Where do you buy good quality clothes?

[Ireallywantsomechips]

Hello all!

I need to buy new clothes now I’ll be going back to work post baby and a lot of my old clothes are too big now - which is great but I don’t know where to shop anymore 😂

I haven’t really bought any new clothes for a long time and everything just seems really badly cut, poor quality or has a weird print!

I just want flattering dresses, tailored trousers and simple not see through tops that fit a size 18.

Anywhere you recommend?

Have a look at Patra silk. They're a,great price for the quality, but they may be a little staid for you. I have a plain blue dress that my husband said I looked gorgeous in, the first time since our wedding day. I'm covering a,paid of boil silk trousers from there.

Massimo Dutti, Cos and Zara are my high street favourites. The quality is really good, natural fabrics (read the labels in Zara though) and they wash well.

Massimo Dutti has beautiful tailored clothes.

Brora, The Fold, Whistles. I like the idea of Cos but in over 10 years of popping in there have only bought 1 top and one Red cardigan. If you are tall some Toast items might suit you, their dresses are too long for me.
Maybe Ceffin if you want to push the boat out?

I buy some work stuff from Hobbs. Normally order via John Lewis as the returns are easy. I also like the Boden Ottoman dresses as they are easy to wash and wear. Their Richmond trousers are also great for work.

Don't know what your budget is like, have you looked at m&s and next?

For work stuff (and casual clothes to be fair) I buy from Tu Sainsbury's.

Everything I've bought has been great quality for the price.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Massimo Dutti, looks great! Thank you

I blooming love toast! It’s eye wateringly expensive at times but I suppose I could treat myself on some key pieces, I’ve heard they last forever.

Whistles and Hobbs are a great shout! I like Boden but my mum shops there and white stuff, which is fine but I just don’t want to wear the same things as my mum 😂

I hadn’t thought of checking out next, I like M&S for some bits so I’ll take a peak! Never thought of Sainsbury’s. The two in my city are quite small so I’ll have look online! Thank you!

Hobbs, Jigsaw, Boden, Reiss, White Company.
All my clothes from there last well, especially if I wash them carefully

Jigsaw quality is consistently good and they're currently running a great outlet sale. The Outnet (discount designer fashion) has just started a clearance sale, but you need to be quick off the mark.

I've bought a few things from Reiss recently, one at full price a few other items on sale, impressed with the quality.
and other stories too.
For more casual clothes I've bought from m&s

eBay. Excellent quality for much less cost. Adopt don't shop!!

I was a size 18 up until recently and I don’t think you’ll find Massimo Dutti, Zara and Reiss have big enough sizes....well they wouldn’t have been big enough for me. I shop at Cos and Arket mainly with some bits from Kin and Modern Rarity at John Lewis ( Modern Rarity is a bit more classic but better quality ). The quality of M&S is a bit hit and miss nowadays so I tend to steer towards Autograph. Hobbs is not really my bag style wise but I have got a couple of bits from eBay. Jaeger is the same... nice jersey dresses picked up on eBay ( but they’re not trading at the moment). For casual I like Monki and some stuff from Weekday but they’re definitely fast fashion retailers and the quality of the fabrics can be mixed.. I stick to cotton items / denim where possible.

I’ve recently discovered Whistles - and I’m already a convert. Their cut really works for me.

Aspiga are excellent quality and super-comfortable. More aimed at leisure wear but some pieces would be fine for work.

If it's tailored trousers you want you'll be hard pushed to beat Cos. I think their trousers are the best on the high street. For an 18 you'll be wanting their size 44. One of the things I like about them is that they do similar styles every season, so you can reliably find "a nice pair of smartish trousers for work" whenever you need them. I have a previous season's version of these straight woven trousers for example, probably the most worn item in my work wardrobe. They're polyester which I usually avoid like the plague but really keep their shape. Cos do lots of cotton and organic cotton styles too.

I'm another big fan of Toast, if you can wait for the sales their plain and stripe cotton tees are amazing. Also highly recommend Whistles cotton pocket tops which are lovely, really flattering and easy to wear in lots of colours. Again, I buy with their (fairly regular) discounts.

Some of these font go up to an 18 - Massimo Dutti and Reiss for example. Cefinn is only up to 16.

I wear boden, monsoon, Hobbs and LKbennett.

Really good recs here, following!

@Zinnia do you wear those COS trousers with heels?

Me&Em sale

[quote Eesha]@Zinnia do you wear those COS trousers with heels?[/quote]
I don't really wear heels full stop! Usually wear with loafers, or very plain white trainers. My workplace was is quite relaxed.

Baukjen is definitely worth a look and a lot of their styles are available in size 18. Hush too, some sizes stop at a 16 but tend towards generously sized.

Cos, Arket, & Other Stories, John Lewis, Jigsaw, White Company, Boden. M&S & Uniqlo for basics. H&M for cheap frills!

I agree with a lot of the suggestions here Hobbs/Cos/John Lewis etc, but I cannot say I will buy anything else from Jigsaw ever again.

Ordered almost 20 items, had delays in delivery, when they arrived every single item (bar one) was so badly made, poor quality material, mostly made in China, fit on most items very odd, and a shirt which was sent out with make up down the front. The one item I kept a pair of trousers I have worn for about a total of 5 hours (mostly sitting down) are now badly 'bobbled' at the crutch are terrible value for £££.

Its taken me over 21 days to get a refund, appalling customer service having to repeatedly chase them up, which is a shame as I used to really like Jigsaw, I still have 2 t-shirts from 1987.

The quality of Boden is generally very good, ie they still use some natural fibres. It takes a bit of effort to filter out the sort of things they're known for and find the plainer simple items but I've had some really good finds.

@Zinnia love the trousers but always feel I look too big for trousers. I'm a size 14/16 but my belly is where I put the weight on. I would usually wear a blazer for work but not sure the full suit look is dated now.