What's going on with clothes?

[LetSophieGo]

I don't buy often, used to, but lost interest in it years ago and spend most of my time now in practical, weather related stuff and leggings/yoga stuff, haha.

However, I am in dire need of a couple of light frocks for summer. To wear with my birks and my old superga.

Problem is, no matter where I look, everything looks shit.
John Lewis, Hush, White Co, places I once kind of gravitated to. Stuff looks thin of not well cut, and either too voluminous or shiny - which is nothing new these days, but you used to be able to get something if you paid a bit extra.

The only place ive seen decent looking dresses is toast, which is extortionate, but since I don't buy often, I don't mind. That said, ive seen the threads on here saying they are performing badly with deliveries and returns.

Where can I find decent stuff that isn't too trend oriented, but will last a few years?
Ive tried Plumo (too arty), COS (too structured and not really me), fat face (bland) and M&S and so on. I kind of like Poetry but nothing is in stock until July (sod that).
Nothing!

I just keep returning to outdoor stuff, which is always good - like Fjallraven and Arc'teryx. But they don't do frocks!

Any ideas?

Seasalt’s fabrics and construction tend to be decent, and I think the clothes are fairly priced. But you do have to hunt to find the good stuff - there’s often something just a bit off about garments that tips them into frumpy rather than timeless. I send back probably 3/4 or more of an order.

I have recently bought a great linen top and a fab dress from Wrap (related to Poetry I think) and some surprisingly good quality t-shirts from Mango’s plus-size range. I also have a couple of excellent (and cheap) cotton shirt dresses from Monki that are a few years old now, and a few bits of nice cotton summerwear collected from H&M over the years (tho you have to face the endless sifting to find it.)

But in general I do share your despair and I increasingly find myself making items that should be fairly straightforward to buy. If you sew at all - or fancy learning - Merchant and Mills has great fabrics and patterns. As a fatter person I also like Muna & Broad’s minimalist plus size patterns.

Do you have the Uniqlo X Toast or the Uniqlo X JW Anderson collections available to you? I got a couple of pretty decent pieces yesterday - a knitted t-shirt in a pure silk/cotton blend and a very pretty linen skirt with smocked detail at the waist. I was surprised, because I usually hate the Uniqlo women's wear and find them stingy on the natural fabrics, especially in summer.

Try Hush.

Well if you want good fabric and not trendy dresses, Boden would fit the bill usually.

Oliver Bonas have some lovely dresses as well. (We have one of their shops near us so I've only ever bought from that, not online, so no idea what their returns are like).

Try Hush.

They seem to specialise in polyester these days. Then again, most brands do.

Mountain Warehouse does dresses, might be more what you're looking for based on your liking for outdoors

I second Uniqlo. Got a fab dress a couple of years back from their karimeko range. Fabulous cotton, pockets and goes with birdies. I get lots of compliments

I know it’s lower end but I got a nice dress in H&M recently

There is a website called thread which kind of aggregates clothes from loads of different brands and gives you outfit suggestions based on trends and what you have previously bought. I was having real trouble finding summer dresses because everything this year seems to be midi length which on me is practically at my ankles, with high necks and long sleeves I end up looking Armish! Thread let's you search based on lots of different factors and I found some great stuff from brands I wouldn't previously have tried.

TK Maxx

@Magenta82

There is a website called thread which kind of aggregates clothes from loads of different brands and gives you outfit suggestions based on trends and what you have previously bought. I was having real trouble finding summer dresses because everything this year seems to be midi length which on me is practically at my ankles, with high necks and long sleeves I end up looking Armish! Thread let's you search based on lots of different factors and I found some great stuff from brands I wouldn't previously have tried.

Thank you for this, I've just signed up. I'm petite and busty which makes the current Little House on the Prairie look deeply unflattering.

www.pinkcityprints.com/collections/dresses

www.joythestore.com/womenswear/dresses?gclid=CjwKCAjw-qeFBhAsEiwA2G7Nlyb778EEe1lR-DYYGd7q5FRDaYt43zCz56TvJxVntVZ4GxdFBPLEvBoCkxcQAvD_BwE

I second Mountain Warehouse for dresses, surprisingly. I’ve had a couple from there. Nice this cotton jersey, fit well, minimal ironing. I always get compliments wearing them. The only problem is I’ve recommended them to all my friends and a couple of years back I turned up at a summer party and three of us were in the same frock...

Nice *thick cotton jersey

Try Finery London
Only does dresses and jumpsuits
God quality and reasonably priced I think!

Jigsaw has some nice dresses at the moment, I’ve found the quality to be good.

Try nobody's child. Mostly viscose I think so feels nicer than polyester. Most of the dresses are around the £45 mark.

Watching for ideas

Poetry is good for linen and hemp clothes.

Oh, I see you mentioned Poetry. Sorry.

I have been surprised that Next has quite a few nice dresses, obviously check they aren't polyester.

wraplondon?

I admire your optimism thinking that you're going to shortly be in dire need of light frocks. It's lashing rain here. Never had ''summer'' start so late as it has this year.

If you're not bothered about following trends then how about some charity shop browsing

Third the Mountain Warehouse dresses. I have two one in a blue print and one in a green print and I love them. They are UV protecting, have pockets and wash brilliantly.

Going to hunt down Uniqlo x Toast!