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 know that and I have bought chinos from there. But there is zero reason why basics can not be provided by other shops at similar prices. They are not trend driven. People always want decent quality black t shorts, denim trousers, white blouses, etc. We are being ripped off.

I often see Community Clothing mentioned on these threads. Am I the only one who finds their clothes rather, well, dull? I've yet to see anything I like - and I wear plain clothing mostly as it is.

They are very dull and drab.

Oh thanks, I thought it was just me.

OP I am in a similar situation to you. I buy a fair bit from Uniqlo because they have reasonable quality for the price and the tops/jackets/shirts fit my petite frame (jeans and trousers less so as I am quite pear shaped). I find Hobbes in particular impossible because the clothes are cut for much taller women with broader shoulders. Muji is another Japanese brand that often has good if rather boring basics - I got a classic denim jacket there a couple of years ago with sleeves that stop at the wrist, not my knuckles.

Otherwise I dabble in a lot of places but I agree that quality has gone down noticeably since the financial crash in 2008. I love Toast but have to choose carefully so that I don't have that "Depression era flour sack wearing farm wife" look, not being 6 feet tall or dramatically beautiful.

Big vote for Phase Eight. I have recently discovered. Well, let's say tried. Great tailored jumpsuits. Good price point 1-150.

Also OUTNET if you have the patience. I buy Victoria Beckham tailoring. Perfection.

I agree with you . I like quite classic styles, neutral colours etc but CC clothing seems to have no shape or style at all. And I really want to like it too!

I agree. I keep trying to buy new clothes, but barely ever buy anything. I'm still wearing clothes that are 10-20 years old. Just not inspired by anything in the shops, whether due to weird colours, poor quality fabric, poorly made, weird sizing, etc. Had to go to a funeral a few weeks ago, I must have gone to 20-30 shops, in different places, over a couple of weeks, and couldn't find anything suitable. I'm not paying a couple of hundred pounds for some polyester crap that wasn't even a good fit and didn't look like it would survive a couple of washes!

Bring back the old days, where you had a High Street of clothes shops that actually sold things that were well made, half decent quality, properly sized, and in "normal" colours/designs. Not everyone wants to look like some weirdo on a catwalk!

@LlynTegid you not liking someone's choice of clothing doesn't mean they don't have style.

....and who decides what's 'old fashioned' anyway?

I must have gone to 20-30 shops, in different places, over a couple of weeks, and couldn't find anything suitable.

Lord … I haven’t had that experience this century - and don’t understand why you couldn’t have just opened Net-a-Porter (or a less elevated equivalent if your user name doesn’t reflect your spending power!) and chosen something. Shopping in person can be rewarding - but I would never now put myself through the miserable 1970s experience I recall all too well of traipsing around town finding nothing I wanted.

Anyway, I hope you perhaps found something in your wardrobe that worked for the day.

The selection in shops and online is terrible. I've never known it be worse. I'm 45, tall, slim.

Also agree that fit is an increasing problem with many retailers catering only for the same body type let in or out. But I think I'd rather be petite than tall because at least you can have things taken up or in!

Fed up with spending winter freezing in tops and jumpers that don't cover my wrists and in being hot and sweaty layer in the year from wearing tights under trousers (because they're all so cropped that no sock makes it to the top). Midriff is horrible after two c-sections so would also appreciate not having to pull my top down every five minutes and avoid bending over.

As for shoes... where do we begin? Currently only wearing trainers and a few elasticated ballet flats.

I will say that I have some decent quality t-shirts from Whistles and Arket.

I find Hobbes in particular impossible because the clothes are cut for much taller women with broader shoulders.

Goodness knows what branch of Hobbs you were in, but Hobbs in all the years I've known it is cut for average UK sizes, taking account of fact UK women aren't generally that tall. I'm 5'3"- never found anything in Hobbs was wrong for that height.

IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle
I agree. I sometimes need to size down but I’m a 10/12 with a slight build and Hobbs has always fitted me well.

Both sites have clothes that appeal to me, thank you

The selection in shops and online is terrible. I've never known it be worse

@hopsalong you can’t have tried everything online? And I’m perfectly sure other tall, slim women are able to find satisfactory clothes - so surely you just haven’t found the right places for you, yet?

I’ll say again, there are masses of brilliant sources of clothes right now - but prices are horrible and it is a struggle for those of us who shopped through the 80s / 90s / early 2000s to accept that we now have to pay multiples more for decent quality, or use pre-owned sources.

You do see this repeatedly here on S&B. A poster will arrive with a list of perceived bodily faults (always) and style requirements for a big occasion like a wedding or interview - then they’ll flourish a £100 spending limit. For luxury fabric and skilled cutting to clothe a size 16 body. It isn’t viable.

Exactly. And I don't believe really good quality clothes were ever cheap. Posters seem to think that if Hobbs or Jaeger sold a dress at £100 20 or 30 years ago that they should still be selling the same quality at that price.

@IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle
I think the difference is, perhaps, that whilst somewhere like Jaeger will always have been expensive, many years ago very standard high street shops such as M&S or Next would have had clothing that was better quality .

I feel the same way.
It's the Amish version of modern plain clothing, whilst being very worthy & functional.

Wild you consider Seasalt petite for trousers or tops?
Quality is reasonable

I don't know about that. I've never bought clothes in Next or M & S as I didn't ever think they were that great.

I find the Community Clothing ‘worthiness’ deeply sexy and appealing. (And not just because I admire their aims and ambitions - there are loads of hair shirt enterprises I willingly swerve.)

Right now I don’t really have a need for casual clothes at that price point; my home clothes are properly cheap or worn out old stuff and my ‘out’ clothes are much fancier. But I’ve been gifting their knitwear and accessories (to general acclaim) and recommending all their clothes to people with different dressing habits to my own.

Just as (decades ago) people used to mistake my M&S knitwear or plain white vests for Jil Sander when I mixed both brands in an outfit, I don’t see why a completely plain CC shirt couldn’t work perfectly well mixed with, I don’t know, a long plain skirt from Margaret Howell or The Row or a pair of Toteme trousers. I’m not telling anyone to rush out and buy a new wardrobe from any of those, (obvs) it’s just a similar aesthetic - particularly if you experiment with sizing - maybe trying a shirt or cardigan in a much smaller or much bigger size to achieve a satisfying play of proportions.

I find the Community Clothing ‘worthiness’ deeply sexy and appealing

I know exactly what you mean. I appreciate that as a heterosexual women I'm not qualified to speak to what blokes would find "sexy" but there's a down to earth, earthiness about that look which I find very attractive. There's a similar, but fey earthiness to hippy/ dippy/ bucolic Laura Ashley( before they lost the plot) / Cabbages and Roses style.

Women in this type of clothing look as if they'd be good fun and up for a roll in the hay at short notice and wouldn't care if their hair or make- up was messed up.

On the other hand I find the Club London style overtly "sexy" dresses (see recent thread about a killer dress) deeply unattractive.