Let’s talk about White stuff

[Coddy]

Was passing today and I saw this lovely pair of glittery socks in the window suitable for a Christmas present.
Went in there to buy them and remembered what a pile of old shit it is.
Back in the early 2000s it was the place to go for young mums- , who remembers the velvet coats, the a line printed skirts, endless layering , the knitted tights that was quite the look then?

However, it does not seem to have moved on at all. Whilst there is the odd nice thing in there, glittery socks and a lovely gold bag I saw (can’t afford mustn’t buy) It’s just a riot of print with no kind of theme and really poor display.

Do you go to White stuff? What do you rate in there, do you think it’s lost its way?

Always used to but my pyjamas there as they were excellent quality - thick and comfortable. They’ve steadily gone down hill in quality and this year I won’t be buying - they are so so thin! The usual dressing gown that they bring out is much poorer quality than last year too (I bought one in the sale last year and the difference is stark!)

I've picked up a few bits secondhand (but barely used / like new condition) over the years and I think the quality seems to vary a lot.

Basic cotton tops, mostly. Some last and last and some seem to fall apart really quickly. I'd never pay full price due to this.

I do like their cotton tights though.

Last December I had an appointment with JL personal shopper. She had me marked as frumpsville and chose a lot of WS.
It all went back.

I'd love a Top Shop or Miss Selfridge for grown ups!

Why did you edit your list out?

As my username suggests I am 60 (now 61 🫨) and I find it impossible to find clothes I like. I don't like many patterns or tiers or fussiness. Clothes are awful quality and cut horribly.

I bought a dress from Monsoon recently as I liked it on the website. It was awful, the quality far worse than the cheapest of shops in the 90s.

I’ve just read the thread properly and realise we’re talking about White Stuff and I’m posting about the White Company - sorry!

I’ve had two really bad experiences recently - a hot water bottle that split after just a few months (leaking very hot water onto my legs) and a ridiculous shipment where the rather small box (which would have been fine to ship as it was) was put inside an enormous White Company branded box stuffed with paper - it was so big it could barely fit through the door and was about 30 times the size of the product it contained (it took up an entire wheelie bin for recycling!) I won’t be ordering from them again..

Probably because it had that dull grey, epitome of style, Mint Velvet on it

You forgot the pink !

The issue with WS is not just the patterns but the prices.

I ordered several jumpers this season and they all went back.
Some were itchy, others were too shapeless but none was 100% wool or even close to that and they were all around £65.

For another £10 or £15 I could buy cashmere.

Likewise their cotton cardigans. All nearly £50 (and yes there are discounts now and then) and the quality isn't there. Thin material .

By that logic if I want to avoid being hassled, cat called and generally subjected to the unwanted male gaze, white stuff is the #1 shop to go to!

Was going to ask this. Wyse have a couple of Borg things. It makes me think cyborg and then I wonder what the link is between sci fi and a furry jacket.

I don't object to the word 'frumpy' in itself, what I object to is using it as code for women over 55. I wouldn't try to stop them though - as far as I'm concerned they should be free to express their views just as long as I'm also free to call those views lazy and asinine.

I don't like White Stuff but some of my friends do so I wish it well as long as I'm never forced to shop there myself. I don't think of Sea Salt as being in quite the same league - it regularly has stuff that I quite like on the hangar but it inevitably disappoints when I try it on.

Madame Selfridges perhaps?
Miss Selfridge was certainly the best of: Top Shop, Snob, Etam, Jane Norman, Wallis, etc, of my youth in the late 70s/early 80s.

I shall reinvent myself when I retire. As what who knows?

Of course you’re free to think our views are lazy and asinine! Just as I’m free to say frumpy! Each to their own I say!

I do quite like some stuff in Oliver Bonas but don't own any of their clothes as I agree it's overpriced and polyester. I will happily pay more for better quality. Or less for the same quality! But not polyester!

I get quite a bit from
Zara
M&S
Some Mint Velvet
Couple of independent places in town
Got a skirt from Fat Face the other day
ASOS.....takes so long sorting through the dross
Nobody's Child
John Lewis
Uniqlo
And Other Stories

I want to like Zara, but have never found anything there that I even want to try on.

To be honest the majority of my visits are like that but some of my favourite bits are from Zara. Website is awful as well.

My point is that it’s NOT lighthearted when women are bitching about Wendy looking like a frumpy lesbian etc and that language can be cruel.

I know you've gone Remus but just in case - no one actually called Wendy frumpy. She's been described as older, and having a lesbian vibe, neither of those things was said negatively as far as I can see, or linked to frumpiness. It seems you made those links in your head.

Like a PP I don't think it's to do with age either. It's about ill-fitting, unflattering, awkward or just unstylish clothing. And I don't think women have any duty NOT to be frumpy or to worry about whether they are. Lots of men might sit around not worrying about it, so do lots of women and that's fine.

But for people who like style and design, frumpy has a meaning and it can be applied to the styles of some shops. No you shouldn't call a woman frumpy to be cruel, of course not. But saying a dress or a print is frumpy is a useful description.

I like being able to be blunt on S&B and I think it's valuable, and can be very funny when people have withering put-downs for clothes, sometimes their own fashion disasters.

You don't think calling Wendy a lesbian 'because she looks like one' is negative? What does a lesbian look like and so what if she is ?

Same. Everyone raves about it but when I go in store I never see anything I like. And the sizes look tiny.

I don't know, she was described as having a lesbian vibe, and maybe the describer was a lesbian themselves. It's no different from "gaydar" which gay men use too, is that allowed?

I used to dress my daughter in those smock type dresses with ditsy prints, until she grew old enough to have a say and she definitely wouldn't be seen dead on them now at 11 years. I'm sure she'd say they are frumpy, she's definitely not a middle aged woman past her prime!

Why do you think calling someone a lesbian is negative?

I've been assumed to be a lesbian myself, although I'm straight - I don't mind. I thought we were on the side of the person who said a police officer looked like their lesbian nan and thought that was a reasonable remark and she shouldn't be in trouble for it?