Monsoon and Accessorize on the brink of going under

[MulberryPeony]

FYI in case anyone is about the place an order.

I love Monsoon, the last couple of dresses I've bought have been natural fabrics, one was linen and organic cotton and was around the £50 mark.

I actually really like Monsoon (loved Accessorize in my younger yrs). I always buy a nice dress & broderie bits from them, I like Isabel Marant a lot & Monsoon always has something in the vein.

I used to work in high street fashion & lots of high street shops are struggling with higher cost materials but price sensitivity. Profits & growth need to be up on the previous yr so most brands chose a combination of rising prices a bit & reducing quality. One thing I like about Monsoon is that it has its own identity, so many brands have lost that.

Monsoon did used to be lovely, I have some great stuff still from 10+ years ago. But it was per una that was a crappy copy of monsoon, not the other way around!

I loved all the beaded, feminine, romantic and beautiful rich colours there circa early 2000s. Yes i too think it's the expensive mark up for polyester. I would love clothes in monsoon style but using natural fabrics.

I’ve never shopped in Monsoon but I love Accessorize .

They’re great for costume jewellery, sunglasses, big drag your life around in them bags and nice winter scarves.

I love their kids stuff too and buy a lot for my niece. Lovely actual kids things with bunnies and whatnot. Not the adult scaled down horror show River Island Kids et al peddle.

I've shopped in Monsoon since the early 80s, but it's not what it was.

That said, I've had an Monsoon order delivered this morning so I'd better try on quickly and get anything I don't like sent back fast.

...and it's all going back, I don't like any of it. Off to the post office first thing Tuesday, Monday is a bank holiday here. Hope I get my money back!

What a shame. Twenty years ago I remember them as a go-to shop for luxury childrenswear and evening dresses, or beautifully cut and finished cotton day dresses. I have actually had a couple of really nice linen and jersey dresses from them in the last few years, including one in the sale this year. For once it's not so much the drop in quality I noticed over the years as the shift in style. They seemed to get stuck in a rabbit hole of weirdly droopy, hippy-ish beaded blouses and maxis. I was never much of a 60s fan anyway, but they seemed to do it year in year out.

overpriced polyester with no green credentials. bye 👋🏽

I wonder how TKMaxx will do? They don't have a strong online presence. Also, Primark with social distancing - their queues were already long.

That’s a shame. They have had decent promotions on for a while so I was planning to buy a few things as soon as lockdown is over.

@skinnyhotchoc yep I knew someone who worked for them and she had to wear their gear when she went to work.

I shopped in Monsoon when it first opened and the clothes were beautiful and striking. Great colours and good fabrics. I know it hasn’t been like that for some years, but I will still be in mourning if it goes.

Oh no... it was my wedding dress plan!

Monsoon and Wallis both used to be brilliant years ago but I haven't bought anything from either of them for years now. They are now both overpriced and have weird designs and cheap fabrics. It's so sad but I think cheap fabrics and fast fashion have killed stores like this...

Boho died ages ago, even in summer. Overpriced.

I hope they save accessorize in some way. I've had a couple of nice things from monsoon but it felt like shopping in TK Max

I've bought two dresses from Monsoon in 10 years. I just don't find their sizing works for me. Accessorize I've bought quite a few things from though.

It does feel like we are just going to have so little choice left on the high street that everything will eventually go online. People will shop less as less places to shop from, and therefore even more shops will go bust even the ones that survive covid. Every body who does still shop on high street will be wearing the same clothes, anyway. More than ever.

They're one of the last high Street shops with an identifiable style. Most places produce the same versions of the same styles. They do beautiful embroidered items. I have many clothes and accessories from them that are still going strong. I loved their Fusion line and have many dresses 10+ years old that I still wear. 3 years ago I bought about 5 sets of mix and match bikinis, all good quality.
They do have a sustainable range as well using organic cotton and recycled polyester.
The problem is their website is clunky and their customer service is stuck in the 90s. They source online orders from physical shops rather than a central warehouse and you can receive an order of 5 items in 5 separate packages as and when it becomes available.
They need to scale back on how much they produce, focus on producing smaller batches of well-made items and go back to a boutique presence rather than trying to be on every high street.
Their summer stuff needs to stop being cheap polyester and go back to being natural fibres with beautiful embroidery and hand stitching and lining. Their beach dresses used to be so well-made you could get away with wearing it as occasion wear!

I have a LOT of Monsoon clothes. However, the majority of it is from Ebay and is several seasons out of date.

The last few years it's gone the same way as Next, cheap and nasty fabrics, but with the added extra of some weird random frill, embroidery or sequin like Per Una to try to cover up the lack of quality.

I'll be disappointed if they go bust though. Where will we all get our Xmas party frocks from?!

I have a lovely green and pink silk skirt, really heavy shiny silk, drapes beautifully and a silk lbd that I still love and looks great - lovely fabric, cut and colours. Both bought last century!

www.drapersonline.com/news/monsoon-accessorize-bought-out-of-administration-by-owner/7040672.article

More positive news on Monsoon and Accessorize today

Good news. I ordered a load of stuff on the back of this thread after a panic it work disappear, and I’ve kept it all. I did fall out of love with monsoon at one stage, but love their current knitwear.

@Vicbarbarkley

Hardly surprising, always shocked at the mark up on their stock. Good to have the heads up for people to redeem and gift vouchers.

Very sorry for those losing their jobs, but personally will not miss them

I agree that Accessorize is too expensive and the quality of most of their earrings is debatable or rubbish. I have had a pair break with light little use. Monsoon is also expensive - got great pair of ankle boots in a sale a few years ago and one od two other good sale purchases, but overpriced normally. Oh, I think Boden, Joules and Mint Velvet are overpriced though I admit to having many MV items. Threading on jeans' pocket came off on first wear and a top was very fragile after one wash. Do love their fabrics and colours when brand new in a shop though! I am a sucker.