Toasties hoping for a sale while sailing into Christmas

[Countmeout]

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@ScottishMouse if you decide to go ahead I’m sure @clowniform and I would be glad to share tips on patterns and fabrics.

You’re very talented @clowniform . I have no patience or talent.

Look on the bright side @ilovecherries if you lived in Spain all the time you’d have to pay a fortune in postage to get things from Toast. However I know exactly how you feel, as I get older I so want to feel the heat which is missing here about 90% of the time never mind the darkness. And the everlasting rain.

I’ve just been looking at all my spend from Jan- a no spend month in April! Amazing. Must have been the hangover from March when I bought FIVE full price things and the gold buffalo winter coat in the sale. Eek!

There does seem to have been a sale end of November where I bought a gown, a cardigan and some Emma’s. Doesn’t look like a winter archive one. Also there was a kindred gift on 3rd nov!

There was a 25% off selected items mostly knitwear on 2nd November then an archive sale on 28th November last year having trawled my emails. I really need to go through them and delete.

Fingers crossed 🤞

Inspired by the conversation I started, I have just gone through my purchases for this year. I really only buy from Toast, so this is the total of my clothes shopping. I have kept 12 items and spent just over £1000. Only two items were full price. This actually pleasantly surprised me a lot, I was sure it was much more than that.
But, despite this, there is an issue. If I totalled the number of items I ordered altogether, including those I sent back, I think it would be many multiples of 12. Some of this is definitely down to being very picky and only keeping things that are just right. But there is clearly an element of shopping to make myself feel better, and then when the order arrives, realising it is not the answer. I guess it is good that I am realising at that point, and sending back the things I don’t really want or need, rather than filling my wardrobe with unworn items, but it still feels like something that needs to be addressed. And that is not even considering the environmental impact of this behaviour.
I have an order due today or tomorrow that I made on Friday, and is what got me thinking about all this. There are a few items in it that would fill wardrobe holes if they are just right, and I am
looking forward to having a wee try on session, but I will be very mindful in deciding if I will keep anything. And then I am going to try to not order anything else…well at least until the next sale!

That's interesting, there are multiple perspectives there; the amount of items and cost of things you kept is reasonable and you are only keeping the good stuff, but the foot print might be high and the motivation might at times be suspect. I can relate to that. This latest chat has got me thinking of the items I kept that I shouldn't have, but I was only made aware of this through living with the items and learning they weren't right and that's informed later decisions. I'm curious to see what my approach will be to the proper winter sale as I've been building a wardrobe and i don't need to anymore. But I also enjoy clothes as a sort of hobby, so will want to enjoy a sale.

In other news, I'm doing a big clear out of my office/diner and found 18 toast bags. 18. Of course is handy to have a bag to return something, but 18? I could start my own delivery service for them!

My parcel arrived. And on my day off too! So I have been trying on and being very mindful.
Pintuck cotton linen top in white is beautiful and fits really well, even over a sizeable bust. But it is too long for me, and it hang straight from said bust so makes me look pregnant.
Crinkle check cotton swingy shirt is nothing to write home about and the arms are too long.
Fairisle mohair sweater is a bit meh for the price. I think it might be that it is too big (though I ordered s/m and am usually a m these days in Toast). It just kind of hangs off me. It is also very itchy.
Lydia jumpsuit - I love this. I tried a medium in the summer in blue but felt it was a bit small. Although I am only 5’2” I have a long body and I thought I would like it more oversized. I also saw some one try it on in store in a size that fitted in an oversized way and it looked great. So I ordered the large. I’m unsure if it is just too big though. I think it may give me nappy arse (my constant complaint with Toast bottoms), and might make me look like a toddler overall. I’m wondering if anyone has it and what size/fit you went for. I am a high street 12, so large doesn’t feel like the right size (especially as I was a S in Toast not that long ago). Maybe if I shortened the straps by an inch it would look better….Can you tell I really want to keep this one??
Crinkle Cotton pinafore - I also love this. The colours and style are so me. I ordered M and L. The M is just a bit snug on the bust, although it fits. The L gapes at the armpits. I could maybe take the L in slightly, but fear I might make a mess of it. I’m going to try the M with a few things, but it’s a definite contender.
Ikat check culottes - I love the style of these. They’re the same as ones I have from a previous season. If the pattern was smaller they would be a definite keeper. But I think they might wear me, rather than the other way around. I should hold out for this style in a different fabric I think.
Phew, that was long.
I am very aware of what I spoke of upthread, and mindful to only fill wardrobe gaps. The pinafore and the jumpsuit would both do this.
Talk to me about the Lydia jumpsuit folks….

I love the Lydia dress, but struggled to get the right fit in the jumpsuit. I’m the same size as you but 5 inches taller and felt a bit constricted round the nethers in the medium. Because of that it also showed the curve of my belly. Which I’m not that bothered about - it’s the result of massive weight loss - but at the same time I don’t want to feel I’m pointing at it with a foam pointy finger in fluro pink. The shortness of the body also meant it wasn’t super easy to get off while buttoned up. The large was just too large.

@ilovecherries those were exactly my issues with the M. It fit, but I didn’t feel that comfortable in it and would have been constantly pulling at it. I have the vneck version of the dress in M, but I guess that is easier to get right as it doesn’t matter how long your body is.

@ScottishMouse @ilovecherries which jumpsuit do you mean? Not the v neck one?

No, the original Lydia style with the scoop neck.

Yes. That one.

Photos!

Ah I have the v neck one. I find it hard to get on and off

All the talk of purchasing and lists has made me think about what a great idea it is to note down what you bought and when (and what you returned) - and what you sold on too?

I've never done this but as I've said before, I tend to have a one in one out policy which I don't always stick too but it means like @ScottishMouse I never have an overfilled wardrobe of clothes.

@ScottishMouse - thanks for the update. The Mohair jumper was on my wish list but you are the second person to mention it being itchy so I've struck it off (and added a reminder to avoid to one of my own lists!). That's one order that won't go out unnecessarily now.

I think folks being critical on this list is very helpful. I find it useful when folks flag potential problems with an item (my pet hates are bra showing armpits and overly tight busts).

I've bought more than you in 2023. The September sale was my best behaved yet (3 items bought and 3 kept- worn all) but that's because it was a single drop and a single price cut. The multiple sale drops and staged reductions are designed to overstimulate demand. We are only human.

Wore my Toast Wool Wrap today and it was much admired. Perfect for the office where different rooms seem to be wildly different temperatures.

@ScottishMouse I bought the blue sale Lydia jumpsuit in a M. I’m 5' 4” hs 12 but differently proportioned to you, it’s quite a neat fit but I wouldn’t have wanted a large as I think I would have suffered from 'nappy' backside.

I like the Lydia on you @ScottishMouse .

I wore my new socks today! They were very comfortable and bizarrely matched my cumin round collar garment dyed tee!

On a related note: I am going back to SM on Friday on my way home and will post some more pictures. I reckon Toast owe me some commission given that @dudsville and @BrontëParsonage bought items following my visit🤣.

If anyone wants me to look for anything, let me know.

@Dee1224 a big thanks once again! My velvet pinafore arrived today (slow delivery as SM uses DPD rather than Royal Mail). I am so happy, both with the colour and the £80 saving. I was also really touched by the handwritten note of thanks for my purchase (and I am a hard-nosed, no-nonsense Yorkshire lass). If this year’s pinafore, in midnight, ends up in a sale, I will most definitely be buying it.

Anyway, thanks for your kind offer: please would you investigate the wellbeing hampers for me? I have bought a couple in previous sales and I have really enjoyed the bathing products, plus the random items (bamboo tea strainer, anyone?), as well as the actual baskets, which give good service in my bedroom for my toiletries etc.

Enjoy your trip!

@ScottishMouse I too love a long deconstruct of parcels .
I like what I see of you in that Lydia jumpsuit , can’t quite see what you’re uncertain of . Nappy arse is something I live with on account of the fact I’m allergic to gym and my glutes are non existent .
Jumpsuits are the best when they work , but if you can’t get in and out easily it could be a dealbreaker.

I will have a look @BrontëParsonage . They had a well-being basket in store last week, it was £75. They also had the mushroom foraging basket, (literally, it actually is a mushroom foraging basket 🤣).

I am glad your dress worked out!

@Dee1224 sock love! It's still strangely warm in London so I am only enjoying cosy socks vicariously through you lot. I wonder what would happen if somebody happened to accidentally swap the labels on the well-being and mushroom-foraging baskets...

@ScottishMouse the jumpsuit looks great on you! I wouldn't worry about the arbitrary letter on the size label, the slightly loose fit looks cool and really suits the style. Love reading people's reviews after trying on! FWIW the crinkle pinafore is definitely a layering piece for me, because of the inset bib there's side-boob flashing even with these A-cups 😅So you may find it will overlap a bit with the jumpsuit in function/gap-filling?

Inspired by previous discussion I've gone through a few years of Toast emails to identify patterns. Surprised to see almost everything I keep has been from the traditional boxing day or summer sales, so I should probably be more restrained during future midseason/random sales. Not sure if it's a luck thing or a stock thing.

Thanks for the jumpsuit chat folks. I think it needs the straps to be slightly shortened as otherwise it just feels a bit too big and hangs a bit too low in the crotch. But @OftenOrange your comment about not being able to get in and out easily was really useful because I realised that if I did shorten the straps I would not be able to get in and out without opening the buttons at the back, which I cannot reach! So I think it has to go back.

Love those socks @Dee1224, i have them too and they, and all of the socks of that weight are so useful. I have even on occasion used them as an inner sock when doubling up for a particularly cold event.

I'm not a fan of that jumpsuit @ScottishMouse, but i didn't want to content as it's the garment/style that i don't like and not how it fits you.

I have dyed my andy pandy trousers. I was forcing myself to embrace the perky blue and white pinstripe because of the fit, fabric weight and how comfortable they are. But the stripe was too perky and the colour too much of a challenge for my existing wardrobe. One "intense black" machine dylon left me with a very nice blue/black with a very faint pin stripe. I'm thrilled!