Toasties can we go on chatting forever? Looks like it!

[Countmeout]

New thread. Woke (blooming cat) to find it’s nearly full.

I’ve just signed up for the newsletter hope there is a 20%off code!

what I can’t understand is why in winter they have linen dresses with summer sandals for sale!

So funny @Stravaig and you’re so right! 😹😹😹about the knitting with the Uruguayan wool and the coat comment. I could exactly picture such an exchange!

@faustina - I remember you saying 🙀 What with weird sizing, ever increasing prices, strange marketing and some very odd behaviour in some shops, it’s a wonder we’re all so loyal.

It really does take commitment to be a Toastie! However, in many ways they are such a lovely company- Kindred, in store events, free mending, etc. When I look at my bulk bought baubles, waft around in my favourite dress and snuggle up in my jumpers, it’s sort of worth putting up with all the eccentricities!

Good grief @Zeusrules 20% off??? I am in awe!

@Rosescountrylifecottage - when I signed up about three years ago, I was sent a discount code, so fingers crossed for you. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise it was the last one I would ever be sent, so didn’t get round to using it 🙀

@Stravaig - I enjoyed that. I will channel you if I ever find myself in an unfriendly Toast store.

I am invariably wearing Toast when I go into a Toast shop though tends to be from a previous season as I pick up most of my stuff in sales. I did mention once In York store and said they really enjoy seeing how customers are wearing their clothes.

It’s a big compliment to the brand @Stoic123 if customers come in wearing the clothes already. In my case, they seemed to think I’d left my own, presumably, tatty cheap non Toast top in the shop and acquired one of theirs to wear instead. (I hadn’t, just to be clear😹)

At the event I attended recently, one person was wearing a boatneck checked top (recent stock), with a patterned Toast skirt. I would never have thought of putting those together, but on her it looked spectacular. Always nice to see Toast ‘in the wild’!

My daughter is off to town today in a vintage Toast coat. It's red, there should be a prize if you spot her and say 'Toast Tastic' !
Although that reminds me of Brighton Rock, it starts like that with a newspaper gimmick. I retract the idea, in 2024 you'll probably get arrested.

I saw a woman in town wearing all Toast with lots of colour/ pattern/texture clash - lots of layering and big boots. It was winter and I think ( but not sure) the chunky cardigan was the ‘landscape’ from a couple of years ago. Somehow it all worked including the proportions (which I find hard to master) and she wasn’t particularly tall. She pulled it off spectacularly. How do some people make it work? I dither for ages as to whether a tonal T will look right under a dress !!

Talking of T’s under a dress. Does anyone know where I can buy a striped olive/black long sleeved T shirt ? It’s to wear under the crinkled olive freya dress. I love the dress but feel it needs a little something to lift it - it’s a very solid block of colour and quite dark. Anyone got any tips as to how I can style it. I tried a tan belt but that spoiled the shape of the dress as does layering a cardigan on top - it looks great on some people but I look like a bag of spuds with this combination, even if the cardigan is very cropped. I’m on the lookout for a scarf which would work well too.

@PeonyBlush10 - I think Toast often do the sort of t shirt you describe. You could also try Cos or And Other Stories.

Maybe a bandana or a floaty scarf? Chunky necklace?

I am in awe of people who can pull off layering. Even in my skeletally thin younger days I tended to create the Eastern European 19th century peasant look instead of the effortlessly cool boho vibe I was seeking!

@PeonyBlush10

I'm layering my olive Freya over Seasalt Easel tops in onyx or woodland; being a slightly marled cotton they don't look too dark. I haven't managed to find a suitable striped top yet so I'll be interested to see if you or anyone else can source something suitable.
I wear khaki linen trousers and green lace-up boots under the dress but the top half is a struggle because I find the Freya sleeves look bulky under a fine knit cardi. I'm okay for scarves because I'm a knitter so I can usually sort out some sort of lace shawl to chuck over my dresses.

Thanks - I’ll have a look.
Yes, I find layering is tricky. Maybe it’s about what feels right rather than trying to go for a certain ‘look.’ I’m guessing also confidence plays a large part. The lady in all the clash exuded confidence. Somehow there was a subtle balance and harmony to the clash. I thought about her ‘look’ for a long time
after. I’d have to apply lots of thought to that and perhaps still not pull it off 😆 yet it looked effortless.

They sound like wonderful outfit combinations - didn’t think about wearing trousers with it !!! Thanks for the ideas. I’ll check out Seasalt. Maybe we’ll bump into each other on a train one day wearing the same outfit !

Hi, does anyone have info on when/if there’s another sample sale at Shepton Mallet?

Thanks

I have Raynauds and my GP said keeping my knees warm will help my feet, so I'm always layered up in trousers and flat lace-up boots. In midwinter it'll be thick cotton tights, leggings and trousers with some sort of dress on top and I may even add a skirt between trousers and dress and a knitted waistcoat or hap over the top.
Nope, am not even in the Scottish Highlands, just the West Pennines, but I take layering to extremes 😆 I'll see you on the train 😉

I have just booked a week up north - I will try to visit Toast York. My DH was doing a little victory dance as we are not going somewhere that goes past Shepton Mallet. (But I have just burst his bubble by pointing out we can visit Bicester Village on the way back!)

What utter cheek to be branded a shoplifter because you’re wearing a Toast piece! I like to give the assistants the benefit of the doubt as they’re often very young and we all made mistakes then when dealing with the public. But that’s just beyond ! I’m assuming that they are badly paid because in Islington there’s always a couple of new SA s who seem to know nothing about the stock . In the good old days I knew them all and enjoyed getting their input on fit etc .
I like the current team in Mayfair , I value their advice too as I feel an affinity with the way they present and talk about the collection.

Indeed @OftenOrange - I really don’t know why I wasn’t angrier!

I also wish that Toast would move into the 21st century and have some kind of shop security. It might reduce silliness.

Contemplated getting my jumpers out today, but put my lovely Toast Japanese thick cotton socks on instead. If these ever reappear I will repurchase. I bought them on a whim from SM and have never seen them online.

It's so sad to hear of bad experiences shopping in Toast, I can truly say that I have never encountered anything like that, the worst has been some staff who were a bit offhand. Having said that, I wear a lot of Oska clothes and in Llandeilo they always comment on those.

@@Rosescountrylifecottage you have picked up on the thing that irritates me most about Toast, the trying to sell me summer clothes when it's 7 degrees outside. I know I can wear 4 or 5 layers, but I don't want to! Just sell me some warm dresses. Privatsachen were good last winter, but I haven't looked there yet this year.

It's nice to hear about everyone else knitting (@AubrieDog ,@Poplinskirt and@TheDeepLemonHelper ) I was going to suggest to @PeonyBlush10 that the Freya dresses look nice with a very cropped very wide cardigan. I knit them with dolman sleeves to accommodate the dress sleeves.

@TheDeepLemonHelper Oh gosh, I thought for a moment that you meant you work for JC Rennie rather than that you knit with only their yarn. I was living in hopes that it meant you had lots of free samples you could share with us 😉

What lovely wool and beautiful colours @TheDeepLemonHelper - I briefly became a half-competent very basic knitter when I was a student and started again when I was first pregnant. I have anll but forgotten my - admittedly - limited skills, and really should try again!

That looks absolutely gorgeous @TheDeepLemonHelper scrumptious colours.

I must have a look at the Rennie website. I haven't bought any yarn for ages because I had a ridiculous amount hoarded. Well, I still do really... but maybe I could justify buying a few balls for a scarf or small shawl...🤔

@IlovePond You never forget how to knit, it's like riding a bike. You'll soon get back into it.