Toasties enjoying our sale buys and springing into a new season

[Countmeout]

New thread everyone

@oddandelsewhere I bought some things around the 22nd March last year so there must have been at least a mini weekend sale I think!

I obviously missed that one @AFingerofFudge thanks for the info.

Yes I have sale orders from 23/3 last year too.

Hi all,

I went to a Kindred event today; it was very nice. Everyone got 15% off any purchases, (I had thought it was going to be 20%, but never mind), and a free gift of a black clay tea light holder. There were lovely baked goods on offer and drinks. Everyone was very friendly.

@Countmeout - apparently summer dresses will begin to make an appearance in the March drop, (which is scheduled for 8/3, but the date may change), and in May.

Re: Sales

Toast are, and I quote: ‘Trying to move away from sales’. However, they recognise that a lot of their customers base only buy in sales, so they will continue, (there may have been the hint of a ‘for now’ in there!)

The senior Toast person - Rachel - also went on to say that in keeping with reducing the amount of stuff that ends up as sale stock, they are decreasing the number of new lines they are debuting in each drop.

Evie was very informative about how to pair items. I liked the oversized shirt/tank look, but couldn’t get onboard with the shirt, unbuttoned dress as waistcoat with long skirt combo!

Re: Nightwear, including gowns

These are not currently being stocked in stores, but new lines are being launched in November and these will be available in shops.

I very much liked the linen drawstring trousers with pockets (£130), and the green cotton trousers. I also liked the cotton green check skirt and the navy cardie/jacket with the square collar.

In the end, I bought the green watering can, (had planned to buy this beforehand if it was available), and, bizarrely, the crinkle thick Olive skirt. It was just speaking to me for some reason, even though the hem is very thick and badly sewn. I just know my DH is going to loathe it and I wish I had used my discount to buy the linen trousers instead.

Thanks @Dee1224 that’s very informative. Was the event in London?

Much as I am someone who buys toast in the sales, I do think moving to fewer ‘drops’ and sales is a good strategy environmentally. But I think for it to work they need to lower their prices overall.

Hi @MrsRadichio - it was in the King’s Road shop.

Re: Prices - I liked the green flecky jumper that was in store today, but at £395 full price I was never going to buy it, (even in a sale), so I decided not to depress myself by trying it on😿

Thanks @Dee1224 very informative. I can see that toast would like to move away from sales, which I assume is why they are on-line only, but surely they can only reduce their lines so much before they are no longer selling enough to be profitable.

Which colours of the drawstring trouser did they have in stock? I see there is a nice olive green on-line, but I think it might be too similar to the fenugreek balloon ones I bought last year.

Thanks @Dee1224 thats full of useful information.
What on earth will they do with things if they don’t have sales?
I think the olive skirt would be very useful and go with a great many things. It’s a beautiful colour.

Thank you @Dee1224 some interesting changes ahead then. I think discarding sales would be a bad move, personally. But probably agree with fewer drops. Glad you were able to use their discount—that green watering can is lovely, adding to my garden list!

@Dee1224 - that is interesting about fewer drops and less pieces. I would love it if they just released a whole season like they used to - much easier to plan - and don't you think that the stock they have left over which goes into the sales indicates that they're overpricing things in the first place? I so often see people say they would buy something in the sale but not at the full price (ie it's not worth it for full price)

Well, indeed @faustina ! I could never imagine paying £395 for a jumper- no matter how lovely!

@Countmeout - Toast thinking seems to be that fewer lines will result in more items being sold full price. I am not sure that makes sense to me, but what do I know???

I knew Toast had a weird attitude to sales, i.e. not having sales in-store, but this confirmed it for me.

@Theteapotsbrokenspout they had the Black Coffee and a colour they are calling Olive Oil in the linen drawstring with side pockets.

I really wanted to try them on - plus some other trousers- but just before I arrived at Toast I had slipped on something revolting, and surprised myself with the ability to ‘almost’ do the splits 🙀. It was only halfway through the event that I realised I was quietly bleeding through a hole in my trouser leg, (not my most sartorially elegant moment and very annoying as well as painful!)

At least it was my old leggings that have ended in the bin, not the Toast trousers I was originally planning to wear!

I was also at the Kindred event today ( @Dee1224 were you wearing the Kindred socks?!) and it was very enjoyable, but that wasn’t the impression I got from the sales chat. To me, there was no intimation that sales will not continue- Rachel said they’d prefer not to have so many items going on sale, but as buying habits have changed, Toast never gets rid of any of their clothes (so archive sales are necessary) and many of their customers only buy sale, nothing much will change on that front.
It’s funny how differently we can interpret what someone says, maybe it’s because I can’t bear the idea of sales being phased out!

I bought the panelled cotton twill trousers in oil cloth, which are really comfortable and flattering and I tried on the new indigo jumpsuit, which gives a wonderful shape except for the sleeves which stick out too much on me.

Hi @Toastlurker yes, I remember Rachel saying they never got rid of anything so stuff would keep reappearing in archive sales. I was wearing my Toast socks (and a Toast tunic), but they were hidden except when I was trying things on, (over my trousers, unfortunately🙀)

I really wanted to try the cotton twill trousers, they looked lovely.

It was such a nice event, wasn’t it?

@Dee1224 such a shame you couldn’t try any trousers on, I hope you didn’t hurt your leg too much.
I loved the check linen wide leg trousers and top co-ord that Evie picked out- the fabric is gorgeous but I know if I wore them together I’d look like a clown. The trousers are going on my summer wish list.

It was a really nice event, and I think they had a very successful morning of sales! I don’t often get to a shop so I tried on a lot of things this morning.

I too liked those trousers @Toastlurker - I think they’d look lovely with that pale pink tank Evie showed.

I wish I had tried on more tops, and dresses, but I only took a few things into try on and the changing rooms were busy.

My knee is ok, thanks - just a bit stiff and stinging. I am so glad it wasn’t worse - I was so looking forward to going today!

I also meant to say that I think Toast’s new sizing is ‘kicking in’.

I tried the green v neck three quarter sleeve cotton top in M, but, although it fitted, a L would probably have been better 🙀.

I still fit a medium in the two skirts I tried and in the grey flecky pinafore type dress. That last fitted and is a lovely dress, but made me look like a plumpish serving maid circa 1920, (not the look I was going for…)

@Dee1224 sorry to keep asking questions - did Evie style the pink tank on its own or over a shirt or dress? It’s only shown on its own on the product pages but I’m wondering if it’s loose enough to go over a dress.

Love reading the field reports!

Toast have always had Archive sales. The difference is, they used to discount things once, at end of a season, starting at 30% off, then moving to 50%, iirc. The following year, anything still unsold would be in the Archive sale, at 80% off. I don't remember anything ever hanging around! Or maybe they used to rag any rejects?

This was in the days of two main collections, Sping-Summer and Autumn-Winter, with embedded mini releases for High Summer and Deep Midwinter/Christmas. I preferred this, easier to plan when you can see the entire offering at once, and plenty of time to save for anything special.

My spending plan was typically one full price item, 1 or 2 sale items, plus maybe a few things from the archive sale (if my shared-line dial-up didn't scupper me :). Over six months of each collection. Which is pretty much the embodiment of the thoughtful slow-fashion ethos Toast say they aspire to.

Maybe it didn't work for Toast. In truth, I assume the corporate buyout has led to multiplying collections, at increased prices, and being stingy with sales, all in a drive to maximise profits.

It sounds like Toast want and need and are finding a wealthy clientele who can buy dozens of items at full price each year. It just won't be their original customers, for the most part. My typical Toast experience these days is items vanishing from my Saved list before I've got anywhere near being able to buy them :D

Hi @Theteapotsbrokenspout - I think it may have had a white loose long sleeved shirt under it, or maybe she just held them together. @Toastlurker might remember.

I know I thought the armholes looked spacious enough for a shirt to go under, but at the same time not too baggy that it couldn’t be worn on its own.

I liked it in both pink and blue.

I wish I had remembered to try them on. For some reason I think I thought we were time limited as the event was ending. (I don’t think we were - it was just my misperception as the shop emptied out and I was at the back of the queue for trying things on😿)

I think you are right @Stravaig 😿

Sorry to interrupt. We’re nearly done again

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/style_and_beauty/5008783-toasties-debating-another-sale-and-waiting-impatiently-for-all-the-new-things

In fact I think that’s it . To be continued on the new thread