What brands to go to for good quality stylish clothes?

[CorporateBull]

I am at a loss. I have a decent budget for new clothes but want to buy good quality stuff that will last. I’m just emerging from a longish period of buying very little and living in the same clothes.
Many of the brands I used to buy from have disappeared or now seem to sell expensive polyester, and current trends just don’t suit me.
I have no idea which of the brands I see ads online for are real decent ones and which are dodgy resellers from China!
Please suggest some nice places to try for natural fibres and classic styles? I’m late forties and tend to be a jeans and jumper type - overweight and not very groomed!

M & S for basics like trousers, plain long sleeved tops and jeggings.

Mint Velvet, Phase 8, Seasalt and White Stuff for nice tops/tunics/knitwear. And La Redoute.

I'd also second a PP who said Ralph Lauren, I've bought some really nice pieces from there recently. I've got a divine jersey blouse that hangs really well due to the weight of it, and had lots of compliments.

My God - this thread is depressing …

Jigsaw

Me+Em for joggers, maxi dresses and skirts (can't wear high neck stuff which they seem to do a lot of.
Wyse or Brora for tops and sweaters.
Also like mytheresa or the outnet for one off bargains.

Why? Not everybody can afford to/wants to buy designer stuff from Matches/MaxM. Nobody I know in real life does this.

Yes it is, Country Couisin. But possibly some good will come of it. I'm old enough to remember when we all had fewer clothes, but they were nicely - serviceably - made and of good quality. They lasted. (Almost all my childhood party dresses were hand-me-downs from older cousins, for example, and some of them were lovely.) M and S were not exactly cheap but they were oh-so-reliable. And sometimes quite attractive.

In recent years, fast, 'disposable' fashion has done a great deal to undermine what were once quite decent standards in clothing, available to almost everyone. (Just like fast over-processed food has done.) It's sad to see former good quality brands suffering at the moment, but what I think we (and the environment, and the poor exploited clothing makers) need is to have a re-set. Less but better; less but more environmentally-conscious; less but produced by people who earn a fair wage etc etc etc. Not more nasty tat.

Nice blouse if that's your style, and I realise you must have got it in the sale, but seriously, £50 got viscose?

I work from home; nobody would see my Max Mara or even my Sezanne:)

Another tip for classic clothes is men's clothes, IMO. I have bought a few men's jumpers lately because they are so much nicer than the women's. No puff sleeves or frilly yokes, no pastel shades ( they don't suit me) and more wool than acrylic.

I tend to get my best things from designers that specialise in doing just one thing - eg just knitwear, just jeans.

Lots of good British designers for knitwear: Oubas, &Daughter, Genevieve Sweeney. European brands like Moss & Cable, Ami Amalia, Knotty Ones, Babaa, L’Envers.

Jeans from Huit, Blackhorse Lane Ateliers, Donna Aida as well as the bigger brands like 7 For All Mankind, J Brand, Slvrlake (the latter ones I get from the Outnet).

Coats I like to buy vintage wool/cashmere (my favourite ones are from Max Mara and 80s Jaegar) but love brands like Stand Studio for faux fur/aviator jackets. Puffers I’ve got from Elvine, Embassy of Bricks and Logs.

Shoes and boots - Grenson, DMs, Solovair, Bhava.

All of the above have been great in terms of quality.

Also love finding little boutiques as they’ve done a lot of the hard work in finding good brands for you - Biscuit, 32 The Guild, Lorna Ruby, Meet Bernard are all good physical stores with online shops.

I like Yaya and Masai (in the sale!)
Esprit too. Always reliably good. Got a long grey ribbed cardigan from there which still looks new after 13 years!

Max Mara, Oska, Eileen Fisher, the womens floor at Fenwick do well for middle aged women IMHO.

Thank you, everyone, for so many suggestions. I’ve got a long journey tomorrow so I’ll spend it looking at some of these I’ve not looked at before.

Sorry if this depresses anyone. I just want to find places I can get good quality clothes to last that aren’t just the currently very fashionable things, as those really don’t suit me. I want to shop sustainably, so do look in charity shops and have radically reduced what I buy full stop over recent years but weight gain plus clothes more or less disintegrating after years of wear mean I need to sort myself out a bit.

And I will definitely be looking at Max Mara. I used to get things in Bicester Village from them that I treasured, so have very fond memories of their stuff.

Clearly I wasn’t clear! What I’m finding depressing is the fact that this is - apparently - the Style and Beauty board, but someone (with the word Corporate in their name, which might be a clue) wanting to spend ‘a decent budget’ on good quality clothes is being directed to Seasalt and M&S jeggings. And I’m being mocked for suggesting MaxMara …

Really, MNHQ might as well close this board. It’s pointless.

Aaah, I see. I should have read back more. I am quite depressed myself by the fact that it is so very difficult to find decent quality classic clothes now, even with some money to spend.

I will confess to not being a jeggings type.

I find myself in the position of finally being able to afford the sort of sophisticated, flattering and well cut clothes that I’ve envied on others over the years, and have always hoped would make me feel like a more confident and sorted version of myself, and struggling to find them.

Last time I was trying to find a particular item, and failing, a friend sent me a link to something from Peacocks.

I hope you've never spoken to her again OP 😜

She grovelled when I made it clear she had displeased me. We’re fine. 😉

Also she’s a MNetter so may well have read this thread. She knows I love her still.

Sorry OP I am just making a shameless reminder post so I can go back through some of these suggestions.

I don’t understand the hatred for viscose - or rayon, as it used to be called. It’s made from wood pulp so just as natural as cotton, linen or bamboo, it feels nice and drapes well.

I have a fairly eclectic wardrobe. I spend a decent amount of money on key pieces. Funnily enough I had a pair of jeans from Lidl which lasted longer than the Boden ones I bough at the same time… It’s a lot to do with cut and fabric as apposed to brans IME.

Reiss, based on your description would be my first place with a good budget.

I don't rate viscose and prefer cotton especially when the former is expensive and it makes me sweaty

I thought reiss was closing.

Adolfo Dominguez
massimo Dutti
Jigsaw
Gerard Darel
Marella
Joseph
Max & Co
Jaeger

all of the above can be found for a couple of pounds each on Vinted.