Toasties enjoying the sale and the sunshine!

[IlovePond]

Hi,

Here’s a new thread!

When I return things (all the time!) to Llandeilo they don't get reimbursed immediately. They acknowledge receipt of them with an email straight away, but it still takes a few days for the money to reappear in my account.

@oddandelsewhere yes, that is what I meant. Credit/debit card refunds always take a few days to hit your account. But it is the case that the refund begins processing on return to store, rather than having to wait until a return is posted back to the warehouse, so it still saves some time.

I'm sorry, I thought you meant it was instant. It does save some time. I was very impressed though when I took a couple of t shirts back to Seasalt and they put my debit card in the machine and refunded me instantly, just !like a kind of reverse sale!

I don’t know if any of you follow Andrea Cheong on instagram (she looks at brands from a quality point of view, and also sometimes posts some short clothes repair videos).

Anyway, she has just posted a brand review of Toast and she was impressed by the fabric quality, stitching/seams and attention to detail. Thought some of you might find it an interesting watch.

My linen dresses arrived, and I am undecided. The navy linen shirt dress I ordered in my usual M and also L. It is different to the cotton cashmere version from winter in that it does not have dropped shoulders, and that makes a big difference for me. As a result, the M is too small. The L is a good fit, but the linen is maybe too weighty for hot days. It also suffers from my personal Toast pet peeve - the wonky attached collar. I have complained about this here previously, and someone with more dressmaking knowledge explained the problem. I find this to be a recurring issue, but I don’t see anyone else complaining about it. 🤷‍♀️

The new black coffee button through dress has better linen - slightly lighter and softer for summer - is sized better, and does not have a wonky collar. But I am not sure if the combination of shape and length and lack of waist makes it look like a sack on me. I thought it would be better shorter, but pinned it and didn’t particularly like it. It fulfils all my criteria - linen, dark neutral colour, interesting shape or detailing - but I can’t tell if it is flattering or not. I feel like I have lost the knack for that since putting on weight and buying increasingly larger clothes to hide inside, I think I may tend towards too big and unshapely sometimes. I’m attaching some pics - give me your thoughts please.

@ScottishMouse , it certainly looks roomy but for me it is on the right side of looking roomy but not shapeless.

You could possibly have sized down.

@ScottishMouse I think it works because it’s slightly shaped - not sack like at all. I vote keep

Thanks @faustina. I’m tempted to ask my dd but she can be brutally honest 🤣
Thanks @ToastCosILoveIt. I don’t think I could comfortably size down. I have trouble across bust & arms even when the fit is elsewhere big, and I wouldn’t want this to feel any smaller, especially as I want to wear it in warm weather. Menopause has made me such a sweaty mess that I need space for the air to circulate!

A good GP and the correct dose of HRT including testosterone helped a lot. Keep an eye on your thyroid and all the other MOT type tests that you'll get offered.
It's absolutely a period of change, I still hanker after the clothes that absolutely would have been the right choice for 25 years.
I'm working hard to shed the brutal menopausal weight. It's slow. And I miss the drinking and the impromptu fun that I just don't have the energy for now.

Am loving my Toast heavy summer wardrobe. Must book more events!

I’m tempted to ask my dd but she can be brutally honest

That's what DDs are for! I always ask mine when I need to know the truth.

@TosstTastic it’s brutal. I am about 8 years in and do not recognise myself most days - physically or mentally. It has brought with it a number of other life changing health conditions too, so I am navigating dealing with so many things at once, and that is before I even think about the weight gain and the other shitshows in my life these days. Buying toast clothes feels like one of the only joys these days, and even that is not so joyful as it used to be as i look wistfully at the things I could have worn in the past but wouldn’t dream of trying now.

I get so irritated by women on SM and elsewhere talking about how fabulous they feel, empowered and strong and blah blah blah, how HRT has changed their lives, and how they have found new careers and new purpose and blah blah blah. It has quite frankly been total hell for me most days, and I find that narrative makes me even angrier and more despairing.
Sorry, this has taken a turn. Back to talk of beautiful dresses please.

It is brutal and I think it's worth acknowledging the length, as you say 8 years, with no firm start, middle or end.

HRT has not empowered me nor is it that terrible phrase often thrown at teenagers or newly weds, the best days of you life.

It is what it is, so tick the boxes and then move on to enjoy a new bag, a kantha gown in just right colour or the home stuff for refeathering your nest.

Any one been to SM recently? I'm heading near soon.....

@ScottishMouse I find the dress very stylish ,the length is cool too , but you sound uncertain and it won’t give you pleasure unless it’s feeling stylish to you.
I’m sorry you’re in a difficult phase ,but do remember that it will soon pass and I highly recommend the next bit !

Thanks @OftenOrange, that is all that is keeping me going some days - the hope that it will right itself again. Unfortunately I have picked up some chronic conditions which won’t right themselves, but I am hopeful for an easing of some sort.
I do really like the dress, I have just lost any sense of what looks good on me, I always thought I had a fairly good eye. I had to ask the sales assistants in Toast recently to tell me which size to buy in something, I genuinely had no idea if it looked too big and shapeless in my usual size. They recommended that size though, so maybe I haven’t lost my eye for it, just my confidence in my eye!

@ScottishMouse I think that looks nice. Cool but dignified.

I really love it @ScottishMouse and now I want it too! I like the way you have your necklace styled on the outside. And I too now wear everything oversized, it feels best this way for me now. I feel like this dress would be so practical for throwing on and feeling comfortable. I am a big fan of the toast black coffee linen—I will have to try this dress. Hope you are enjoying it!

I absolutely feel your pain re menopause. My shape has changed, ive put on weight and have over the last couple of years and this year in particular have health conditions appear out of nowhere. Its depressing!

On a plus I bought the lovely linen grey jumpsuit/dungarees that have been very popular from Toast.
Had them on today for the first time and they are super flattering!

@MiracleToast i have been wearing it today and it is great in the muggy weather we are having here. Although it is long, it gets in the way less than some of my other Toast dresses as the skirt is not full. I would recommend it.

The cumin archivist shirt dress arrived today. I think I must be getting fussier in my old age. The fit was really good, but it was around 10cm too long on me for the shape of the skirt.

It also arrived really creased, was badly finished around the pockets with uneven stitching and loose threads. I also didn’t like the pattern placement as one of the stems ran unevenly along the button placket.
It’s a shame as I had high hopes but it’s just not for me.

@Theteapotsbrokenspout that sounds annoying. Wouldn’t be worth trying again to see if another one is better, or is the length a deal breaker?

@ScottishMouse the length definitely doesn’t work on me with the full skirt. At that price point it would need to be perfect.