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.

Mulberry. Their bags were good quality, made in the UK, entry level designer at a price the average person could save for as a treat. It was aspirational but accessible. Then they got greedy and decided to double the prices and reduce the quality of the product by moving their factories to Turkey and China. The bags were no longer even worth the original prices, never mind the inflated prices. Ordinary people (their core market) couldn’t afford them any more, while the rich didn’t want them because they were too middle class. It pretty much killed the company.

Oh I love Habitat now...! Bit pricey but love their designs.

I used to get all my work suits from Next Directory. I used to love that you could check the fabric swatches pasted into the catalogue. The last time I bought a suit from there (for an interview) the trousers split from button to back of the waistband - luckily on my way home from the interview!

Juicy couture 🥲

Solovair shoes/boots are made by the company who used to make doc martens before they moved manufacturing overseas. I love mine.

@SarahAndQuack Allsaints was ace want it?! about 18 years ago I was shopping w dh in allsaints and fell in love with a dress which was based on a very complicated pattern based on an actual vintage parachute. It was a phenomenal bit of pattern cutting. It was ££££ and there was a simplified more conservative version. Dh made a snarky comment about how maybe my days of wearing elaborate dresses like that were past now I was a mother. To cut a long story short, he bought me the dress I wanted. I still love it now, although I haven't worn it for years. Dd2 has it hanging in her room,

Same. It's like a totally different shop.

Not clothes but Yankee candle - not everyone’s cup of tea but the large jar candles used to fill the whole downstairs with scent. Crazy strong throw, £20 for a large jar which would burn for 120 hours if I remember rightly. Now they have no throw whatsoever! I bought myself one a few months ago, and literally couldn’t smell it - the throw you’d get from a primark candle. The car air fresheners and scent jars have no scent whatsoever either - and the large jars are now £30! They’ve changed the packaging and now the whole brand looks cheap and awful. Such a shame, I loved them for strong candles in big sizes. Appreciate diptyque and other brands are strong but much more expensive, and for a much smaller jar - there doesn’t seem to be an equivalent to Yankee on the market anymore. So disappointing!

Ah yes, Jigsaw used to do some wonderful tailoring. I wore one of their suits to an interview at a French investment bank and the feedback specifically said how stylishly dressed they thought I was. 😍

Coast. I have an old dress from there that is silk. Now it is nothing but polyester horrors.

Hobbs is the same. £200 for an occasion dress that is polyester.

Whistles isn't far behind.

Boden. They used to do really good quality cotton tops which I loved. Then they switched to viscose which are far too thin.

Topshop, oasis, warehouse, French connection. I still have dresses and tops from each that look great with beautiful materials: silk dresses, leather jacket, wool coats! Awful now

Forgot the west end, they had a branch in Ilford! They disappeared some time in the 90s. There was definitely a dress I wanted from there in '95, I asked my mum to buy it for me but she got me some horror from Dorothy Perkins.

I miss pre next Reiss and original Coast. And oasis and warehouse.

Topshop boutique, still got some of their silk pieces. Generally found most of the high street has been decimated by cheap online retailers, they now all seem to use cheap fabrics, bad finishing.

@EverybodyJumpsuit
@Onynx

www.jomalone.co.uk/product/25946/63480/colognes/blue-agava-cacao-cologne

You can buy it online.
But be warned, per the theme of this thread it won't be what it used to be.
My favourite was Vanilla & Anise. When they reinstated it in the archive collection it wasn't the same. The depth of scent has gone, it has a faint whiff of a cheap perfume or one on the edge of oxidizing. Clearly cheaper ingredients (and probably the reason it was withdrawn in the first place, not enough profit in it).
I buy it because it's the closest I can get to my favourite ever smell but it's not the same.

Jo Malone and Bobbi Brown were bought by Estee Lauder.
Try Jo Loves and Jones Road

@Toomanycaketins , me too!

I agree with so many of these posts. I remember Next opening, now I'd walk past.

@PictureOfFlorianTray But never went away! The high st shops shut but there was one in Edinburgh still open for years and they never stopped trading online.

@Onynx Re Jo malone blue agave- Interesting. It was such a special scent, when I heard it was going to be discontinued I splashed on two bottles, but by that point they changed the recipe and something was so wrong, it made all my clothes stink. I’m not sure I’d brave it again, I have moved on and found other things but it was a really special smell. Haha well, when I met my now husbands mother for the first time and realised she also wore it that was hilarious. He literally chose someone who smelled like his mum.

Gymshark

I used to get all my gym stuff there when it was a small company and the sizing was always on point, always fitted a size medium. The quality was good and the fabric thick… then they got bigger and the sizing is all over the place, the leggings not as stretchy and the fabric really thin.

Haven’t bought anything from there for years now. I think they just expanded too quickly and their quality went down :(

I have one of these long parachute dresses, in mint condition, in a box. I was saving it for the special occassion that never happened, and now Im old and fat.

I agree with Warehouse in the 90s. It was our go to for going out tops & dresses. I had amazing Karen Millen tailored skirts for work- favourite was long & fitted, lined with a zip in the back at the bottom if you needed more walking room. I looked amazing in it- had it in black & red. I gave them all away- but the size 8s wouldn't fit me anyway. Worn with proper, cotton shirts from gap. I was v fond of a waistcoat for work - I see they're back now! Should have kept them all for DNieces (I have all boys).

Next too did brilliant work trousers- had a plethora of navy ones- their wide fit shooshed with quality & their work shoes lasted & lasted.

On the DM front- I feel like complaining. I paid £££ for DS's 2 years ago. That seems a long time, but it's not! He doesn't wear them constantly or anything (he loves shoes & has many)& they have a split across the foot. I'm livid. Like PP I had mine for YEARS- at least 10, probably more- & I only gave them up because my style had moved on. Wish I'd kept them.

DS2 has the soft leather ones - they look worn after 6 months!

Agree about Jigsaw. The clothes used to be really good quality and they had interesting shades of greens, greys and blues. Now it all seems to be horrible polyester in garish colours.

Oasis, from the 90s. Such good quality, reasonably priced, and I could have bought the entire store. Good consistent sizing too.

More expensive but I used to LOVE Louis Vuitton - they did some amazing shoes. Now the only people who wear LV items are the drug dealing chavs in Croydon. Everyone has their suitcases etc. Quality isn’t as good either, but the price is still there.

Karen Millen/Mint Velvet/Hobbs - all the clothes now look alike.

Jo Malone - the perfume is expensive and lasts about five minutes.

Agree. Their work stuff was lined too. I remember a pale green/ goldish coloured wrap skirt- it was so heavy & substantial. So many people commented on that skirt. It died after a night out straight after work (it was so stylish I got away with it) after an incident with red wine & pasta!