Can we talk about clothing brands and target demographics?

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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.

People, what do you have against boxy fits?
It depends on the item. I think sometimes the boxy tunic style can look a bit naff as a style and to me feels very Joules style around 5 years ago, which wasn't my cup of tea.

On dresses/tunic length they look awful on my shape and I look like I'm a child playing dress up.

I can wear a boxy top with slim fit trousers or very boxy/geometric/strong trouser cuts with slim fit and feminine tops. A boxy jacket it ok with faux leather leggings or skinnies.

Same as Lola with the boxy fits. They don't suit my shape. I'm petite, with a small head, but I have boobs. Long boxy tops or dresses look like I'm wearing a tent and am a size 18. Part of who I am is the shape I am, it's not about dressing to please others. I am me, I'm size 10 with a waist, I don't want to look like a marshmallow with a pea sitting on top and some matchsticks stuck in the bottom. Like Lola I can wear boxy tops with the right drape, right length, right trousers etc, but not any/all boxy tops and not dresses. It's not about figure hugging clothes either, although they do suit me, A-line looks good on me in tops and dresses too and wide leg trousers. Also tiered skirts, despite all the comments I've seen online about how they suit no one.

I care about fashion but I'm not led by it. I'll wear what suits me and what I like. People think I dress well, I've had comments/compliments/enquiries about my clothes frequently. I buy from places MN sniffs at, maybe the people I know aren't the type to be on MN. My main concern is do I like the clothes and do they suit me.

I find the comments about certain brands being for certain age groups mystifying. I don't shop where, or dress how, MN thinks I should. I've noticed on MN an undercurrent of both snootiness about brands/shops and also simultaneously an almost bitterness(?) from people thinking there's nothing out there for them. I can't understand it. There's more clothes and fashion choices around than ever before, without looking totally out of place or like a time traveller from another decade. I wonder if, at the heart of it, some people just aren't happy with their bodies/lifestyle/themselves 🤷

Katharine Hepburn with an inner Stevie Nick's @Floisme
Sounds like me. Looking at my eBay saved list and wondering if the men's Jaeger linen shirt will go with the vintage Anokhi skirt 😆

*Nicks

But I also have an inner Grace Kelly / Stevie Nicks / Helena Bonham Carter that breaks out occasionally.

I have to beat them down with a stick. And Natalie Merchant and Maria McKee muscle in as well.

I've just lost half of day of my life to Cabbages and Roses

This makes me feel better about the way I lead my life ..

I must admit, when I recommend Community Clothing I’m generally thinking of the loungewear and knitwear. I couldn’t possibly wear the gathered dresses - completely the wrong shape for me - but I trust that CC wouldn’t make them if they didn’t suit someone.

flo welcome to the land of schizo-wardrobe choices. I definitely have multiple personalities as far as clothes-buying is concerned and just wish I also had the multiple-layered lifestyle to accommodate them!

Ha ha, these people (mainly women but not always) lie dormant in my head for years and years, and then I find myself craving Grace Kelly movies and old Fleetwood Mac videos and know it's starting up again.
This is why I will never (willingly) have a capsule wardrobe.

I read that the first time as Mrs Doubtfire Enheduanna..... but maybe that's not the muse you're seeking

Lol. I have those too and had the same experience. Nightmare.

I've been liking this brand lately

nodaleto.com/en-gb/collections/view-all

Not a huge red shoe fan, but I've had good wear from these

Loving this thread, by the way!

Venus, a pricier suggestion, Ancient Greek Sandals do a comfort bed line (or called something like that). I don't know if it's good enough to support actual foot problems but they have some interesting designs among those that don't overtly scream specialty foot problem shoe.

@VenusClapTrap

I have a pair of Ancient Greek clogs, like this, but a different colour, and they're so incredibly comfortable. I wear them all the time, weather allowing, of course.

@Enheduanna I agree with a lot of what you say, "green" can become another way to extract cash and can be an outright lie. That said, there is also a kind of a response that you sometimes see which is just cynical - "this is all just rhetoric, green is so hard to actually achieve - let's just not even try". Cynicism and nihilism are easy and quite attractive whereas actually trying is hard and full of mistakes.

As you say, one keeps own lists where possible. I don't buy leather trousers or skirts or shirts because I think it is unnecessary to use leather in such garments, even if they look good. I still have leather boots and bags - it's easy to criticise me. I am not even a proper vegetarian. So it's a position that is full of holes. But for me, this is where I personally draw the line, for me.

@botemp

I feel like such an idiot paying out for The Row every time, the price tags are inflated but ugh, it's got appeal.

It is expensive, but I have to say, it's one of the few major brands that I think is worth it (don't get me started on Tom Ford). I have a pair of leather trousers, on the shorter side, slightly but not too bootleg, so just right, that I bought ages ago and still get tons wear out of, and I think their knitwear is some of the best out there. Their cashmere doesn't pill or stretch and is just lovely.

I did a serious splurge on this recently

The Kirsten Scott Thomas version of Mrs Danvers is a very good look.

That Mrs Danvers dress is awesome.

@throwawayaway1 I can’t wear clogs at all at the moment, sadly, my knackered ankle won’t let me. They seem to be the worst thing. Dd is now pilfering my clog collection and looking better in it than me.

I love that black Mrs Danvers dress. I love KST too; she always looks fabulous. I loved her wardrobe in The English Patient; she even looked like elegance personified in the desert covered with sand, wrapped in her glamorous blanket.

Oh dear … I take back everything I said about being glad The Row wasn’t around when I needed The Perfect Black Frock at any price. It would have been impossible to resist, but so much fun to wear.

now the full, ankle length skirts and short, fitted jackets are really calling to me.
^
Me too^.

I usually go week at the knees for the high priestess white dresses at The Row but if I had the occasion I'd definitely be contemplating their Stefos gown. It also comes in white but it's got more presence in black.

It is all really lovely with some really good details and I can vouch for the cashmere jumpers too (although they hardly seem to do the 100% cashmere ones anymore). My favourite knit from them is actually a mostly silk with wool mix, it's warm enough in winter but also works on a chilly summer evening. It's an oatmeal sort of colour which sounds really blah but the silk gives it a really nice finish, a soft lustre of sorts that comes even more alive with some candlelight. But I still think they're operating on huge margins, it always goes into the sale straight at 50% and drops down to 70%.

Thanks for the Nodaleto link throwaway, I had seen the Babies in the shops but hadn't looked beyond them and I really like the black knee high boots which are sold out but I'll keep an eye on them for next winter, I wouldn't mind them in a different colour either.