Why so many threads about Toast?

[ambereeree]

What's so good about the clothes? I looked at the website and it's doesn't look anything very special.

I like the quality and handmade feel to the clothing. My new toast jumper is my favourite. I couldn't find any other company with comparable quality pure wool jumpers, it's so soft and doesn't itch at all, expensive but the quality is amazing.

I'm going to try and go to a shop to have a look. Toast and Hush s&b favourites it seems. I discovered mint velvet on mumsnet as well.

I'm a recent convert - for me they feel like real quality clothing and the bits I have picked up fit me so well.

I often handle vintage clothing and lots of 'new' stuff seems so flimsy and poorly made in comparison to older items from, say, St Michael or Jaeger. Toast feels well made (I will admit here that I have next-to-no knowledge of sewing/making clothes!)

I wouldn't say the same for Mint Velvet and Hush - they both seem really overpriced for what they are.

Nearest shop to me is Cambridge so I will go take a look.

Are there toast marketeers on here?. I always wonder that when everyone coos over Saltwaters or Toast or Hush for a period.

I bought a pair of trousers from Toast over the summer - linen ones (think the style was Gabby maybe?) and they were around £100. They were see-through and so flimsy and cheap looking. It really put me off. I know Toast are really popular but I don’t know whether there’s just a bit of hype. Feel the same about Hush - lots of people here seem to love it but the quality doesn’t seem great to me.

Subliminal marketing

I'm not keen on Toast at all, all of it seems quite dowdy and droopy. Hush have some nice-looking clothes but they are often very poor quality so I wouldn't recommend them. I prefer Whistles, Reiss, Mint Velvet, Hobbs, Sandro, Claudie Pierlot, AllSaints, Sézane (though not so much this year) and Rouje.

I might be wrong but I think the marketing suggestion is unfair. Part of the reason Toast gets so much coverage on here is that it's very marmite - for every favourable post you get two or three who dislike it intensely.

Personally I'm not keen on their dresses but I think their trousers are great: interesting shapes, better choice of colours than most and yes, better quality than most, as indeed it should be at those prices.

I think they're a bit up themselves - the faux philosophy stuff gets up my nose and it annoys me that they try and give the impression of still being a small independent company when in fact last time I looked they were owned by a corporate (can't remember which).

There's a long running Toast thread which I dip in and out of (although very rarely post). They review stuff and post photos which is useful if you're interested in a specific product and, although they're fans, they don't pull their punches when they don't like something.

I think it might just be that they're targeted at a particular demographic who just happen to be well-represented on Mumsnet.

Personally, Toast really isn't for me at all but I know others who love it.

@Chisandbiscuits yes it does look dowdy on the website! I didn't want to say as someone may get offended but I was a bit surprised when I went on the website. Lots of browns and seemingly shapeless clothes. I will go and have a look at the clothes in the shop to see if I'm wrong!

Theres a long running Toast thread , which I am part of .. No its not marketing, we just like the stuff and a chat about what we've bought or like.. if you go back to the thread a few months when Toast were having problems with returns you'll certainly see that we are not marketing plants!!
As with all companies some is good some is definitely not.. we often joke about just how dreadful it looks on us , and then another day find something we love..

They dont even do discounts ... So we live for sale time .. yes maybe a bit sad but its fairly harmless

The clothes aren't disposable fashion and there are more natural fibres plus things like the seams on their clothes are very neat meaning they last ages. I don't follow the toast thread but buy the odd thing. Now I try and buy British as I find the quality better and go for Scottish wool jumpers etc.

I too don't get the love @ambereeree.

I went on to their website and was very underwhelmed with their clothing.
I was surprised as so many on Mumsnet appear to love their stuff. 🤔
I thought it was very expensive.
I'm not in the UK so haven't been into one of their shops and seen the actual clothing or felt the quality - perhaps it's better in rl.

Toast pays attention to detail; deep hems, great seams, matched up patterns at joins, etc., the right fabric fit the item so it hands nicely. That said, I only ever buy the cotton and wool items so I don't know how they fare with items made of other fabrics.

I don't think their stuff necessarily lasts forever, as they and other sites are trying to say nowadays, but they do support small fixes by offering workshops, and I've never yet got rid of a toast item.

With toast the problem is sizing, and it's a particular aesthetic that doesn't have mainstream appeal, so it gets a lot of stick, but for those of us who love it we more than make up for that!

The knitwear and the dresses are often particularly nice, in my opinion. I always avoid the long running Toast thread as I fear it would just encourage me to buy more!

Is this another one of those threads where the OP is accusing the posters on a long standing thread of all being secret Toast agents?

they have a dreadful ethics score and the clothes are stupidly large fitting. You can get lucky, but at a price.

The whole artisanal bollox doesn't wash with me, here, I think they have stumbled onto some very, very clever marketing - has a sort of cult fan base with women of certain age and bodyweight (nothing wrong with that of course), although I think they are being duped!

They also have a rather scattered returns legacy, rarely show adequate model photo's and have an increasing rise in customer service complaints. I just don't like their act, not one bit.

Here is a link to their poor ethics and sustainability score directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/toast

My toes also curl at their instagram - all this shite about 'makers' instead of artists, and only sharing paintings or designs in sludge brown, with associated faux-rustique sculpture.. As a painter myself it all feels a touch too pretentious, disingenuous.

I sure many actual artists cant help but cringe.

[quote ambereeree]@Chisandbiscuits yes it does look dowdy on the website! I didn't want to say as someone may get offended but I was a bit surprised when I went on the website. Lots of browns and seemingly shapeless clothes. I will go and have a look at the clothes in the shop to see if I'm wrong![/quote]
If you look on instagram, the clothes are far nicer on real women. I have honestly had multiple compliments esp regarding prints of dresses that I have. People who lack imagination may think its dowdy. In real life, when fashioned with other things, their clothes are quirky and unusual.

@musicforsmorks

My toes also curl at their instagram - all this shite about 'makers' instead of artists, and only sharing paintings or designs in sludge brown, with associated faux-rustique sculpture.. As a painter myself it all feels a touch too pretentious, disingenuous.

I sure many actual artists cant help but cringe.

Im not that fussed for their marketing. It is a bit too ponsy for me.

[quote musicforsmorks]they have a dreadful ethics score and the clothes are stupidly large fitting. You can get lucky, but at a price.

The whole artisanal bollox doesn't wash with me, here, I think they have stumbled onto some very, very clever marketing - has a sort of cult fan base with women of certain age and bodyweight (nothing wrong with that of course), although I think they are being duped!

They also have a rather scattered returns legacy, rarely show adequate model photo's and have an increasing rise in customer service complaints. I just don't like their act, not one bit.

Here is a link to their poor ethics and sustainability score directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/toast[/quote]
Their photos are pretty poor, agreed.
Ive been wearing Toast clothing for years. Nothing to do with age and bodyweight.

@SaltySarah

Is this another one of those threads where the OP is accusing the posters on a long standing thread of all being secret Toast agents?

Im on that Toast thread. I'm certainly not a Toast agent. I can be equally critical of the clothes.

@LordoftheDanceSaidHe

Are there toast marketeers on here?. I always wonder that when everyone coos over Saltwaters or Toast or Hush for a period.

I mean they’d be smart to do it, I’m sure any decent marketing dept would keep tabs on places like this