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FatFace

34 replies

clothinghorse · 05/06/2022 08:25

Last year I bought a fair bit from Fatface but this year it seems awful, really frumpy, badly cut and overpriced. Who is Fatface aimed at and how do you feel about it as a brand? I think like white stuff I need to stop shopping there!

OP posts:
IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 05/06/2022 08:28

I used to buy a lot from FF. They were my go-to place for jeans. Then they started using a lot of polyester and making very skinny jeans, and I havn’t got anything for 7 or 8 years. Similar story for a lot of places.

JennyJumpsuit · 05/06/2022 08:47

I've always disliked Fatface tbh. I don't know who it's aimed at, but someone I know loves it there. She is a middle class GP with 3 x kids. Not mega stylish, but she always looks nice. She's v petite and slim,so think she dies get away with not terribly nice or interesting clothes. I am a lot bigger and chunkier with big norks, so I have to work hard to avoid looking matronly!

JennyJumpsuit · 05/06/2022 08:47

Ugh typos ^^

Hope it makes sense!

BreakinbadBreakineven · 05/06/2022 08:54

I know what you mean re frumpy, I buy quite a bit from there but mainly jumpers and plain t shirts/vest tops. Also have a really nice FF jumpsuit. I don't like their dresses and patterned tops. Occasionally I'll see a jacket or coat I like, or a pair of boots. I had a pair of skinny jeans from there but they split across the knee after a week of wear so won't be getting jeans from there again!

RampantIvy · 05/06/2022 08:55

I find the muted, sludgy colours they do just don't suit me. I am a jewel winter, and they never seem to have anything brighter in.

packedlunches · 05/06/2022 09:04

Not sure of target market but I like the sort of relaxed borderline surfy look that it seems to emulate.
Clothing seems to be better quality than a lot of other brands. I find it's good for tops as they tend to be longer line. Jewellery nice too.
Although I did go in the other day and there didn't seem to be much I liked - perhaps just the season?

DurhamDurham · 05/06/2022 09:04

I bought a dark grey jumpsuit from there, it looks v dull and drab when it's in the hanger but honestly as soon as I put it on I feel great. I've had complements when wearing it too, I wear it with wedge sandals or trainers. I probably wear it too often, I've become predictable Grin

SallyWD · 05/06/2022 09:20

They're my favourite clothes shop and most of my clothes are from there - however I haven't seen much I like this year. I think they're expensive. I do get tired of seeing t-shirts for £45 etc. I usually get stuff in the sales or with vouchers.

Forgothowmuchlhatehomeschoolin · 05/06/2022 10:16

Used to he my favourite shop but l have fallen out of love with it.
Very expensive unless stuff is in the sale and all quite drab.

CaptainBeakyandhisband · 05/06/2022 10:20

Great for: jeggings, pj bottoms, and striped jersey tops but the rest has been going downhill for ages. I used to have a lot of fat face dresses for work but they stopped making the styles that I like 5+ years ago.

Savedbythebell1 · 05/06/2022 10:28

I love their casual wear (t shirts, leggings, hoodies) and their clothes are always good quality in my opinion so it's worth paying extra for. However, I didn't like their summer range this year - a lot of paisley prints, 70s colours and ugly flowery patterns. I'm hoping some nice jumpers and coats come out in autumn!

VintageVest · 05/06/2022 10:32

I often find quite a lot of their stuff is giid quality and really nice. I like their cotton tops in summer and have some cuffed trousers and shorts that are nice. Some of their dresses are nice too. The breton tops are good quality and come in nice colours.

There's a good percentage if their stuff that's bloody awful though and I wonder who buys it.

Newgirls · 05/06/2022 10:33

Good swimwear at the moment 👍

Reallyreallyborednow · 05/06/2022 10:38

Not sure of target market but I like the sort of relaxed borderline surfy look that it seems to emulate

this.

i used to buy quite a bit from ff. i liked the vest top, knitted zip hoodies, the long skirts and occasional dress.

have to say though I haven’t bought anything a good few years as they seem to have moved away from that style and more towards the “trendy mum” type stuff. I’ve gone back to animal, quiksilver etc for my basics.

same with o’neill years ago.

fellrunner85 · 05/06/2022 10:49

My mum LOVES Fat Face - and I think she's their exact target market tbh.
I tend to put Fat Face, White Stuff, Joules and Seasalt in the same bracket- outdoorsy-ish clothing for people who don't do anything properly outdoorsy.
It's "trip to a NT property for a short walk and a scone", or "stroll by the sea, then a glass of white at a beach bar" territory; rather than quality outdoors gear you could run or bike or climb in.. but still tries to have that outdoorsy "vibe". This is why you see a LOT of these shops in places like the Lakes and Cornwall, imo.
Also, the sizes are generous, the cut is roomy to allow for bums and boobs, and the prices are fairly high, which means they attract a certain sort of clientele - people with a bit of disposable income who want to make an effort with their look, but equally don't want tight/cropped/skimpy clothes. Ie perhaps people that bit older who like being outdoors but aren't needing technical inov8/Alpkit/Mountain Equipment gear.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 05/06/2022 10:57

I've had a few nice dresses and cotton sun tops from there in the past. I went in the other day though and thought it was awful - drab colours, droopy clothes, poor fabrics and it all seemed very expensive too.

Eightiesfan · 05/06/2022 11:07

i agree, I do love FF but they are very hit and miss. Last summer their collection was brilliant and I bought loads of summer dresses.

This year there is maybe one dress I might consider buying.

ImAvingOops · 05/06/2022 12:11

Agree that they can get very hit and miss. Last year I bought a lovely (imo) black maxi summer dress, which I wear a lot and has washed and worn well and a couple of pretty floral print tops. I'll be honest, their stuff does make me feel frumpy sometimes, because I'm not some dainty, slim woman who looks good on patterns. But that's not exclusive to fat face, since horrible prints are everywhere right now! Their sales are good - got a lovely tote bag in there one year half price.

I think they are aimed at middle aged women who want to look 'nice' but aren't fussed about fashion.

Outside of sale time they are a bit overpriced. I just ordered 2 jumper dresses in the sale for £18 each, original price £69.95 iirc. There's no way they were worth the full price. They had a nice plain dress for about £120 in ff, which I think is about £50 more than it should be.

Beatrixpotterspencil · 05/06/2022 14:58

Frumpy is a bloody ridiculous word to describe a mostly-casual brand such as fat face. Most of their outdoors, casual cotton stuff is excellent for the price.

I don't rate the more 'fashion' pieces at all, but they're hardly frumpy. But I will say they don't get the best out of their online models - gorgeous women of all sizes but terrible poses and weird angled photos. The jewellery and underwear is hugely overpriced.

However, I don't see how fatface could be described as frumpy... if you, say, compare a puff sleeved viscose dress from the likes of Whistles that looks like it fell from a broken curtain rail for nearly £200. Now that's a laugh! Frumpy, whether you love or loathe the word usually describes someone who is probably on a low income, unwell or otherwise disengaged in terms of clothing. Not really something to laugh at, nor compare to a fairly expensive high street store that mostly caters to outdoorsy or coastal types. Fatface is good at what it does best - so the fashiony stuff sucks, naturally.
Perhaps people are referring to the tired, directionless middle class: perhaps a reaf of looking like one's mother in the 80's. Well, we all do anyway now with the tentlike aline midi dresses and skirts Grin

So yeh, I'm not a fan of fatface but I rate their quality for the price and practicality. I'd rather purchase a fatface hoodie if I had to than a thin shitty misshapen sweaty betty for £££££.

And they remind me oh home, of nature, my memories of climbing trees and wading through fresh water. It's wholesome, I suppose. That's a more appropriate word.

Frumpy to me is Pep (?) at Poundland, Peacocks, Bon Marche. Let's not deny a lot of these connotations are not just about age but also our perceptions of a 'lower class'.

Beatrixpotterspencil · 05/06/2022 15:00

perhaps a fear* of looking like one's mother in the 80's.

ImAvingOops · 05/06/2022 15:21

@Beatrixpotterspencil people can say whether certain clothes make them feel frumpy or not. It's a question of personal perception, surely?
Fatface clothes are well made and certainly better quality than a lot of what is on the market. But that doesn't made them immune to looking frumpy. Tall, slim pretty women can wear anything and look good. I'm short and dumpy and look terrible in most things. Particularly floral prints. People with my shape probably do have to spend more money to get more flattering clothes that fit well. Just because Whistles etc might charge £200 for a dress, it doesn't necessarily follow that said dress is worth £200 in terms of fabric or cut, so they aren't immune from looking frumpy either with their oversized Amish look!

Current fashion looks reasonable on the beautiful but not so much on the more ordinary looking woman, whether it's expensive to buy or not. There's more than one way to look frumpy - it's not only about being poor and disengaged with fashion.

gunnersgold · 05/06/2022 15:31

I'm nearly 50 and have never bought anything from there .. feels old fashioned and all faded to me , let alone the cost! It's a no from me !

Saladtoes · 05/06/2022 20:38

I loved their cotton tunics, PJ bottoms etc when I was pregnant (a decade ago) and had no interest in looking stylish, but find them really drab and shapeless now. I’ve kept a couple of slobbing-around-the-house outfits from there but the rest didn’t last.

PAFMO · 05/06/2022 20:55

I live near a factory shop and the brands made there (or possibly just labelled up and despatched from there) are M&S, FF, White Stuff, Monsoon and Boden. Bit of John Lewis own brand.
I kind of associate them as a family style wise as a result.
I agree that 10-15 years ago FF was brighter (though the vanity sizing was mad even then- I'm a 38DD top and like a 16 unless it's very generous and in FF was a 10) now it's gone over into that muddy sludgy faded green spectrum.
I've not seen anything I like for a good few years now.

onlywork55 · 05/06/2022 22:21

I have had a few nice things from over the years, and I find their stuff tends to wash well, which is handy if you have young kids.

I agree a lot is very drab though. A lot of their clothes look very faded even when brand new in the shop.

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