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Can we talk about clothing brands and target demographics?

1000 replies

CrkdLttrCrkdLttr · 28/02/2023 13:33

Because I’m thinking about the brands that form the core of my ‘going out to meet other grown ups’ wardrobe, and laughing at the Margaret Howell mail shot I’ve just opened. (Socks and sandals photo.) Beautiful young model, and each garment will be wonderfully well made - but I know no one under fifty who wears MH. That’s fine - but I wish the marketing acknowledged the fact.

When a brand does make an effort to engage with the real buyers of its clothes I’m full of awe and gratitude - Raey at Matches is usually great at this.

Studio Nicholson hovers somewhere in between. Again, everyone I know (in the UK) who wears their clothes is older and richer than me, probably in a creative profession. Not a wispy 20 year old.

I never used to care. But I’m wondering if marketing is the reason 99% of the middle aged and older women on MN exclaim that there are no decent clothes for them. There are - but not every brand tells you so.

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NatashaDancing · 17/03/2023 15:02

Re Jack Wills, my son was 16/ 17 when they opened in Edinburgh. Son consciously only bought and still does buy, from second hand shops. Also wore recycled scarves of mine and a Harris Tweed jacket belonging to me. Big fan of second hand military jackets (Libertines influence) - had genuine ex Russian army jacket bought in Budapest and a Swedish Navy overcoat from Laurence Corner, and baggy jumpers.

I offered to buy him a velvet jacket from Jack Wills as the image Jack Wills was trying to project then, seemed to me, exactly the sort of scruffy, Bohemian, floppy haired posh boy he actually was. He was outraged at the idea. Jack Wills was apparently "wannabe" and fake.

NatashaDancing · 17/03/2023 15:31

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I don't think MH is retrograde or caricature.

I think Toast heads that way. Toast is sets itself up as a Bloomsbury set/ Fabian/ the ladies bathing pool on Hampstead Heath demographic.

Kittycattenklump · 17/03/2023 15:34

People actually identify as 'posh' ? Grin

CrkdLttrCrkdLttr · 17/03/2023 15:46

Browns bizzaro world breaking point

It was gradual rather than sudden, @botemp - but, although my username is derived from the utterly brilliant show ‘P- Valley’, I don’t actually want to dress like a Mississippi pole dancer during her working hours. (I’m sure they’re all in Chanel on rest days.) And for a while that seemed to be all they wanted to sell. (Hence the big butt leather trousers?)

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NatashaDancing · 17/03/2023 15:47

we have been complaining over the years about men's clothes remaining decent quality in comparison.

According to my husband men's clothes are dreadful. There's either nothing except high street stuff made of man made materials or beautiful but extremely expensive stuff.

MerryChristmasToYou · 17/03/2023 16:02

Enheduanna · Today 08:46
mathanxiety I disagree. I don’t think MH is either retrograde nor caricature.

Me neither.
I see them as good quality, no-nonsense clothes that are well designed and wouldn't annoy me. Things that I could pull on and go about the rest of my day.

I've been aware of C&R for I think decades, but hadn't really thought of them as more than a lifestyle brand.
I had a cabbage rose print home-made dress that I listed on ebay. The dress was beautifully-made and had no signs of wear. I listed all the measurements and priced it fairly and it got a lot of viewings and watchers. It seems to have come up in the C&R searches.
I told the buyer that it wasn't by the brand C&R, and asked if she still wanted it. She didn't. The dress was of the best quality but home-made usually means nothing to buyers, and I'd gone to some length to show the detailof construction.

Other e-bay buyers complain that 'Grey linen skirt' is grey and not blue as they had thought, or that 'Purply-blue trousers' are purply not bright blue. They seem to be willing to bid but not read a few lines of text that state clearly that the photos are not necessarily a true representation of the colour.

Other buyers want all sort of measurements for high-street clothes like trousers, and I oblige but think 'Why don't you nip into [shop] and try on this staple to see if it fits, instead of expecting all sorts of measurements like thigh girth, waist to hip,rise, etc when I'm pretty confident you won't bid? If you have to ask, then chances are it will look crap on you.' They rarely bid.

Other ones request a refund on pre-loved shoes, because they don't look brand new. Which part of 'They don't look brand new' did they not understand?

And the most CF of all, the ones who claim the item was not received, when it was sent signed for and I have proof of delivery. These items are usually ones that are sought after brands. DMs, Brora etc. and the request comes in about a month after purchase, just long enough for someone to have binned the receipt.

As a buyer, the problem I've had most often is shoes not being the size listed. I buy lots of shoes and I've had it at least 4 times, and I'm not including sizes that run large or small. One was a pair of absolutely lovely boots. Not my usual style or colour, but the uppers were beautiful and would have got compliments, the soles and heel height were exactly right, and the boots a whole size larger than listed, and clearly marked on each boot. I was gutted.

I love getting compliments on my shoes or dress, but I don't like people passing remarks. 'Ooh, I love your trousers/shoes/jumpsuit' is great, 'Are those trousers meant to be that length or did they shrink in the wash' usually means I'll never wear them again or will avoid that person at all costs.

MmePoppySeedDefage · 17/03/2023 16:05

Kitty Sophia Money-Courts who writes in the Telegraph on a Saturday has been known to call herself 'posh' in its pages...

I assume you know about NavyGrey, & Daughter, and Aethel already but if not, they may have the sort of cardigan you're after.

MerryChristmasToYou · 17/03/2023 16:18

@NatashaDancing , I think men have fewer clothes made of synthetic material than women, but the range of clothes is more limited.
There is plenty of natural fibres for men on the high street, as far as I am aware, but limited styles. Women have plenty of choice, but not if you remove the manmade fibres.
High street clothing is of much poorer quality than it used to be. Those boxy tiered printed dresses are of no appeal, even if in cotton.

Out of interest, which are the beautiful men's clothes?

MerryChristmasToYou · 17/03/2023 16:20

I knew of &Daughter and NavyGrey but not of Aethel. off to look

Apologies about my ebay rant.

NatashaDancing · 17/03/2023 16:26

Out of interest, which are the beautiful men's clothes?

Husband was very fond of Brooks Brothers and Jaeger suits (although Jaeger was back in the day) He likes Walker Slater (now that's definitely projecting an image)

MerryChristmasToYou · 17/03/2023 16:37

You didn't say they did womenswear! I'm going to disappear down a rabbit hole. At first glance it looks like Bruar but better. I enjoy browsing the Bruar catalogue that I get after ordering something for a relative, but the styling lets it down.

MerryChristmasToYou · 17/03/2023 16:59

@NatashaDancing , is Paul Smith ok? (For men and women.)

thedevilinablackdress · 17/03/2023 17:27

If I am honest I preferred the more fluid lines of the late 80/90's such as you'd see an academic wearing in Inspector Morse

Yes! @Kittycattenklump I am often inspired by this sort of thing. There was a thread with this as a big theme a year or two back(?) but I've never been able to track it down again

thedevilinablackdress · 17/03/2023 17:30

I agree on the menswear/high street/natural fibres @MerryChristmasToYou If I want a plain lambswool jumper, I can go to M&S menswear, job done (ok might be a bit long in the body).

botemp · 17/03/2023 17:31

Kittycattenklump · 17/03/2023 15:34

People actually identify as 'posh' ? Grin

I think we'll have to defer to Enheduanna's Dcat's expertise for the answer to this one 😼

Crkd, yes, stylistically they seemed to go that direction. I remember going to the shop and being denied entry because they were filming Keeping Up with the Kardashians there. The thing is, there's a lot of money to be made with this demographic (more than they'd see from me anyhow) but it never gets overtly marketed to.

usernzlknaksdfndiosn · 17/03/2023 17:40

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NatashaDancing · 17/03/2023 17:51

This reply has been deleted

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ.

My son didn't identify as "posh" - other people identify him as that. Jack Wills, in his view, was aiming for the way he shopped and dressed but faking it new e.g copies of army surplus as opposed to real army surplus, new tweed jacket as opposed to wearing my battered Harris Tweed jacket.

NatashaDancing · 17/03/2023 17:53

MerryChristmasToYou · 17/03/2023 16:59

@NatashaDancing , is Paul Smith ok? (For men and women.)

Not a brand I've looked at.

CrkdLttrCrkdLttr · 17/03/2023 17:54

I’ve been obsessively fantasising about what I might wear to a festival this Summer - and, for about half millisecond, considered this dress last night. Before realising I’d spend the day giving everyone else a headache if I wore it. Hadn’t heard of Good American before - but it was established by Khloe Kardashian.

Really I’d want something by the brand that answers the question about beautiful men’s clothes. (If you’re not speaking of bespoke pinstripes.) I swear I’d fall in love with any man wearing these clothes. I keep checking and they don’t seem to have released the promised Women’s collection yet. I don’t care, I’ll wear any of it.

OP posts:
MerryChristmasToYou · 17/03/2023 18:01

@CrkdLttrCrkdLttr , are you sure they are men's clothes? I'd put them as being more unisex.

throwawayaway1 · 17/03/2023 18:06

CrkdLttrCrkdLttr · 17/03/2023 17:54

I’ve been obsessively fantasising about what I might wear to a festival this Summer - and, for about half millisecond, considered this dress last night. Before realising I’d spend the day giving everyone else a headache if I wore it. Hadn’t heard of Good American before - but it was established by Khloe Kardashian.

Really I’d want something by the brand that answers the question about beautiful men’s clothes. (If you’re not speaking of bespoke pinstripes.) I swear I’d fall in love with any man wearing these clothes. I keep checking and they don’t seem to have released the promised Women’s collection yet. I don’t care, I’ll wear any of it.

I actually love that dress, although it looks a bit easily stainable for a festival. That colour's moment is surely on the wane, so now's your moment. I wore this to a black tie in December and was very pleased with it 🤗

www.solacelondon.com/products/the-tiffany-maxi-dress-in-magenta

Can we talk about clothing brands and target demographics?
botemp · 17/03/2023 18:19

I'm another yes for the headache dress, who cares about anyone else at a festival, they'll end up with headaches anyway... You can pair it with these mesh gloves, or these by Dries but those are probably a bit too precious for a festival.

botemp · 17/03/2023 18:20

Linked the wrong mesh gloves these are proper headache gloves.

botemp · 17/03/2023 18:22

And thank you Enheduanna's Dcat, expertise is much appreciated as always, have a treat 🐟

throwawayaway1 · 17/03/2023 18:31

And on the plain jumper question, I've had some very nice ones from Allude over the past few years. They're made in China but have all kinds of sustainability claims (probably dodgy) and have a cashmere rehab clinic where I believe you can send any brand for sprucing up. Max Mara and Max Mara weekend also do some very nice classic jumpers.

Re men's clothing. My husband is doing something for work where he's had to wear a suit for the first time in ages. I feel like I've almost forgotten what a man in a really well-cut suit looks like! I'm quite fancying him at the moment 😂

@NatashaDancing
Do you have any dresses by Saloni or Eponine? They seem like they might be your look.

Hankering after this Eponine coat...

Hope you all have a nice weekend!

Can we talk about clothing brands and target demographics?
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