Roman Originals, what were you thinking?!

[SatinHeart]

This popped up on my FB feed

Does anyone actually like being called 'middle aged'?

Roman Originals has always been seen as a brand mostly for middle aged women so I can't see the problem.

Are they a U.K. brand? It sounds like it was written by someone who is not a native speaker and doesn’t get the negative connotation.

Just scrolling through their website some of their viscose dresses look similar in style to Sézane's viscose dresses.

It is a courageous description but I don't have a problem. That said, few people appear to like my rational breakdown of young (0 - 25), middle-aged (26 - 50) and old (51+).

Whoosh!

It's interesting, that 🤔

I've never looked in a Roman Originals shop. I don't think there is one near us. I thought, from threads here, it was similar to shops like Bonmarche?

I’m not offended by it, but no doubt many will be.

Returns are free if you order through Amazon

Me too, and I don't give a shiny shit, although I wouldn't be seen dead in that skirt.

Next online stock them and they have free returns instore.

I've always thought of it as a shop for the 50s and over, similar to Bon Marche. That is middle aged to me, no shame in that.

I'm 66 years old and wouldn't wear that twee skirt.

Why do manufacturers assume that people's sense of taste diminishes as they age?

This.

If I reach 100 without succumbing to a hankering for floral crimplene, I'll die a happy woman.

It depends what they class as middle aged. To be honest, I often wish websites had an age range filter because I am useless at knowing if something would be considered nice for someone my age (I can see why that would never work)

What's wrong with floral crimpolene 🤣

I joke! I've never visited a Bonmarche (Bon Marche?) before either. I presume they're aimed at the older age demographic- the window display I once saw was filled with inoffensive Breton tops and pastel shirts.

Crimplene!

It also means that their clothes;

Don't stop roughly 8mm from the bottom of your arse cheeks but are labelled 'midi'
Don't have V necks that finish somewhere near your appendix
Don't assume that having a larger hip or waist measurement means you inherently have tits the size of beachballs
Don't assume that somebody who needs a larger size somehow has an absolutely washboard flat lower abdomen
Don't have weird cutouts at the back which render an apparently nice dress positively inappropriate for work
Aren't all bloody animal print or ditzy sodding floral looking at you M&S
Have a wide range of colours so people of all colour 'seasons' can find something to suit them
Aren't practically transparent
Actually have decent seams and finishing
Don't disintegrate in the washing machine
Don't have images of models squatting as though they're taking a sneaky piss in the back of a car park/on a kitchen counter or leaning back so far their feet look like they're about size 25 UK and their heads are the size of a newborn baby
Don't photograph pure white clothes on a white background so you can't actually see anything M&S again
Don't have random items where there's just a photo of the thing on a white background with no way of telling how long/short/whatever it is M&S
Don't have obvious photoshopping where the models are about 7 foot tall and are missing half their legs
Don't have plus sizes modelled by somebody who is clearly a size 8
Have petite sizes modelled by petite models
Add short clips of the models wearing the clothes where you can actually see the clothes properly
Are listed with accurate lengths of dresses, skirts and trouser inside leg measurements - if a pair of trousers is listed as having a 28" inside leg measurement, that is exactly how long the inside leg of the trousers measure instead of being anything from 25" to 37" I wonder why M&S aren't making as much money as they used to
Have a large range of petite fittings that don't stop at size 16 because they are aware that middleaged women often are shorter than the average 22 year old in the UK and that sometimes, they are larger.
Allow a search on workwear/formal workwear/officewear and the results take into account that a lot of workplaces have dresscodes that do not permit spaghetti straps, sleeveless tops that expose 85% of the lateral side of the breasts, miniskirts and cut to the diaphragm necklines.

There are things that I wouldn't ever wear, obviously, and the filter function could be improved, but there's no difficulty in finding things that are suitable and you know that, when you order a particular size, it'll be that size.

I've just had a look at their website out of curiosity. The sizing starts at size 10, no 8, so not somewhere I could shop. I wonder why they don't start at size 8!

Not for all of the ranges - petites start at size 6 (and if you're 5'5" or shorter, that's fine), as does the Dusk range.

They have 57 maxi dresses in a size 8. and 11 in a size 6

I pretend to middle-aged but actually I am just old.

I've just done a search on dresses in size 8 - there are 385 different ones currently in stock (they have the search where the size is what is in stock, not what it should be available in - yet another black mark against M&S there)

www.roman.co.uk/dresses/size-8

Dusk range is a bit....reaching the end of lifeish

although i have no problem with them defining their demography as "middle aged", hell i am and as such don't want to show my bingo wings or bra

I clicked randomly on a dress and top, and they started at 10. I must have missed the other 385 🤣

I was only looking out of curiosity. I don't intend to buy anything, but thanks for checking for me!

I'm middle aged and it's how i describe myself, so it bothers me not a jot. They're being direct about their target market and, frankly, I'm so bloody invisible to the majority of high Street brands that this acknowledgement that I exist is refreshing.

I've also committed the cardinal sin of allowing the greys through and not giving a shit.