices down. The problem with a fashion store trying to do that is that a lot of trends are inherently short lived which, I imagine, means smaller runs so higher cost per unit.

The collection is just nasty and cheap looking.

For cheap clothes I just go to Primark or a supermarket. For other clothes I shop everywhere else except River Island as their clothes are just more expensive and cheap looking than everywhere else.

I just don't think it's possible to have fashion, good fabrics, and low - or even mid range - prices.

No. That’s true. I suppose the average retailer is stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just don’t think a middle aged line is going to work - we’re not one big hive mind, we don’t all like the same things. There’s literally no point in doing it.

I agree, Nink. It drives me mad the way they think we're all the same. Or they need to find another niche: women over 40 who also like.... That might work, although as I've said, I still think it's silly to pitch it at 40.

It’s possible to have good fabrics. Look at menswear. Loads of cotton shirts jeans etc.

Even H&M and Zara have them. The reason there’s not much of it, isn’t due to cotton crop shortages. It’s due to the fact that the majority of retailers know they can sell crap and people will buy it.

Menswear can’t be compared to ladies wear, sadly. Far less trend driven and hardly changes over years. Many men are creatures of habit and will reliably buy exactly the same thing every year for years on end. Women are a much wider demographic, much more varied and will also change what they’re looking for far more often if they’re influenced by trends or fashions at all.

It’s due to the fact that the majority of retailers know they can sell crap and people will buy it.

How depressingly true

It’s a no from me, looks like supermarket clothes (which can be great) certainly nothing I’d buy here.

I used to work in the rag trade, designing men’s and ladies wear. Whilst it is true that men’s stuff is to some extent less driven by trends, that’s not the whole reason.

Top man and Zara can be on a turn around if inbetween 2-6 weeks. These ARE trend driven shops or fast fashion. They still have lots of cotton shirts dresses etc. They can apply economies of scale to ladieswear just as easily as menswear.

Zara is a bit different as it’s a vertical manufacturing system, but they still use lots of natural fibres.

But Arcadia is struggling, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, etc. This is because they are producing horrid plastic stuff that no one wants too buy.

As for Boo hoo and Pretty Little thing, most of there stuff is plastic and dirt cheap. This is because the use the ‘Dark Economy’ manufacturing in the Uk. Look it up, it’s terrible.

Their stuff obviously!🙈

And it’s all about cheap as poss price anyway. The meetings I’ve sat in where people have been arguing about the number of stitches per 2cm. 🙄The bigger the stitch the cheaper the garment.

Exactly- If loads of people were buying these polyester clothes then Arcadia wouldn't be struggling. At the moment there is no real happy medium between the lower end of the high street flogging cheap plastic clothes and overpriced but comparatively well made clothes in natural fabrics.

It’s interesting to hear from an insider, as it were.

Sadly it really does seem to be the case that rather than just paying a bit more (and charging quite a bit more) they’d rather continue to buy and sell absolute shit. Doesn’t seem to be working for them, though, does it?

I know I’m a bit older now and really not into fast fashion in horrid fabrics, but I really would rather spend on one item per month (or every few months) and get actual, good quality pieces. I don’t believe I’m the only one of my age to slightly older who feels this way (as evidenced by recent M&S thread).

I'm 46 and buy in RI at the moment as I love it. I don't need to be shunted off to the fucking old harpy section thanks.

Bloody hell that's minging

Harpenne . - a bit like Harpoon

This is going to bomb

Neouf

If they were actually clever they wouldn’t make a distinction on age group either - just design the damn clothes, stick them in with the rest of the line and let whoever wants to buy them buy them.

They’re obviously not clever, if they were that stuff wouldn’t be so horrid!

I’m traumatised by that black and red thing🙈wtf designed that shit?😂