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Original poster

Are clothes now quite horrible or...

28 replies

Hardbackwriter · 30/11/2023 21:00

... is this just what happens as you get older?! I hate everything currently in - horrible jeans, sheer tights that remind me of my primary school receptionist (but even worse because they're fake sheer tights), everything oversized except inexplicably tiny tops, fake sheepskin jackets that make me feel itchy. I honestly can't work out whether this really is a pretty bad time, fashion-wise, or whether it's just that this is the first time that I've seen the exact fashion I wore as a teen revived. I saw someone wearing a floor length denim skirt the other day and had such vivid flashbacks of the one I had in 2004 (which weighed about half a stone)! Does anyone want to either commiserate or tell me to stop being grumpy and to get over the fact that I am no longer, and have not been in some time, 'the youth of today'?!

OP posts:
Evenstar · 30/11/2023 21:08

I think it’s very difficult to buy better quality clothes that are not fast fashion and are styled to suit someone other than a size 6-8 teenager. The fabrics are just awful.

You are not alone.

thedevilinablackdress · 30/11/2023 21:15

This is exactly what happens when you get older. I remember going round shops with my DM in the 90's, when they were re-hashing a lot of 70s styles, and she said the same.
I am fan of the sheer black tights revival as i love that 80s vibe.
Anyway, in many ways there's never been more choice in terms of styles available if you go beyond what's targeted at the youths.

SylvieLaufeydottir · 30/11/2023 21:21

I just bought a pair of widelegged brown wool trousers from JL that sit gorgeously. I've found plenty of things I like.

Darklane · 30/11/2023 21:26

I agree with you. The quality is dreadful for one thing. I’ve got things years old that are better than the stuff I look at on the rare occasion I get to the shops. Things from the likes of M&S, Principles, Debenhams etc, silk shirts, pure wool knitwear, fine wool tailoring, just wish I still fitted into some of the lovely things I have 🙁
I also hate all the droopy frocks & other monstrosities.

NonWiredNancy · 30/11/2023 21:53

It’s definitely not a “getting older” thing - the quality of clothing is demonstrably worse than it was a generation ago. I was in M&S last week and the whole women’s section is just a sea of synthetic shite - similar story with H&M, Reiss, Next, Hobbs, Whistles… etc etc.

SgtBilko · 30/11/2023 22:02

I’ve looked at some much stuff that is polyester or recycled plastic, jumpers in particular. They expensive, cropped and awful. It’s very hard to find nice things at the moment.

TheOGCCL · 30/11/2023 22:11

It's maybe a bit of both. Tough economic times mean the goods available to us are generally poorer quality. Corners cut everywhere. Things you bought even five years ago much better quality.

But also your standards start to rise a bit and you usually understand what suits you a bit more and aren't drawn by random trends.

There are still nice pieces out there but you really have to hunt and often what you buy from Asda can be just as good quality as what you buy from a higher end place.

eyeofthehurricane · 30/11/2023 22:19

I don't think many items are the quality they once were.

Who else prefers the thicker denim skirts from the 1980's?

EwwSprouts · 30/11/2023 22:19

a sea of synthetic shite sums it up succinctly.

Floisme · 30/11/2023 22:51

No, I've had my moments with clothes but right now I enjoy getting dressed as much as I ever did. The worst time I can remember was when low rise spray-on skinnies were everywhere. That was so bad it drove me to wearing dresses for a while. But I like quite a lot of fashion at the moment even if I don't look as good in it as I used to.

Finding good quality, affordable clothes has got a lot harder for sure. But I think that's a separate issue and I also think it partly feels so hard because we got used to paying unrealistically low prices for so long.

IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle · 30/11/2023 22:57

Definitely not for me either, although I don't recognise the OP's description of what's around.

Aria999 · 30/11/2023 22:59

I will join in the moan to complain that everything seems to have bows in it at the moment.

If I wanted to look like a box of chocolates I'm sure I could manage it without the help of the entire fashion design and retail community...

Aria999 · 30/11/2023 23:02

*bows on it, not in it.

AzureBlue99 · 30/11/2023 23:09

Went shopping in the West End today. I was pleasantly surprised at the clothes on offer. Unfortunately I have put on weight so I just bought accessories. But if I was at my fighting weight, some good stuff

BlueGrey1 · 30/11/2023 23:12

its that this is the first time that I've seen the exact fashion I wore as a teen revived

This, I hate what’s around at the moment aswell, most the same as what I wore as a student only worse!
I think we went through it and saw it all go out of fashion and maybe that’s why we dislike it so much

IDontHateRainbows · 30/11/2023 23:13

Everything seems to be made of 'recycled polyester '.

The only silver lining is, there is no point spending money in the higher end shops when the fabric is the same as the cheap shops.

I was eyeing up a £70 Xmas jumper from monsoon but as it was made of shite I thought why bother and got a £17 one from tesco.

lindyloo57 · 01/12/2023 10:55

Why do they put big wide sleeves on dresses, I just ordered and returned a velour dress, to wear Christmas day, but the sleeves are so wide I couldn't put a coat on over it, bring back slim normal sleeves

Evenstar · 01/12/2023 11:16

@lindyloo57 so with you on the sleeves, I can’t bear things flapping round my arms or puffy shoulders

YYURYYUCICYYUR4ME · 01/12/2023 18:03

It is not as easy to find items that are well constructed, finished to a good standard, of a material that performs well, but it is possible and on a budget. I've just taken a much broader approach to the search and will make a point of doing a quick look in any shop I pass, if I have the time, as I've found that many really have something to recommend them and seeing an item in the flesh is the best way to find the gems. I've just bought a great sparkle shirt from H&M, very classic style, flattering (really important to me now) and a joy to wash, that was much commented on and was only £13.99, which I saw hanging sadly on its own in the store and took my eye, so I gave it a try. Earlier in the year ASDA (yes, ASDA) had a range that I bought a dress from (very plain, straight, navy blue viscose knitted material) and wow, it wears beautifully, skims my lumps and bumps and looks effortlessly smart under a jacket. Their t-shirts were Supima cotton for £12 and a joy to wear (and wash). So quality is not just confined to brands that seem now to value hype over product. I've managed to find a high percentage wool full length navy coat from M&S this year (premium bond win meant a small splurge), two very good knitted dresses from Uniqlo, a few merrino jumpers from M&S which I just chuck in the washing machine, alongside one of their sequin suits which I'd never would have believed would have suited me and felt such good quality for the price (have a fancy 60th to attend). I never went for the trendy items in my youth, so have avoided those like the plague, as I feel this is some fashion retailer's desperation to get us to part with money that we are now much fussy about where we spend and yet they need us to feed the monsters they have become.

Lookingatthesunset · 01/12/2023 18:20

That's not been my experience at all but then I only shop in independents, and I can always find plenty that I love, and is good quality.

I'm generally regarded as stylish amongst friends, family and colleagues polishes halo

I also have adult DDs who will tell me straight if they don't like something I'm wearing!! 😆

saltrock123 · 01/12/2023 18:21

I went to get some boring black leggings, but they all seem to have wide waistbands which I find so uncomfortable, my old ones just have the thin waistband but I was told by an assistant in M&S that they are the old design. Ok so I'm old too then !

greengreengrass25 · 01/12/2023 18:23

The tops and knitwear aren't long enough

Just shapeless and boxy

Lookingatthesunset · 01/12/2023 18:25

saltrock123 · 01/12/2023 18:21

I went to get some boring black leggings, but they all seem to have wide waistbands which I find so uncomfortable, my old ones just have the thin waistband but I was told by an assistant in M&S that they are the old design. Ok so I'm old too then !

I wear Robell trousers instead of leggings now - they are very easy to wear! They are a lot dearer, I grant you, but they last so much longer, wash better and you can get them reduced in the sales.

doubleshotcappuccino · 01/12/2023 18:25

I've realised how grateful I am to find something that suits me and will return to it .. for example an old faithful brand of jean or trouser but try something different with a top .

BorgQueen · 01/12/2023 18:26

Shite synthetic fabrics and patterns that were last seen in 1975.
I’ve always had cotton tops/tshirts and knitwear from M&S, they are now at least 2 inches shorter than they used to be 😡
Who wants a top that ends above your waist? I want them to cover my bum thank you very much.
Tu cotton tshirts have gone really thin as well.