If i like Toast and Margaret Howell........(with pics)

[Musicforsnorks]

.....where else could i shop?

I find they run a tad large for me, and i cant afford to shop in either more that once or twice per year.

For reference, i dont like jeans or pants. I love long skirts and short ones. Im 5’4 and small so really suit that fluid, loose, Japanese kind of styles.
Im 45.

Shops i really DON’T like include Arket, Kin, Mint Velvet, Boden, Jigsaw, and most regular high street. I dont like colourful, bold prints or anything too ‘fashiony’, hence why i dislike Arket.

Shops i DO like include COS, some Joules, white company, poetry.
But none of these are comparable to Toast and MH for me.

Here are some pics of My kind of style for winter.....

Oh, im confused, was that about my post?

Ah sorry floisme, i see what you were referring to, now.

Yeah sorry, it was a cross post. I should have said when I realised

Muji often has nice affordable fluid shape garments in nice materials

If you really sift through you’ll be able to find similar bits in Zara.

Thank you for the suggestions ...... I had a look at muji last week, there was very little stock if i recall correctly, but like the look of it!

On the rare occasions when I visit a muji store I always think the clothes look wonderfully light and fresh - but just the wrong side of flimsy and anonymous. Bit like Uniqlo ...

(But I’m conflicted over clothes. On the one hand I envy all the people I pass who look perfectly normally and nicely dressed. On the other I’m reluctant to buy anything that doesn’t make me look ever so slightly weird ...)

Quatermiss, interesting. Im on a mission of sorts to narrow down my choices.
Sounds weird, but i think there are simply too many clothes and yet not a lot of actual choices. Good quality is rare yet there are about 300 styles of pants/jeans in any one dep. store. And theyre all mostly skinny. So we can have a million variants......of the same thing.

Im trying to minimise it all. So that i have very few clothes to choose from, yet each item would be trusted, perfect and loved. Kind of kondo i suppose.

I think many people are uncomfortable in jeans, especially after spending summer unleashed! But they are safe, available, and literally every top is designed to go with them..not to mention jackets.

Agree about uniqlo, havent bought from there in about 10 yrs. nice design but found the fabrics thin which affected the way they hung on the body. Tops were ok though. The merino was as decent as COS. Not sure if it still is.

@Floisme Thing is, it depends on whether you want to be the pic in the catalogue or not.

I've worked with the stylists for both Toast and MH and they are, clearly, beanpoles who both say they wouldn't touch some of it for themselves on account of the drape not being right.

You remember the Toast image of the dark blue coat with the knackered leather belt holding it on - over 15 years ago? My mate did that, smug. Launched 1,000,000 navy coats and all that. But it took her 5 years to put another blue coat herself.

Stylists really do believe in - and want to be - the pictures they make themselves. If you don't agree, go for it.

Balls to that, I say. I am fat as a barrel and look great by the way, generally.

Personally I tend to think my clothes look better on me than they did on the model. ‘Specially after the first couple of years wear.

Often spectacularly beautiful clothes in lush, crunchy fabrics look plain silly on gangly teenagers. Shredded jeans, tweed and serious jewels (of which I have almost none) always look better modelled by women who are middle aged or older.

So I don’t give a damn about what stylists want!

If I had to guess I would have said your pics were from Plumo. Very similar price... sadly just as expensive as toast!

Sorry, meant very similar style!

I used to love Toast but haven't ordered anything for years.
Muji sizes are tiny - check the size guide.

I was coming on to say Comptoir des Cotonniers. I think it is like Toast in that it is usually even better quality IRL than it looks in the photos.

Also try Sandro, APC, Max Mara, Joseph, and Penelope Chilvers.

Over the past 15 years i have never had a completely successful purchase from Toast. Either the knits were itchy and hung oddly or the dresses and skirts swamped me.
Their home stuff has lasted the years though.

I love the look, the vibe of their clothing but am aware that it does not translate well to my body.

It’s hit and miss really, isn't it, everywhere!

And i know im in a minority on here but i really, reeeeallly do not get the appeal of Hush.

Great marketing, models look so cozy and pretty but fuck no!

Andromeda perseus - that model on the left of your muji photo could be a dark haired me! That is precisely my style and look.

I sometimes love wearing mini’s too but do find them much easier to style (with button down oxford shirt, tights, doc shoes).

Coming back to APC if its too expensive full price, Coggles stock it, they have good sales, regular one off discount days/weekends if you sign up, and a permanent sale section where things often come back in stock.

Also small independents Diverse and Epitome of Edinburgh.

For Margaret Howell, try Dick's of Edinburgh.

I completely agree with narrowing down the choice. I've gradually settled on a handful of brands that fit my style and price point (or when in sale at least!) and I just don't look anywhere else. I keep a pinterest board for things I like, which helps with the impulse buying and lets me compare similar items before deciding which is best.

It's not perfect, it does mean I shop the majority online, like you I don't like trend led stuff which discounts about 80% of the high street. It also means I see stuff on other people and discover its from a shop I don't look at which can sometime give me fomo. But I tend never to buy full price online, as there's always a discount code and distance selling means I always get a refund period and time to try on at my leisure in my own home.

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.
Whenever i attempt to buy in sales it rarely works to my advantage - my size always tends to sell out first, often before the discounts arrive 🙁 especially with brands like toast.

Its true that i am running out of high street stores to choose from, although i still like white company and mooching in john lewis. Sadly, i loathe online shopping, but maybe this could be a further incentive to buy ‘less crap’.

I really dont like the idea of paying for something just to try it on.

But yeh, i need to find where im most comfortable and get familiar with their sizing and just ......move forward into a world without skinny jeans......which really aggravate my ibs. Wearing skirts has been like a new lease of life, and less pain.

Ah sorry I think I see what you mean Supersimpkin - stylists sell us a fantasy but then end up judging themselves against it? I don't remember that coat but interesting story!

love this style, and it does tend to suit me if the items are sized well.
(Heard negative reviews about plumo quality though, and despair of their lack of detail in product shots)

Floisme, there’s definitely a concern for me when the styling is so beautiful, more on the artsy side. Id rather they presented the items in a similar manner to COS, however odd the models often look, i get a decent idea of fit and fabric quality.

My mention of plumo just now brings this ti mind. At least with toast you get a rear view of the item.

.....sometimes.

Have you tried TK Maxx? They regularly have niche brands hidden amongst the rails, it’s very good for keeping your wardrobe ticking over. They carry YMC, Comptoire des cottoniers, Smedley, APC etc quite often.

Wehttam, i will take a look when im next in the city - my closest store is dire. Thanks for the tip!