Ranking clothes shops? Just for curiosity sake.

[SaunteringOnBy]

Do you rank clothes shops and brands? Like subconsciously or maybe consciously?

Like to me, I'd have Primark at the bottom, Tesco / Asda above them, then Matalan / Sainsbury's, so on and so on. In terms of quality more than cost I mean.

What do you think your rankings would be?
Where would fat face or Zara fit?

M&S / Next
H&M
Sainsbury's/ Matalan
Asda / Tesco
Pep and co
Primark

??

Oh, I wish it were as simple as that!

Mine’s more a dynamic spreadsheet encompassing desirability, affordability, suitability and impact. The decision making is more complex and absorbing than anything I do in terms of work, or life.

I would like my ranking to be like yours QuaterMiss but in my reality it's about who makes clothes that fit my height, boobs and high up waist. It's great when the stars align and they're also an ethical company and well made.

Instead of ranking, I have mental images of the ideal shape each shop mainly caters for. White stuff and Fatface women are short. H&M has a very slim, straight figure, River Island is curvy, but again, short etc. It saves an awful lot of time when I realise certain items from certain shops can never fit me, regardless of size.

I do rank them mentally in terms of poshness, quality, stylishness etc. with things like Whistles and Anthropologie near the top and Matalan and Tu near the bottom. (Not including designer / super-expensive brands)

But within that a “low-ranking” shop can be the best for a particular thing, eg great longline vests from Asda, primark do brilliant brushed cotton pjs, and so on. And conversely Hush is higher ranking in some ways but their knitwear bobbles like a bastard.

I do also see the archetype woman for each brand in my head, but it’s more her outfit and age/taste that I see rather than a body shape.

I’d put fatface at the top of your list, and white stuff above again.
Zara would go above M&S for me too.

I shop online mostly brands like Lucy & Yak, La Sportiva and Roxy… they’re my too brands

H&M is a weird one as it has so many different styles. It’s one of my favourite shops and I have some beautiful things from there - natural fabrics, v fashiony designs. But also it has bogstandard cheap basics galore.

LentilFaculties I think we have the same shape!!! Its a bloody nightmare.
I find Hush really good if you can get the long length.

Being plus size (and tbh even when I was slimmer I have a barrel chest and broad shoulders) my ranking has to include places where I get some kind of choice and where they dont just take stuff that looks right in an 8 and size it up in one fell swoop without further consideration. I have also become allergic to the 'holidaying in Southwold' vibe.

So:
Whistles
Anthropologie for the occasional 'xxxxl' item
& other stories
Phase Eight
M&S
Sainsburys/Tu
Primark

So I guess

Is an interesting thought experiment.. I'm not quite at the excel spreadsheet stage just yet @QuaterMiss it sounds fascinating.

I buy stuff from all over the spectrum but my spectrum of shops isn't so big as some as there's shops I think of as being too posh for the likes of me, Monsoon was one of those, or shops I feel are too 'old' for me, I'd have never step foot in Dorothy Perkins in my 20s.

Maybe it's too much thought and I should be more like my ex.. "need Jeans, got jeans from Tesco, done."

I'd be interested to hear more about your "Shopper Shapes" @LentilFaculties

Peacocks for PJs and bras
Boux Avenue for bras
Primark for tights
Uniqlo for warm layers and warm tights and leggings
Mango for classics (not UK Mango)
Zara for stripy tops etc.
Only for jeans
Decathlon for sportswear

Esprit for looking around, but hardly every buying anything
Etam in the sales only
H&M if you happen to be lucky

It’s only in my head, @SaunteringOnBy, I swear!

Tempered by the fact I have roughly 140 favoured sources saved to my screen under the title ‘Wardrobe’. If I find something new and exciting it goes in, if I open any of the saved sites and wonder why I saved it, it’s deleted. (I could happily make this a full time job.)

I mostly delete mailing list emails unopened - but it’s always exciting when, say, Margaret Howell has new stock. (Even if I buy nothing, or a vest …)

Ranking wouldn’t really cut it.