Whats your pet hate when clothes shopping

[Windypants21]

I am trying to buy a wedding guest outfit. As I live rurally alot of this has been online. My fury is rising at the amount of items I've ordered that aren't the colour as depicted in the pictures. Makes my blood boil !!!
Cornflower blue in the picture, pale and insipid in reality . Lovely pinky pink in the picture, is washed out and drab in the flesh. Why why why ??? All that happens is you're even more disappointed when it arrives so it goes straight back and you've wasted time and effort getting it posted.
When will companies realise that to be successful they need to represent what is on sale accurately.

Wouldn’t it be more constructive to outline your requirements and limitations and see if posters can help you find the perfect things?

Thanks KomoroMatilda, I was just voicing one of my (many, as it turns out) frustrations of shopping (online) in today's world. But thank you for the offer. I'm at the stage of sod it , I'm an odd shape and I'm never going to look good so just stick with simple and boring !! I wouldn't bore mumsnet with all my physical constraints!!! I'm not a main player so it's not a big deal. It's at times like this though that I wish I was a man. Suit, shirt, tie, shave and shiny shoes...sorted! Easy peasy.

Sizing being all over the place even within the same brand drives me mad. Oh and “Eco Vero”. It pills after one wear and a few washes leave it looking like a rag.

That isn't the point of the post though.

I get you OP. I'm a dumpy, ancient size 16 and in an ideal world I'd like to see models with my EXACT measurements and colouring wearing the clothes online.

Well you certainly can wear any sort of suit, shirt and shiny shoes you like to a wedding - it doesn’t have to be a flouncy dress!

I know that isn’t the question the OP asked, @SacreBleugh - but there are already so many threads full of disgruntlement with clothes shopping, online or in person.

I can guarantee I’m older than most of those expressing disappointment, don’t feel any inclination to ‘settle for boring’ and am about 95% delighted with online shopping.

Surely finding solutions and sharing recommendations is a better use of all our limited time?

But that's not what she's asking. Read it again.

The thread was intended to be a light hearted venting, maybe I overplayed it in my description!!! Sorry. I just wanted a little empathetic support, I don't really want an answer as such ...just frustrated with not being a size 8, tan skinned, and gorgeous then I'd look good in a bin liner ! If I started on my constraints the list would be too long and just dull. I'm late 50s so it's not like I'm a spring chicken.

Maybe if I did see someone with my dimensions modellibg clothes it would spur me into a strict eating and exercising regime but honestly more likely compell me to never go out again.

Not much choice for big busts specifically. That's my gripe.

I'm a 14 with big norks and a quite long body. If i size up for them then it gets baggy elsewhere which makes me look heavier and matronly. I have to stick to 'body con' type clingy styles as i like it obvious that i DO have a ribcage and a bloomin' waist!

Tops are too short because my bust pulls them up even shorter. I struggle in lots of good shops for this. I have to look for ''longline'' tops or they just ride up around my waist.

Don't get me started on the wide 'boxy' tops everywhere. Useless for my shape.

It’s sizing that drives me mad.

im an 18 in Next, but a 22 in Tesco 🙄

Maybe it's just me and the shops info in but my pet peeve is ..

There's never a sales person when you want one, but there's bloody loads when you don't. 🤣

Killing time having an idle nose in TKMaxx? Primark? Zara? Etc there's a sea of staff..
Wondering if they have these shoes / top / dress / etc in your size or heading to the till? It's suddenly lunch break..

Oh God yes, i'm up in the 18s and 20s in Tu in Sainsburys. (such short bloody sleeves! In their coats the cuffs are up my forearms when driving) but a 14 in Next, M&S, Mint Velvet ect.

It’s up to you how you use your time, not the OP.

This is more a general irritation as it's no one's fault, but I hate that with online shopping you can't properly see/feel the fabric.

I also think online shopping is missing a trick in how they present clothes for larger sizes. In person, the mannequins are all tiny, sure, but you can look at the garment in your size and get a sense of things. I'm not sure what the answer is outside of possibly larger models, but even then it doesn't really help. They often say how long the garments are, which is sort of helpful and then say, "the model is a size 8 and 5ft10" and I think - well, in real life, most women are much shorter than that so please, can we see what it looks like on one of them.

As a side bar to online shopping, ease of return is probalby the single biggest factor for me when online shopping these days. It's why I use Next such a lot - we have a convenient local store for returning things to.

Yes, I'm fat. But I still have a waist, and it's not under my boobs.
Sodding polyester.
I hate clothes shopping.* *

The lack of petite sizes. The average UK woman is five foot three or four - we’re not renowned for our height, but the choice of petite sizes is so limited on the high street.

You sound like my shape almost exactly. Tops either look matronly or slutty on me. I seem to have to choose between looking like a sack or it being too clingy. Plus having a long body makes everything ride up funny around my mind section.
Bravissimo used to do a curvy clothing nrange which was amazing but sadly no longer exists.

1. my body
2. clothes

i hate clothes shopping

I have a short body so sometimes wear petite tops even with big breasts and my overall height is NOT petite. Can you do that by choosing stuff from the "Tall ranges? @Laiste @MrsWidgerysLodger Or, if tiktok is to be believed, isn't this where belts are your friend!? (sorry, with my ridiculously short body I am just jealous of anyone with a long body. I have big boobs, and very little waist - even when I was tiny as a teenager it was frustrating).

Or course, if it's anything like the petite ranges, it can be very limited!

Pet hates - where do I Start! Am similar to Sacrebleugh so have the same issues.

Has to find a dress 2 yrs back - hated it. Everything too long. Lots of nasty material.

My pet hate is the lighting in the changing rooms.

M&S changing room yesterday was like a jumble sale in a power cut.
I'm sure if the lighting didn't make you look like hell they'd sell many more clothes.

I'm pettite under 5ft, I used to be able to buy pettite in proportion clothes now they are .just too tight and I need to buy 2 up from regular sizing if I want an in proportion jackets or whatever and it drives me insane, and I don't know why sizing changed.

I wish more trousers came in different leg lengths! Skirts in shorter lengths as well. I’m 5’3” and so many items are about 6 inches too long.

As a side bar to online shopping, ease of return is probalby the single biggest factor for me when online shopping these days. It's why I use Next such a lot - we have a convenient local store for returning things to.

Next is great for this I must admit. So great that I stood for almost 15 minutes behind a woman who had a TROLLEY FULL of things she had purchased online and was returning. I heard in great detail, as she removed each item from its bag, about the reason why it didn't suit, including the same pair of sandals in three different colours and two different sizes. I was utterly fed up. The woman behind me had a bit of a rant at the shop assistant then buggered off. The store was obviously at fault for having only one checkout open, but God Almighty that woman must have bought half the warehouse🤣🤣

My biggest disappointment is nearly always how flimsy the fabric is with online purchases. And the length. The hemline of every dress just seems to fall at the 'wrong' part of my calf, if that makes any sense. I'm 5ft 7", so not particularly tall, slightly taller than average I guess.

@Funnywonder that was probably my sister she's a prolific returner with multiples of the same thing 😀