Where do you shop for clothes when you are early 40s?

[Enchanted82]

Feeling a bit meh when it comes to shopping - I find it hard to find a brand which has good quality clothes not at an astronomical price and not too ‘old and staid’ for my age! (42)

any suggestions on brands that are your go to?

I'm mid 40s. I tend to gravitate towards:

All Saints
Reiss
Whistles
H&M
Zara
Tu/Sainsburys (especially for jeans which are excellent but I think their clothes generally are on a par with mid range high street)
Disko Kids and Eden Ashram for t shirts
Basics like plain vests from Primark

Sainsbury and TkMaxx.

I’m spending a lot of time in
Harlara
cider
sweaty betty
gym shark

and a bit of M&S

I like Whistles, Jigsaw, All Saints. Reiss and Ganni for work - I still need to be quite smart. Got some nice linen suits from &Other Stories and COS.

I like a lot of the Lipsy stuff that's available on Next online. Some of the stuff is clearly aimed at youngsters but I've recently purchased a jacket and some lovely tops.
I like River Island jeans especially the flares.
New Look is good for some stuff but again some of the stuff is aimed at youngsters.I bought an Apricot maxi dress last week which is gorgeous.
Zara is hit and miss in my experience. I don't like their website or H & Ms. I find them hard to navigate compared to others so I end up getting frustrated and give up.
I'm mid 40s btw.

M and S.

All the brands I grew up with are gone or going...

Topshop
River Island
Warehouse
Miss Selfridge

At 49 I still feel I'm in my early 40s....

Places I've brought stuff from in 2025:

H&M
New Look
Jigsaw
Next
M&S
Reserved
Abercrombie and Fitch
River Island

You really have to rummage about for natural fabrics and things that are neither too old nor too young.

Sainsburys
M&S
Next
Matalan

Slightly over early 40s now, and tend to shop for what suits my shape rather than actually shops. Current mix includes:

Jigsaw
Mint velvet
Reiss
M&S
Nobody's Child
Uniqlo
Boden (occasionally)
New Look
H&M

I'm 63 and in love with uniqlo at the moment. I don't shop from old lady places as a rule I just don't buy skimpy clothing.
I like Marks
John Lewis
Debenham
Whistles
Mint Velvet
Roman, mainly crochet style knitwear the other clothes can be a bit too flowery and loud
Very selected items from Cotton Traders no flowery stuff. I like their t shirts in every colour
Baukjen
Monsoon
Saint and Sofia.
Next
I avoid New Look everything I've ordered online from there has been trash or very badly sized.
Some items from Seasalt, others can be a bit sack like.

H&M
Mango
Asos
Zara
M&S

I'm early forties.

I shop at: Arket, H&M, Mango, M&S, Reiss, Sezane, Reformation, Abercrombie, Everlane, Levis

Ashamed to say I have bought holiday bits from Shein.

I’m 40.
most of my clothes come from nobody’s child, Uniqlo, whistles, Ba&Sh, sezane, saint and Sofia (quite a recent discovery) and Levi’s.

Variable price range, but Boden, Arket, Cos, Sezane for day to day and Wyse, Me & Em, Cefinn for dressier more expensive stuff.

Sezane
Uniqlo
& Other stories
John Lewis
And the odd bit from the supermarket or Matalan

Now out if 40s
but
cos
arket
&otherstories
uniqlo

odd bits
h&m
m&s
zara
aligne

Not got the cash for sezane or ganni but agree with these

Sainsbury’s

Sainsburys…like someone else, I love their jeans
h&m
new look
local/online boutique type places
I like to mooch in river island too I got some nice jeans in their last sale

Feeling a bit pedantic pointing this out but you realise that 'early forties' isn't actually a style?
I mean good quality should be a given but beyond that should age really be a factor?

(Not mentioning my favourite brands because my style is a combination vintage, goth, retro, cottage core and overgrown toddler and I feel like somebody would mention if they dressed for their inner hobgoblin!😂).

50 but people at work think I’m 40 and I haven’t told them otherwise
Saint & Sofia (a LOT of things from here)
Uniqlo (for T-shirt basics)
M&S (for basics and jeans)
Hush (for casuals)
Nü Denmark (for slightly edgy stuff that nobody else I know will have)
Mint Velvet occasionally

Now: Uniqlo, Saint & Sofia, Hush, Jigsaw, H&M, Sainsbury’s for cheap basics.

In my 30s I used to shop in Gap, French Connection, Whistles, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Topshop, LK Bennett, Reiss. Now even if I am desperate to buy things I find it hard to find anything I like, or to get good quality well made clothes in natural fibres. Everything is synthetics.