Is Marks and Spencer's clothes frumpy?

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I'm late 30s. Usually shop for clothes in places like H&M. Zara & Dorothey Perkins.

Never bought clothes for myself in M&S, in my head I always thought it was for 50-60 year old women, but saw an as yesterday for their autumn range and saw loads of nice things that I would like to buy.

So what you reckon, am I now in the M&S target demographic ?! Have they modernised their clothes range or are amI just old now ?!

Yes they will be frumpy for some, but not for others, as they've never been at the leading edge of fashion. But then many of us don't want to be. I think they're ok for everyday stuff like tights, undies, and PJ/nighties.

I'm nearly 43, size 24. I shop at Simply Be, H&M, Sainsbury's Seasalt, and Evans. I go to M&S for underwear, swimming costumes, socks, pyjamas, and hats. M&S do hats in a large size which is good for me as I have got (literally) a big head.

Good tights
Some great basics wide leg trousers in navy and black
Cashmilon crew neck jumpers
Good leather bags
Brogues are comfortable
Fab trainers
Has the old good dress
Fabulous parka a few years ago
Generally well made
Generous sizing
Good for basics
Gym active wear is well made
Lovely fitted dark ting denim shirt purchased last week
Liked the Holly Willoughby collection shirt dress but sold out instantly
Got some great silver leather ankle boots last winter ( better than they sound and so comfortable) Hush have done similar but M and S version cost £40
And the odd gem.
Use it ladies or heaven forbid we might lose it post Covid .

@YellowandGreenToBeSeen

For balance.... I’m 50 and shop in Zara, H&M, ASOS, Net a Porter etc. Today I am wearing oversized ASOS dungarees, a white t-shirt, massive trainers and huge hoop earrings. Long hair (shock!) in a mid-pony.

Fifty does not equal frumpy.

Exactly!

I think of Marks, I do think of frumpy. But their basics are still worth checking out every season I think, so maybe I am being a bit unfair. I do have a few pieces from there that are pretty good. Cream leather ankle boots (look great and really comfy), plus their hosiery, underwear and cashmere jumpers. Don’t wear their other stuff though

I’m late 40s btw

I actually buy at M&S regularly. I 'm nearly 40 and work in a creative industry, so probably dress younger than some people my age and I definitely don't dress frumpy!
I like their Mom jeans. They seem to fit me better that similar ones in other shops. And they do some nice plain knitwear and coats, plus basics like vests.
They often have lovely skirts and dresses e.g this kind of thing:
www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/fashion-beauty/a25541495/marks-spencer-red-animal-print-midi-dress/

M&S is probably my 1st stop for clothes but then I see "my" jumper or top on every street .

Leggings - excellent . Opaque , wash well,
Jeans - I have recently bought but not worn yet , too warm
Jumpers - once I wade through the tat , I don't like the Cashmilon , it pills .
Shoes - I don't wear leather , they do an excellent range of vegan shoes and half sizes .

I wear M&S knickers but Primark bras (because I like lots of bras)

I'm the mid 50s , 5'5" , no waist , decent bust , wants to machine wash everything and have a bit of disposable income .
So I'm their target customer .

Annoyed they axed the Indigo range . Don;t like Per Una

Jeans are amazing, like really fantastic

I also buy the cashmillion jumpers which wear well

Shoes are pretty good, some excellent trainers and I recently bought the perfect tan western boots

The sometimes have some good blouses, I get so many compliments on a frilly denim one from last year

I also quite like some of their leather bags and plain scarves hats and gloves.

I don’t buy their underwear really or the pyjamas,

They do have good basics and a few excellent items, there's tons of average stuff though. I wish they had not gone so cheap, but so has everywhere. I really like Autograph for work, well if work restarts.

@ArtieFufkinPolymerRecords thanks!

I should have added that the white T was ‘slubby’ and I had on a visible (aside from the dungaree bib) lime green bra.

I’m 40 and have increasingly bought stuff from M&S last couple of years... don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign! I have tended to dress “young” and have been trying to look a bit more put together / less scruffy as 40 approached ... I’ve recently got some great midi summer dresses and a dungaree dress that are easy to wear and versatile. Also like their plain t-shirts (range of neck lines) and their beauty stuff is really good. I think the stuff is generally better quality materials than H&M / new look which does make a difference. And I think their production ethics are probably better too? Though I am not certain in this.

I buy loads and consider myself reasonably put together, I am obviously not high fashion but neither am dowdy or in a rut. They recently had balloon jeans similar to whistles barrel leg jeans but with different leg lengths and much cheaper. There is loads of crap but that is the same as any other large store. I actually haven’t had much luck with t shirts, lots have shrunk in the wash and ended up boxy and shapeless but perhaps I need to try again.

Vanity sizing is a problem although I feel they are trying to rain it in at the moment.

I like it. Their jeans are the best, such good value for money. I also like their t shirts, jackets, trousers, pyjamas and underwear. I wear a lot of dresses but I've never really liked any in there. It just depends what you like, same as any shop. I think it's mainly true to size but I have had to size down in a few things so I always take both sizes to try on. I find it good quality.

I like it, I buy a fair few things there and have done since my early twenties! I buy from plenty of other places too but I find it good for basics. The one exception is their t shirts which never fit me well at all, they always seem too boxy and too short in the body.

I buy about 75% of clothes for my daughters there too.

There is some frumpy stuff but I think the main issue M&S has is that sometimes they produce clothes which are totally random, like they take one dress and try and make it fit every single trend all at the same time. There seems to be a bit less of this recently so maybe they're listening to feedback.

I would be really sad to see them close down, I hope they survive the covid recession.

Good for pants - not much else for me.