Brands you loved which went horribly wrong

[WeDidntHaveWaterBottlesInThe80s]

I was just mourning the demise of the original iteration of Finery, when it was quirky and had great prints and interesting shapes at reasonable prices. Then it became weirdly expensive and Hobbs-esque, then cheap and dull. Any other sad losses? We can weep together.

Michel Vivien! That was it. I’m aware he’s still around but I can’t afford £500 shoes. And then that shop became Robert Clergerie - which I still have most of.

Ooh yes!! I had 2 pairs of the Paul Smith jewelled mesh Chinese slippers. I loved them so much! And eventually they were everywhere but he was the first to do them. I need to check to see if I still have mine buried in a cupboard somewhere.

Envious of your Clergerie collection (as would my mother have been). Regrettably, another has lost its way. I think the rot set in when Roland Mouret started consulting.

Did you ever buy Stephane Kélian? His intrecciato leather shoes were a real highlight.

Omg - yes I did - a pair of wedge loafers, some brogues and some stretch knee boots - but they were all so comfortable I wore them till they died.

Those were the days… now I can’t find shoes I like and if I do I can’t afford them!

I desperately need to buy some new footwear but there's nothing suitable anywhere, particularly at the price point I want to pay (which is decent and will happily spend money on something I love), but there is nothing.

Have you looked at Hereu? They seem carefully made - and not quite £500.

https://hereustudio.com/products/sio-heeled-brushed-mary-jane-loafer-dark-green

I remember the tail end of Next.

all of my colleagues were wearing Ede and Ravenscroft and I bought a jacket, skirt, dress and trousers all in the same fabric from the tiny store at the top of Chancery Lane and wore them in a million and one combinations, to many compliments.

in fact now I recall I think there were three jackets: a standard single breasted blazer style; a nipped at the waist button up that flared and sat on my hip bones with a mandarin collar; and a knee length single button MoB type affair.

Those Ede & Ravenscroft suits were like cardboard! I refused to buy any clothes there. (Apart from a shirt and tie for my father when he came to visit.)

Presumably their women’s work wear has improved, this century?

The shops at Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus as you exited the tube used to all be something special. Shelley's Shoes, Lillywhites, Tower Records, the massive HMV with signings and mini gigs, the enormous Top Shop. There's no joy to be had heading to even the most famous high streets now. They are warehouses, not experiences or treats.

So true. I was down there yesterday (purely to get some PJs from Primark) and it was utterly soulless and depressing (and stank of weed).

I miss Shelley’s and the big Topshop 😞

another one for those who remember baystan. fab going out clothing and great dresses for weddings. Still have a fab going out top bought 10 years ago I wear evey so often. plus picked up a few bits on vestarie

@PerditaProvokesEnmity most were well out of my price range but I did buy a beautiful fine wool, navy pinstripe suit with a gorgeous flippy bias cut skirt about two decades ago.

it was about £90 on the sale rail. Reduced from about £500. I assume on the basis that it was a bit unusual and a very small size 6. Sadly grew out of it at least a decade ago.

All of the above. And COS! I worshipped COS for over a decade, then was shocked to see it look like Primark on my last visit. Garish colours and cheap badly cut rags everywhere, I was heartbroken. Where were the architectural shapes, the unusual colours, the bold statements? Just awful.

I loved Monsoon in the early 1990s when they had a good number of clothes which were made from decent quality silk.

Agree about Monsoon - like a previous poster, my wedding dress came from Monsoon, along with a little matching jacket, both silk. Still have them hanging in my wardrobe 😊😊. Don't think I'd get anything as nice from there now.

@stringbean I remember buying dresses for university balls from Monsoon in 2001/2002. They had lovely silk slip dresses with embroidery and beading (I wish I had kept mine!).

You've described my early teens...

Lillywhites is technically still there, but it doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as good as it used to be.

I couldn't afford the beautiful clothes in the 90s and 00s, but the fashions were so exciting. Now that I can afford them I hardly like a thing.

Did trends used to develop much slower and last longer in those eras? I don't think I'm just imagining this.

River Island. Loved the brand when the shops had the wooden floor boards and the carrier bags had the decoupage design. It was very aspirational and pretty expensive at the time.

Now some of the stuff looks like you’d buy it from a market stall where they’d sell it for a fiver like tee shirts with adornments on. Sometimes they have nice things but the RI branding all over stuff makes it look tacky. Like any shop there are some nice ‘gems’ to be found but there’s also a lot of tacky stuff.

I don’t think they did. I remember the horrific poncho trend of…not sure, maybe it was 1999? We went from nobody having worn a poncho since the 70s to everyone wearing ugly cheap synthetic black ones from cheap shops within a matter of a couple of months. Then they disappeared months later never to be seen again.

Also remembering everyone inexplicably wearing fleeces in 1998 along with cheap fake leather biker jackets and (strangest of all) those rectangular glasses - either plain glass or yellow glass. WHY? You could buy them everywhere, even on street corners, but only for a year, then nobody ever wore them again.

Grunge lasted a bit longer but still only 2-3 years. Those long floral skirts that everyone was suddenly wearing in 1993 were obsolete by the end of 1996.

I think it felt like trends lasted longer because we were young so 2 years was maybe one eighth of our lives back then rather than one twentieth (or even less) like it is now.

Used to love the yearly sample sale in west London, it was an event.

Topshop. Lord I miss hanging out at the Oxford Circus one. I used to love the basement boutiquey bit.
Also Warehouse.

Lillywhites on the signs outside. Inside a sports direct. Same as any other.

Not sure if anyone has already mentioned it but Cable. I have a beautiful pair of brown leather boots from them. Occasionally bring them out. This would have been the 90’s.

I'm not sure if they went horribly wrong or just went bust but I bought a lot of clothes from a brand called Jesire at one stage & they were fabulous! I still have some in my wardrobe & I was so sorry when that brand disappeared from he department store I loved.

Also loved Day / Night by Marlene Birger