There is a gap in the market for well made, practical, stylish clothes

[Notcontent]

I recently realised that I had not really updated my wardrobe in ages. As a 50 year old slim, petite woman I face challenges finding stuff that actually fits (never had that problem 10 years ago) and had a separate thread in that. But I recently realise that actually, the problem is much bigger - it’s actually really hard to find interesting, good quality clothes.

i actually have a decent budget. I don’t have the budget to spend £500 on a dress or jacket. But would be happy to spend £150 on a well made pair of trousers. I suddenly see the attraction of some Boden clothes, which I never thought I would say…

I keep looking on Sezane, for example, but I think they used to have better quality things - but recently all their dresses, for example, seem to have a “young model on holiday” vibe, so not for me.

Me and em seems really expansive for what it is. They also seem to cater for only incredibly tall women…

What I am looking for is something like Boden, but a bit better quality and with fewer “fun prints”. Looking at what goes out of stock, I think there are a lot of women looking for something similar.

Can anyone relate?

I search Vinted for brands I know and include fabric in the filter.

Turns up some good buys, including items that I liked a few years ago, shapes that once we're but have moved on, that I still love to wear!

It's so hard.
I want sleeves. I want wide, but not clownish. I want plain, I want quality. I'm tall.
I like 'The Fold' but it's quite expensive.
I think you cannot look at a brand, I think you have to look for the item, and search for that.
I like House of Bruar, but the sizing is odd, and you pay for delivery and returns.
I miss the real Jaeger, Alexon and Viyella.
I hate these tiers and garish patterns.

I don't want puff sleeves or statement sleeves or principal boy sleeves. And I don't want tiers. This eliminates 50% of available dresses and sometimes tops too.

Tops! Don't get me started on tops! Most stop half way between my bust and my waist!
I have a lovely black midi pleated satin skirt, and I want a fitted silky top. Nope.

Me & Em??

Have you read the OP, @Sagarmatha?

😂

what are principal boy sleeves please ???

Poetry and Eileen Fisher are good for well made, high quality fabrics and styles.

Notcontent I think what you are looking for is what lots of us are after.

There are lots of brands mentioned here, and it’s certainly worth giving them a go, although I suggest visiting the shops rather than ordering online as fabric quality is so important.

I loved Boden in the olden days. Some of the clothes I’ve kept from fifteen years ago are brilliant quality. Every dress lined, beautiful fabrics and cuts, and the tweed was gorgeous.

I’m also little, and half French with unusual colouring. Lots of the brands mentioned here just don’t really work for smaller people. I find that Toast and Margaret Howell swamp me, for instance. And the muted (dare I say drab) colour palette just doesn’t work. Palava is lovely, but, as a 46 year old woman, I don’t feel sexy or stylish in their dresses (I have one with a cat on which my young patients love). I want clean lines, classic clothes in great colours and fabrics.

My solution is to shop in person, in London. Usually taking a day each season on Regent Street and Marylebone High Street. MLS especially has some good brands, and is less crowded. I especially like Poetry, Joseph, Max Mara Weekend and Agnes b, where the styles and colours are lovely, and the staff super helpful. I do also like The Fold and can recommend booking in at the City branch, where they are again lovely.

I like the charity shops in Marylebone, for those on a smaller budget!

@newtlover Principal boy sleeves are those huge puffy sleeves similar to what Elizabethan playwrights used to wear.

@WhatWillIWear I am sure my budget is a lot smaller than yours but I used to buy quite a few things from Joseph, on sale, as their clothes fitted me very well and I had some great trousers from them and linen and wool suits, coat etc. Now they and similar brands are a lot more expensive and quality is not as good.

Yes, I can definitely relate. I feel like I need to shop in Italy or Spain, but even there I struggle to get the shorter lengths.

I used to buy Jaeger, Austin Reed, Windsmoor, Alexon, Liz Claibourne, Planet etc, etc in the mid 80s to mid 90s when I was a far more conservative dresser than I am now.

But the OP set a budget of £150. £150 now is the equivalent of £49.90 in 1985. Those brands , especially Jaeger cost a lot more than £49.90.

Crewe clothing sometimes have a few bits that might meet your brief. I agree it's difficult to find classic, no busy prints but not £800

You could try charity shops? Perhaps buy in a larger size if you like something and get it altered by a dressmaker or tailor?

I don't think the gap in the market is because the sort of clothes the OP is looking for don't exist but that they don't exist at £150.

I don't think they ever did exist at that price range once inflation is factored in. The village I grew up in had a clothing mill which supplied Jaeger. The iteration of Jaeger produced by that mill was far more upmarket than the iteration now being sold in M& S.

When I bought Hobbs in the early noughties the quality of the clothes and material was better than today's iteration, but again factoring in inflation I don't think Hobbs prices have gone up.If they were to have maintained the same quality the clothes should be more expensive than they are.

Pure collection

Thought

Poetry

Wrap

Brora

(All amazing and exactly what you're looking for)

I’d disagree, @LaurieFairyCake. Those are all perfectly nice, safe, inoffensive brands - but a world away from the cool urban edge the OP must admire if she was a fan of peak-era Joseph.

@Notcontent - sell all your possessions (and any less favoured relatives) and run with all your money to:

Bite Studios

Back in the real world:

The Outnet
and
Vestiaire

are both worth huge chunks of your time …

I totally agree OP. I hate a lot of the clothing brands posted on MN that I have never heard of.
The nicest clothes I ever see are those on those scam clothing adverts on facebook. I want to actually buy those for real.

And I used to buy better clothes in Mark One that were knock offs of designer pieces, than I see in most quality clothes shops. And Mark One was ultra cheap. I loved it.

Whilst Joseph, M Howell etc may never have been in the OPs budget, it’s a fair point that the general quality of high street clothes has deteriorated.

I have
a sleeveless, structured dress, thick linen, lined, proper buckled wide matching belt, covered buttons, good structured, stiff collar.
A thick material, structured and lined A line skirt for work.
A linen skirt, fully lined.
From H&M circa 15-20 years ago. Never would you find anything remotely like that now in H&M.

Whilst Joseph, M Howell etc may never have been in the OPs budget …

The OP used to shop at Joseph, but found the quality declining as the prices increased. And Margaret Howell could be very much within her budget if she has the inclination to explore pre-owned sites like Vestiaire.

(The last two skirts I’ve bought have been from Vestiaire - one Margaret Howell, one Sofie D’Hoore. I would far rather have that sort of quality, lightly pre-owned, than spend the same amount on new High St stuff.)

Winser london looked promising, but seems to have gone

The British high street was an amazing place from around the mid 90s until the banking crash. However it wasn't a typical time and that kind of quality for those kinds of prices was never going to be sustainable. I can't imagine ever seeing those days again and I don't see the point of harking back to them.

Apart from that short but fun interlude, I've bought mostly second hand pretty much all my life, supplemented by a bit of Uniqlo, the odd treat, and the occasional thing I've made myself. This isn't because I'm on a particularly low income or a particularly ethical shopper, it's because the kind of clothes I like cost good money - as do most of the finer things in life - and this is the only way I've ever been able to afford them.

I don't believe that explanation. Because you can get clothes aimed at elderly woman that are still fairly cheap and very well made.