Do you miss any clothes you no longer have?

[IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads]

When I was in 6th form (1980!) had a cardigan from Next - when Next were only a few years old and were a good quality, slightly above average shop for thinking women's workwear. It wasn't that amazing, but it worked really well for me.

It was lambswool. Boyfriend style (except it wasn't called that then, it was just a v neck cardy then). Not too thick for summer, not too thin for winter. It was just the right shade of cornflower blue to make my eyes pop, and made me just look amazing. It was long enough to reach the top of my trousers (I have a long back, this is my holy grail in tops). Slightly oversize. Slightly oversize, but not chunky, pearl buttons. I wore it to pieces, literally.

I have tried to replace it so many times over the years. Nothing is ever quite right. Woolovers did a good blue a few years ago, but the cardigan was too short and the buttons too fiddly. Two or three other "cornflower" or "bluebell" pieces have proven to actually be drab, smokey, RAF blue. It needs to be lambswool. I'm can't wear synthetics without stinking! I'm too rough for anything delicate like merino or cashmere. (TBH, I'd settle for Shetland wool if everything else was perfect).

I do miss that cardigan.

Not an item of clothing, but 2 different bags. I bought the first from Next in about 1987 and it cost £50, which was a lot of money for me at the time, particularly as I was a student, so I had to save up for it. It was thick, conker brown Italian leather in a fairly rigid rectangular shape with a flap fastening and a wide leather strap like a belt, that went all the way under the bag and was secured with leather " belt loops".

The second was a bucket bag ( Italian again) that I bought from Fenwicks in Bond Street in the early 90's. It was olive suede with a brown leather section at the bottom. The leather was embossed with oak leaves and acorns.

I wore both bags out, but would love to have them again.

A soft black jersey dress, knee length, ruched sides and long ruched sleeves. Bought it from C&A in the 80s, it was a classic. I keep looking for a replacement.

A RAF cropped jacket bought from a Surplus stall in Leeds market. I wore that thing to death, it was the perfect blue to go with jeans. My granddad was so confused about why I chose to wear something he'd been forced to wear as part of a uniform.

Next opened in 1982. I remember it well. It was a Big Thing. They had a beautiful catalogue (even though they had shops) with fabric swatches in. One of (if not the) first shops was in Victoria Street, London, near DM's office. I used to go with her to choose work clothes, but they were always too long for her.

I was in 6th form in the late 1980s. I missed the "s" in my op. My long-mourned for cardigan was definitely Next.

They had a beautiful catalogue (even though they had shops) with fabric swatches in.

I have the first three Next directories, and the clothes are lovely, but much more expensive than Next nowadays.

I had a perfect pair of jeans from M&S, maybe one of the first Autograph items. They were thin soft denim, not quite tencel, and were between straight and wide leg with a hemmed cuff. So flattering and comfortable but I wore them to death. Never found a similar pair again, wide legs are too swishy for me. I miss them...

In the late 70s I saved up my pocket money and bought a wool multicoloured swing winter coat from C&A, in a mix of maroon, cream and brown. It looked amazing. My mum, bless her, donated it when I want to college as I didn't wear it any more. Ditto the amazing bright yellow cotton swing raincoat...... I would love to still have these coats. I also regret donating a pile of beautiful silk monsoon pieces (that I bought in the 90s) 10 years ago as had put on so much weight. But I've lost the weight now .....However I was delighted to find my old leather bucket shoulder bag from Hobbs from 1992 last week which I've mended and refurbed, so not all regrets.

Next's original parent company was Hepworths, hence the early date belonging to Hepworth's origins. Also explains the quality / cut of the earliest Next clothing.

Appreciate the Next history lesson 🙏 fascinating!

At least once a week I mourn the loss of a chocolate brown slouchy suede rucksack from Next in the late 80s, it was from the men department. I used to get so many fantastic things there, linen shirts, beautiful knitwear. The quality and design was top notch, it bears absolutely no relation to the Next we have now.

My entire casualwear wardrobe from 1995 would be so great right now

Long button down skirt, men's cardigan in bottle green wool from m&S
Chunky off-white cable knit jumper
Levis with button fly
Velvet blazer
Cord bomber jacket

But also a blue, green and silver 1960s style brocade dress that I failed to collect from the dry cleaner before they folded. And an electric blue chiffon dress I gave away to the charity shop. And a cobalt silk blouse that ended up more holes than garment. Black wide leg side zip trousers that I wore non-stop at uni.

So many!
I had the most perfect chocolate brown sheepskin thigh length coat - belted with huge flecked cream fur all around the bottom and on the cuffs. I looked like a Russian Princess! I used to wear it with the shortest black mini skirts and high clobber boots and I thought I looked IT! But I was 19 and looked IT in everything 😂

I too mourn a perfect cardigan from Next circa 1987, when their clothes were beautiful quality. It was cherry red, lambswool with a collar. It was hand- embroidered (imagine that!) on the collar, cuffs and around the button holes with red & cream flowers so it looked vaguely Swiss? I regularly search for it on eBay and vintage sites, to no avail.

Another was a Laura Ashley (circa 1997) black, ankle length coat dress made from real silk velvet. It had satin lapels and cuffs, and a row of tiny ebony buttons down the front. It swished and swirled beautifully and made me feel mysterious and aloof! DD2 'borrowed' it for a school event and it was never seen again [weeps]

I remember that when Next started in the 80's, they told the press that the brand aimed to bridge the gap between M&S and Jaeger (which was considered very " high end" in those days). The quality was excellent, but it was expensive compared with where it sits in the market today.

I wasn't a big Next fan, but I did love Monsoon. I was taken to their first shop in London by a trendy aunt back in the early 70s and spent what felt like a fortune on three dresses. I loved everything in that shop. I wore those first three dresses for years and added to my collection regularly over the years. Unfortunately I think they became a bit too mainstream and the quality dropped once they expanded onto every High Street.

I had a red velvet, bardot style fitted dress, just above the knee. It's the only thing I've ever worn which literally turned heads. It made me feel fabulous and confident. I loved that dress. Wouldn't have a hope of ever finding anything like it again as now too fat to consider it.

I know that somewhere in my house lurks the perfect pair of straight leg jeans. Haven’t worn them for years but the style is perfect for now. And I can’t find the feckin things. So technically I do still have them, I just can’t find them!

My sister jeans from 2007. They fit me so good.

This is a great thread! Reading some excellent descriptions of beautiful clothes makes me feel a bit sad about what's available now. Yes, clothes are often relatively cheaper now and we have more of them, but they seem so dull, unimaginative and poor quality in comparison to the bright colours, silks, velvets etc that we used to wear.

I've just remembered my favourite shoes from 1975. They were round-toed, flat and with a strap and buckle and were beautiful autumn colours - old gold, rusty red and forest green leather.

I used to have an indigo denim jacket with hot pink stitching from Warehouse. I was too hot one day and put it over my bag and must have dropped it somewhere as it wasn't there when I got home. This was in around 1999 and I still think about it. 😂

This is so weird as I was just going to start this exact thread!

My new favourite pastime is scouring Vinted and Depop for clothes I got rid of and miss.

Last night I located an H&M summer dress I loved from 2007 and a Zara embroider mini skirt from early 2010s, which I adored and wore until it got a hole in it.

Shoes are a big one for me though, and seem to be much harder to find. I can think of at least three pairs I wore out and would like to find. I'm also on the hunt for an orange mock turtleneck jumper by Label Lab that I wore out and two red Topshop dresses, one from about 2008 and one from about 2011.

Miss the 2000s/2010s high street so much.

I lost my favourite jumper in a pub last year. I'd found it in a charity shop old as the hills St Michael , and a man's . I've been looking on Vinted and can't find one, it was green with sort of flecks in it. Dh also
liked to wear it.
I also wish I had all my Laura Ashley dresses from the eighties but I doubt they'd still fit.