Cefinn has collapsed

[Umbilicat]

What do we think? Is this a loss? I have quite a number of Ceffin pieces – nearly all bought at sample sales, certainly nothing I paid full price for. One gorgeous passenger dress that I wear for things like Christmas, dress I bought in their Next collab which is great for work, couple of very flattering cardigans. Then quite a few for less flattering items – particularly sleeveless dresses that I bought thinking I was as soon as I was pre-pandemic. Quite a few have been sold on via Vinted and Vestiaire. Anyway, I’ll vaguely miss them but not that much.

Yes, Matches folding destroyd a good many brands. Terrible. SC may not worry about COL but her staff will ... It's a shame to lose any brand, they all had their constituency

Maybe she needs to woo some Labour supporting oligarchs …

Gosh, must admit I thought Cefinn had disappeared around the same time Matches and The Vampire's Wife!

Matches was always hugely supportive and a great champion of smaller brands. However, and at the same time, they were the biggest buyer/retailer of many small(er) British brands and given they were terrible at paying their bills coupled with probably taking items on a sale or return basis, it was the brands who were losing, not Matches, more so once Matches collapsed.

I do wonder if private injections of cash was keeping Cefinn afloat? Victoria Beckham's brand is another that has never turned a profit. That's supported by loans from one of the Beckham's other companies. When is the point that a brand is better to call it quits rather than keep running at a loss. I think for Cefinn, this was the brave and right thing to do.

Much like The Vampire's Wife, Cefinn's clothing was overpriced for what it is and had a very narrow range of styles. It's hard to sustain a brand, let a lone grow it in these circumstances. There's no reach, more so if you're reliant on another platform to sell. Many smaller brands are taking things back in house and selling direct to consumer themselves. This is where Me + Em excel. I can't help but feel if both Cefinn and TWV had followed a similar strategy to Me + Em and also Beulah, they would still be in business.

A huge shame for Cefinn's employees. Was relieved to read they will be well compensated.

Nope it’s a well known phrase. It’s commonly used as a self deprecating phrase well by Brits anyway but even used to someone else it’s not meant as an insult when I’ve heard it. It’s all about context though!

I am a "gimmer" Brit. I have never, ever heard the phrase before this thread 🤔

Anyway, sad for Cefinn's employees.

I always wanted to buy from this brand but never did because: a) the pricing was too high when Whistles and Hobbs provide similar clothing for less; b) it looked like it was designed for tall people only; and c) the brand went too strong with the high necked dresses and tops look which wouldn’t suit me. I should have been their demographic target consumer.

Cefinn did rely heavily on direct to consumer, catalogues etc ... but it wasn't enough

Me & Em are more adaptable and more classic in their offerings.

Wyse seem to be doing well too.

I know the word 'gimmer' well! It's the kind of word I'd use to tease dh if he's being a bit fusty about something.

I'm Welsh and know a Cefin! This brand name has always been weird to me (and I've taken against it because the Cefin I know is a notorious arsehat...)

@Umbilicat

Tbf, Cefinn occupies a similar place as Wyse inasmuch as they're both brands that I would never wear! I do get a lot of catalogues though and can't say I recall ever seeing a Cefinn one even though I was on their mailing list/signed up for them.

Cefinn, like Wyse are staid, designed for the kind of woman who are a bit frightened of fashion but are still interested in it, but wouldn't wear Boden. I think Me +Em has gone this way too as they're leaning heavily on the overseas market, particularly the US. You say they're classic in their offerings, I say conservative and benign. (Which is what Cefinn and Wyse excel at). When they first started, Me + Em was interesting, well-priced and something I occasionally purchased. Not now. But, unlike Cefinn, they have a better connection to their customers not least because they regularly crowdfund/offer a piece of the business to those whom invest. I do think Me + Em is a more interesting model, I just wish the clothes were so dull as I like to support smaller/women-led brands.

What brands do you rate, then? Genuinely interested.

They're the kind of thing I can imagine I'd buy if I were Sophie Raworth

@Umbilicat Will respond properly later but for now I wanted to share Andrea Cheong's IG. She talks a lot about brands/clothing and how well made it is/isn't. I find her really interesting

I thought the designs were nice, but I don’t tend to buy from the internet - never sure if things will fit well. And not being a Tory also put me off. Main thing was the price. I think I saw a dress I liked at about £400. Very few can justify that.

Look forward to the proper reply!

Have just looked at the website and honestly, if I am going to pay £300+ for a dress I want to see a rock solid ethical policy and the dress look like it has something about it. Plus suit people of a range of body shapes and ages.

Not recycled polyester and a ditsy print.

@bunnybunnybunnybunny I also like Andrea Chong's Insta. Her style/shape is not mine but really agree with her take on reusing, buying less, buying well made that lasts and keeps it's style.

Thanks - Sorry for going off topic, folks but that’s interesting as I’ve lived in Northern Scotland (in a sheep farming area, no less!) for ten years now and yet the only perosn I’ve heard use that word is my American husband.

As you were.

I never had any success with Cefinn. I am not overweight but not slight, and the clothes never flattered me. The pieces I did keep didn’t wear well.

I buy a lot of Me&Em because it very reliably flatters me and the sizing is consistent. I trust it is fashionable enough that I can hold my own as a 50+ consultant when I do need to look the part. I feel confident in it. I’m okay with dull.

Me&Em serves me the same way Boden did in 2005. Reliable. Cefinn was for skinny women.

I’ve just been to the site to have a look - and I’m surprised at just how dowdy and drab it’s become. As someone who loves clothes (and setting aside how much I despised the Tories in power) it was never somewhere I would have shopped, but I’m sure there used to be the odd nice thing. Now it really is all ‘catalogue clothes’. Could she no longer afford (a strange word in this context) to pay properly talented designers?

That took longer than it should have. Average styles, poorly made & hefty price tags.

Am loving the comments on female consultant wardrobe over time.

I also started in Boden - and everyone was wearing it to the point colleagues might turn up in the same outfit.
Then Autograph/Designers at Debenhams. - I still have some of the Debenhams pieces, they still get compliments and it's noticeable how well they are made compared to today's high end high street.
Then I got in to ethical fashion and wore Thought - again would find colleagues with the same dress. They must have had a takeover as what was a very interesting brand went dull, and now they only do socks.

I think I would be in Me+Em now but I got committed to the whole ethical fashion thing and would rather buy a better brand vintage, make my own (who I am I kidding I never have the time) or buy Lora Gene in a sample sale.

I've got a Cefinn jumper that I love and which has worn really well. Wyse quality is a bit hit and miss - some of their jumpers last for years and others go all bobbly and tatty; I only ever buy from them in the sale.

I've actually got shares in Me&Em, which is ironic as I find their designs a bit uptight (for want of a better word - a bit like an upmarket Karen Millen) and I can't wear their stuff at all - it's designed for people who are more straight up and down than me as the jumpers are boxy and the trousers never seem to be cut right. I can tell you they are doing well, regardless :)

Me&Em don’t work for me, i’m quite tall, but the trousers are still always way too long. A lot of their stuff needs dry cleaning. Wyse may show I’m clueless but I like a lot of their stuff. Just looked at the Cefinn website, pp are right - so dull! Their first couple of collections had some great things, but I get the impression Sam Cameron quickly ran out of ideas. @bunnybunnybunnybunny still curious to know which designers you do recommend to help those of us out there who are clearly fashion dummies. I looked at that Instagram it’s interesting on what you shouldn’t be wearing but it doesn’t tell you what you should be…

I love how this thread has turned into a discussion about female doctor fashion! I'm a doctor as well. I find that a lot of colleagues my age buy Baukjen, Mint Velvet, and Hush - I've tried all three but I found them overpriced and not actually all that stylish. I don't always insist on buying natural fabrics - I travel quite often, so I find synthetic fabrics helpful because they pack well without ironing - but I do object to paying a lot of money for clothes that don't look or feel nice! I have a couple of Me+Em pieces I bought second-hand, but I don't think they're cut for someone like me - I'm 5'3" and a size 8 and I find the trousers in particular hang off me and are too long.

I suspect that patient group also influences fashion choices - I work predominantly in private practice now, and I dress very differently than when I worked with prisoners or when I worked in a deprived ex-mining community.

I bought a load of clothes when I was based in Notting Hill. Then moved to a Northern ex-mining town...

It actually worked brilliantly, that community loves their fashion. I may have come home with some 'genuine designer bags' bought out of the back of a van at the market - the nurses tipped me off where to go.