Your top gripe with buying clothes at the moment?

[Clotheswoe]

Mine is that often when trousers are described as 'high-waisted', they are not at all high waisted on me. They just aren't hipsters!

Even wool and cashmere can be cheap thin and crappy. I got a Community Clothing jumper - only lambswool - recently, they are made in Scotland. I have a drawer of jumpers from TKMaxx, Woolovers, M&S etc but this CC one is amazing, it's both soft and kind of closely/densely knitted, it feels like it would got to the grave with me and still keep me warm. It's shown up my other jumpers (not much cheaper) as imposters.

The fashion industry has got locked in a race to the bottom trying to compete with supermarkets, where quality or how long your garment lasts is irrelevant as it only needs to look good on Instagram for a day.

Elasticated waists. Either uncomfortable or slide down or both. Also bullky and unflattering

Cheap, flimsy fabrics. Even when you're paying upwards of £100 for a sweater. I still have a cotton/wool mix sweater that I bought from Next circa 1997. The quality is so good that it feels genuinely heavy .

My moan is about shoes. Flats tend to be ultra flat these days, giving people like me plantar fasciitis. A pair of sandals from M&S that I stupidly wore for a fortnight in August have cost me £100 in insoles so far.

And if we are to believe that people are growing taller, then why can nobody seem to make women’s shoes in a 9 and above?

Found my people. Loads of people on this thread and others bemoan synthetic materials but clearly masses of people are out there buying it, even though there's so much known about the environmental impact and why do they pay the prices. Recycled polyester seems to make some people feel better??!!

I like the cropped trousers and the mid rises but the point here is the lack of choice and understanding we all have different figures. Instead, as well as cheap materials, the idea is to make everything as baggy as possible as then it will fit everyone. The fact all the shops basically sell the same things in the same colours (just at different price points and levels of modesty), that the same influencers promote, also means you just don't get enough choice.

I agree on jumpers, so many of these look nice lying on a shelf and then you have a look and they are a) polyester b) ludicrously cropped c) with massive sleeves or d) they have a bit missing. Or e) all of this. This week I've been wearing a jumper from probably the mid noughties.

I'm on a low buy but it's not hard right now. Most things I see are not as nice as the things I already own. And you are also highly dubious about how long they will last.

Yet to read the entire thread but just to say:
Pretty dresses with bastard cutout backs, or really low backs.

I know, it's so depressing. It does make life easy for the fashion brands if they don't have to think about actual women's shapes.

@HolidayAtNight you mention that some kind of fabrics fit curves better .... Wonder if you know what the best ones are? I will look out for them!

Agree with all of this! A shopping trip used to be a fun afternoon once or twice a month, it can sometimes feel now like finding e.g. a pair of jeans is an all consuming pass time involving reading reviews on multiple sites and searching for discount codes etc. All the spontaneity has gone out of it and you can end up feeling overwhelmed by the choice and the whole convoluted process!

Dreadful artificial fibres. I now only shop secondhand for natural fibres.

Modest shapeless dresses and tops. I don't want tops up to my neck or sleeves down to my wrists. I want a waist. I have boobs, I do not want to look like a square sack. Oh, yeah, and don't add frills as some sort of concession. They are not required thank you.

Yes. I’m quite tall and reasonably slim & I look and feel like a galleon in full sail in oversized stuff.

Poor quality fabric, jumpers made from plastic bottles that bobble after a few wears so pointless buying them. Vegan leather, what’s that? Contains wool, just enough to be able to advertise it, so around 5%.
On the subject of shoes, Dr Marten’s are the only footwear that are tailored to fit around heels. M&S footwear, lovely to look at but not heel shaped at the back to hold your heels in place, often too wide.
Leather shoes and trainers that are non breathable because the inside is plastic.
Saving my money for the occasional quality item that is reasonably priced. I know I’m better off shopping my wardrobe for now.

Cropped trousers. Why would I want me trousers to be slightly too short in winter?!

I've been looking for a nice pair of slim fitting grey wool trousers since about 2018. I'm a size 12 so pretty standard and I'd happily pay to have the legs turned up if I could even find a pair that were too long. No luck yet though.

Second-hand and in person is your friend. I had to find a wedding outfit in a specific colour last year and struggled to find anything suitable until I hit the charity shops.

I agree with so much on this thread. My personal bugbear is long frilly sleeves that end up in the way of basic functions such as eating or wiping your ass. Never again 😂

It's very hard to look any way tailored these days. I'm not a big shopper but I can afford a few decent things a year. I thought by this age I'd have a decent capsule wardrobe but it's hard to buy the staples. I'm not very tall and I hate frills so that rules out a lot.

This!!

I just don’t have the headspace for the faff. My local Zara is always heaving with massive queues to try things on, they even close their fitting rooms during quiet times like an hour before they close. If you’re in the queue, they’ll turn you away. So I’ve been buying things without trying on, then need to return if the fit is off, which is enough of a faff that I don’t bother as much anymore! Otherwise I’d need to pencil in an extra hour to get there well before shops close their fitting rooms to get a proper experience.

Also I feel like online shopping isn’t as convenient either. I have ASOS next day premier service but they have so many options that it’s genuinely hard to order before the cut off time. I was looking for black trousers the other day and had to filter through 400 similar options. Sometimes you just want a curated collection to put in your basket and go instead of having to narrow down and compare options every single time.

Yes to the PP who said all shoes seem to be covered in bling! It’s spreading to trainers too with loads of gold or animal print embellishments!
I don’t mind the silky skirts or the batwing sweaters though.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: STOP with the inspirational quotes and cartoon characters on adult clothes! I don’t need my chest to instruct everyone to Live Laugh Love.

Im convinced the godawful queues in Zara are partly down to people returning stuff they’ve bought without being able to try on first. And their dressing rooms are absolutely tatty if you do manage to get in one.

I'm about to put a Joe Brown coat on Vinted because it won't close over my HH cups and is too big for the rest of me.

Bravissimo stopping their clothes was a disaster for me.

Just echoing some PP comments about dresses where the waist is really high and sits on my ribs. I don't have a small rib cage and those dresses make that clear!

Polyester can get in the bin for sure but, what's wrong with Tensel & Viscose?

Yes, why are the floors always so dusty? Whenever I’m carrying eg a maxi dress, it’s ruined if it touches the floor!

Also my Zara has separate queues for returns and purchases but they’re each ridiculously long. Has Zara got significantly more popular in the 2020s or do they just run with bare minimum staff?

They shrink, wash on wash, and bobble like crazy.