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.

[quote ambereeree]@lemonadeandpop wow that's quite a read. I'll give the shop visit a miss.[/quote]
Shocking.

There was a more detailed article that I had initially read, but couldn't find it to link. Only very very recently have they had some diversity with their models. I actually emailed Toast about this and received radio silence.

Not trying to derail the thread, but good to know for those who would deem this important when making purchasing decisions. I am not naive and know this matters not to many, but it's something I would want to be aware of before contributing to a company's balance sheet.

I used to love toast, it used to be quite well made and flattering , quite feminine.

Over the years it has become more hardcore soviet librarian, quite a cool style but it does not work for me at all

I forgot to mention,some of their models look ill,with eating disorder.I have written to them about it.the answer was,that their models are healthy....I would consider myself an average weight(SIZE 12).the models and clothes look sometimes,like the come straight from sort of religious sect.

@lemonadeandpop the comments in the Guardian article are shocking - thanks for linking. Between that at the Good on You rating, Toast doesn’t look good.

@lemonadeandpop I've read the article you linked to in the guardian . It was written in 2014 and I'm hoping that it no longer reflects the brand. Many retailers had a big wake up call ( quite rightly) with BLM and Tiast does use black women in their catalogue and styling videos though they seem to favour red haired white women, it's true. I'm going to write to them to ask.

I loved Toast in my late 20s and early 30s (back in the noughties) I bought a pair of yeti boots and some cool jackets.
Now I look at it and yes it's well made but its' very middle aged now. The sort of thing you wear when you've given up. What happened to the cool stuff?

[quote Sooverthemill]@lemonadeandpop I've read the article you linked to in the guardian . It was written in 2014 and I'm hoping that it no longer reflects the brand. Many retailers had a big wake up call ( quite rightly) with BLM and Tiast does use black women in their catalogue and styling videos though they seem to favour red haired white women, it's true. I'm going to write to them to ask.[/quote]
Yes this article was from 2014, there was an article much later that shed more light on the founders' view. As I said above I was unable to find it, so linked to the brief overview.

Toast models reflected the views in the 2014 articles until roughly* two years ago. The founders still had a stake in the company until 2018, the business was then sold and is now owned 100% by a corporation. It's clear to see when this diversity shift took place, inclusivity opens brands to a wider market - profit is the bottom line for all corporate entities.

I'm not really sure why a company needs to have a 'wake up call' to be held accountable / no longer feel comfortable express disgusting prejudiced views so publicly (with zero backlash). Brands are free to choose who they want to represent their looks, it is however absolutely unacceptable to attribute lesser intelligence and overt sexuality, amongst other things, as being characteristic of a particular ethnic minority group.

Perhaps it's more prudent to question why we should need movements like BLM in this day and age.

@IzzyImmyIndyMum

I loved Toast in my late 20s and early 30s (back in the noughties) I bought a pair of yeti boots and some cool jackets. Now I look at it and yes it's well made but its' very middle aged now. The sort of thing you wear when you've given up. What happened to the cool stuff?

The jumpers and cardigans look nice. I was going to buy one for my mum which is why I was thinking to drive to cambridge to have a look in the store.

@lemonadeandpop yes I agree it's appalling but unfortunately it is what happened look at all those pointless black Instagram posts

@IzzyImmyIndyMum

I loved Toast in my late 20s and early 30s (back in the noughties) I bought a pair of yeti boots and some cool jackets. Now I look at it and yes it's well made but its' very middle aged now. The sort of thing you wear when you've given up. What happened to the cool stuff?

Ouch ... I don't think anyone.pays Toast prices because they have given up style wise. More that they've given up on buying cheap clothing that falls apart after a few washes.

I have a Toast linen skirt I love, because I love the fabric and the style, but I bought it very cheaply from a market. Most of their stuff doesn't work on me, but I quite like the styling. I think their core market is older, more comfortable, especially the dresses... say post-meno and 55 plus.

I wouldn't choose it despite being 65. I am sure it washes and wears well, but I still like chic and stylish, and I think most of Toast fails.

I used to adore Toast - though would have been a lot less adoring had I been aware of Jessica Seaton's shocking comments in that Guardian piece. Given the weird direction that the clothes have taken - 'Soviet librarian' is about right - and the fact that everything is cut so big, I gave up on them a few years ago. My current favourite is Jigsaw, which has always gone for lovely tactile fabrics and a good finish but seems to have reinvented itself style-wise since lockdown - some really original pieces, but still wearable. Prices have rocketed though. Another reliable brand is Iris and Ink, the Outnet's own label. It has clothes I actually want to wear, whereas I find a lot of Toast's output just baffling now.

I still like Jigsaw, but they are so ££££ now

Toast really was amazing 30-20 years ago, I still have a beautiful pair of shoes (turquoise red and silver pointy flats) and a swishy silk skirt and an embroidered dress. And a velvet gown

Actually, last year they had a beautiful velvet jumpsuit (that sadly was too big on me, which is funny as I am 6ft and a size 14, and it swamped me)

Am still lusting after that though…. (Just need a size S)

I can't get my head round Toast. And maybe I'm their target audience at 50? But it all looks so staid and dull and like something an older person would wear. It's a brand for 'proper grown ups.' All worthy and earnest

You'll find me in Sweaty Betty, Lululemon, Adidas and Scamp & Dude. I can't see me changing anytime soon

I could see fashionable younger people wearing the clothes in a kind of Boho style. The knitwear is nice I was looking at a cardigan in old gold and it's very pretty. Like a lot of shops some stuff is wtf and others really nice.

What I can't understand is how people can't understand why not every brand or retailer caters to their taste. And that people have different tastes. You follow me? (I may have got a bit lost there).
Anyway, you don't have to like it or even understand why other people do. It's great that we all like different things.