Remember when Next used to sell good quality clothes?

[peaceanddove]

I was browsing eBay and looking at vintage 90s Next & Laura Ashley clothes. On a whim I bought a cream, knitted cotton jumper with a roll neck, from Next. It's just arrived. OMG it is such good quality. It's really heavy but soft and just looks like a very good quality sweater. Love it.

Also, was thrilled to spot a candy floss pink, fluffy sweater from Laura Ashley circa 1995. Thrilled because DH bought me the said same sweater Xmas '95, and I loved it so much. Until I shrunk it Again, the quality is just amazing, so heavy, soft, seams properly finished.

It's made me so nostalgic for when the high street sold good quality clothes.

Yes, I do. I can remember the shop in South Molton Street, when they first opened. The quality was excellent and I had some beautiful outfits, including a couple of really well designed and made trouser suits, amongst many other purchases and it really was one of my go to shops. I still have three blouses, long line, great prints, from this period, that I wear. I also have a Chanel style black velvet skirt suit (M&S, St Michael's and made in England, which is timeless), a Sheepskin Flying Jacket again from M&S (30 years old and still being worn and admired) in my wardrobe. I met someone who use to be a sample pattern cutter for M&S and she explained the design features of the velvet suit and how the way it was cut and constructed replicated much more prestigious brands, even down to the way the lining / skirt split was cut and sewn. Some of the best, stylish, most flattering and easiest to wear items in my wardrobe are from a few years back. I remember waiting eagerly for the sales, in the West End, to buy items from shops and brands I could not normally afford and these often formed the basis of my wardrobe for years to come.

Yes, I remember. I still have a pair of knee high leather boots worn every winter for the past 25 years! Sadly they developed a hole last year which can't be mended. I dont think they sell anything like that now. All the clothes look cheap and nylon-y.

I used to love buying stuff from Next. Really stylish, well made clothes. Lovely fabrics. Upmarket but not too expensive. I used to buy most of my work clothes there, late 80s, early 90s. It was fashion forward yet wearable.

I'm still wearing ( in the summer ) my St. Michael ( M&S) 100% cotton dressing gown approx late 80s / early 90s. Washed a million times and as good as new.

Yes, I had a couple of suits from Next in the 90s and they were very high quality- and high price, Next wasn't a cheap shop in those days. Jackets were over £100 I think which was a lot 25+ years ago. I also had several silky blouses which were perfect for work, they were £33.99 I think, so expensive then BUT I still have them now, not that I wear blouses much.

M&S also had very good quality clothes in the 90s, again I remember a suit (black with lilac lining) which I loved and wore so much. The quality has dropped immeasurably since then.

And I still have a copy of the first Next Directory, anyone remember how revolutionary that was? (And Uma Thurman was one of the models😊).

I loved the original Next directory. But it was quite expensive... I can remember saving for weeks for a white denim jacket which was £40. The same jacket would cost no more now and possibly less. No wonder quality has dropped like a stone.

I remember the first Next Directory - i think it had Yasmin le Bon on the cover and you used to get the fabric swatches inside. Easy to forget just how revolutionary they were in the 80s with everything all colour co-ordinated in the stores. Ours was grey and peach decor and it felt very high end. Nobody else offered 48 hour delivery back then either for catalogue shopping before the internet took off. All of my work suits were from there and they lasted for ages.

I used to have a lovely pair of pure wool trousers from Laura Ashley that were fab quality. Stuff was much better made and I still have some old skirts that are going strong years later.

Next was great when it first opened. They sold beautifully cut stylish Clothes at an affordable price. The stores were a pleasure to browse and buy in. Nowadays they are full of cheap tat that is hard to distinguish from primark stuff. A real shame.

Anyone remember Richard shops
I bought my first interview suit there in the early 80s
Pure wool grey pinstripe - really well cut

On Wednesday I went for a last look around the shops and one of them was Next. It was full of cheap looking clothes. I was shocked it was so so bad.

Next still sell good quality clothing, they are still my go to shop when I want something to wear. M & S on the other hand have definitely gone down hill.

Years ago in the 80s, one of the sewing factories that made clothes for M&S was in my home town. My auntie worked there. The clothes were beautiful, really well sewn and the fabrics were excellent. Quality control was very strict on the production line.

I remember I always used to get my Xmas outfit from Next, back in the day. Can still remember a beautifully cut, crimson crushed velvet dress that fitted me like a glove. I think it was £90 back in 1992. I don't think you can buy anything for £90 in Next now.

I've had my next account for 24 years. I rarely but any clothes for myself now, just bits for the kids.

Nothing fits. Weird shapes and cuts. No consistent sizing. Things that look lovely online are horrible in real life.

My favourite ever purchase was a long black, sheepskin coat. Fully faux for lined. Cost me £110, which was a large chunk 20 years ago. Got me through a good few winters.

I remember my mum having the first Next Directory, it was hard backed and there were fabric swatches . She still has a couple of jackets from over 20 years ago which are still lovely

In the late 80s I spent £40 on a beautiful handbag and then similar on a pair of shoes. My mum was horrified but they were both so beautiful. Next was aspirational. I still have a few old (early 90s ) M&S items that I wear. Great quality and design. In those days M&S rarely had sales, and coats etc were investment items. Not just quality has changed- size also. A size 12 from 1990 is significantly smaller than today.

The Next directory arriving was AN EVENT. Friends round, wine and crisps....

Bought some lovely stuff for work from there mid to late 90s....

I bought a lovely second hand Next suit the other day- wool blend- lovely lining and cut.

Bought a work suit recently from there and the difference is staggering. Such poor quality on the new suit.
I'm struggling at the moment to find anywhere that does good quality trouser suits.

Next has gone downhill massively over the past 10-15 years. It's full of cheap, poorly made clothes that are massively overpriced. Other than purchasing a last minute pair of heels there a year or so ago, I haven't shopped there in years.

@JaceLancs

Anyone remember Richard shops I bought my first interview suit there in the early 80s Pure wool grey pinstripe - really well cut

OMG yes!

I'd forgotten all about Richard shops. I had a grey suit from there too at about that time - I wonder if it was the same one?

I've got clothes from Next from around 20 years ago (admittedly not many as I was at university & it was a bit of a stretch financially) but they've outlasted anything I bought more recently. I also notice than the size 10 tops circa 2000 are not comparable to current size 10 tops, they are considerably smaller. It's not just Next that do this, FWIW. I have a size 8 New Look bias cut linen dress (!) that I bought in about 1998, it's probably about a size 4-6 by current standards.

JaceLancs, I remember Richard Shops! Had some really nice clothes from them in the mid 80s to mid 90s.
I used to meet my friend on a Saturday morning. We'd have a mooch round The Body Shop, Next, Richards and Bury Market and then go for a brew and a cake. Dorothy Perkins and Principles were also on our radar.

Yes, I remember when Next first launched, they were new and exciting. The Glasgow store was all industrial - concrete and metal. Very cool. And the clothes felt like a bit of an investment, but not totally unrealistic.

Yes, I can remember having a heavy crepe pleated skirt and top in a coffee colour back in the early 90s and beautiful two tone leather pumps. I wore them to my brother’s wedding so it would have been 1993. They were really lovely.

I loved Richards’ too. Probably my all time favourite clothes shop.

I remember Richard Shops too! I had a raincoat from there and wish I'd kept it.

What I have kept some velvet flared trousers from Next, bought early noughties. They're proper cotton velvet, thick and plush, not that dreadful shiny stuff that even Toast was selling last winter.

I also remember sewing factories jumping through all kinds of hoops to win a Marks & Soencer contract - it was a real feather in their cap. I can see the St Micheal label being as covetable as vintage Jaegar or Aquascutum in 10 or 20 years.