Fed up of all the gorpcore

[needmorebooks]

Is it just me? It’s everywhere. Look around a city centre and there’s just puffer jackets cropped and long and brightly coloured Rab or Patagonia jackets. Basically everyone dressed for climbing in the Peak District for a trip to John Lewis or Coffee1.

I own outdoor wear but it’s for well, long walks in the forest, going to the coast or going up mountains. Why has it become so ubiquitous? And it’s all ages and classes seemingly. I don’t get it.

It’s just boring and scruffy too imho. I want to see people looking nice in wool coats and looking like they take a bit of pride in their appearance. Sorry if that’s controversial, maybe this should be in AIBU? I hate feeling like I’m overdressed when I just have a long wool coat on, I hardly see others in the same. Just fed up of the sea of gore-tex and hiking shoes.

Anyone else?

OP has been pretty unpleasant herself.

I get that the point of S&B is to garner opinions on your own clothes from strangers if that's what floats your boat. This thread was started as a sneer at people who prefer comfort over style and to judge them. I didn't think that was the point of S&B. Seems a pretty unpleasant corner of MN if it is.

Perhaps on some people, but maybe not on you? Maybe you look like a bag of shit in your wool coat and your over-inflated ego just makes you think you look good!

Yes, there's no getting round that OP started the unpleasantness.

I live half the time in a city and half the time in the countryside.

City - Buses, walks across the city - I need to feel comfortable. Frankly, I don't want to look in any way out of the ordinary as it may make me a target for beggars, muggers etc. Active wear often has decent pockets so no need of a handbag.

Country - locally my nearest shop is 2km down a rough bridleway. Walked there this morning and then to the local pub - virtually everyone in muddy shoes with dogs. If I make the effort to go to the local market town, it usually involves a park walk so walking shoes

I only wear proper clothes if it's door to door cabs or a short walk to a restaurant/bar

I've rearranged my wardrobe recently as I have realised that I so rarely wear proper clothes, my gym kits and activewear now have plenty of room

Did she though? Receipts please. I think she was just responding to some rather nasty digs.

If you start with her first post, then press "see all".

For example the OP has had to put up with this sort of nasty comment. Completely unnecessary.

I’ve done that and didn’t see any issues

Ok.

Well, Style and Beauty is usually a really nice part of MN.
Shame about this one. Could have been good.
Ta ta 👋

Yes.

The premise of the thread, calling other people's clothes boring and scruffy and suggesting they don't take pride in their appearance because their clothing doesn't happen to match her subjective preference, is unpleasant. This means it started the unpleasantness as it was the first post on the thread.

Certainly some people were then also obnoxious in response, but OP was the instigator.

I agree with you - the OP wasn’t the instigator of the nastiness on this thread.

The entire premise of it is unpleasant.

Which is a different point to whether she began the unpleasantness. Presumably you don't think it was necessary to use pejorative terms about other people's clothing and suggest wearing coats one doesn't like means they take no pride in their appearance?

You sound absolutely lovely, OP. If the opinions you've expressed about the way you observe strangers dressing, and the way you've spoken to people on this thread are anything to go by then I'd love to be besties.

Setiously though if you’re in town it’s car to shop to shop to car. Not much outside needed.

That's extreme privilege here, definitely not the norm for the vast majority of people. Or maybe you mean the suburbs.

I just put a couple patches on my Nuptse. Ready for another winter. 👍

Nah she had an unpopular opinion and posters took it as a personal attack. Seems to happen often on Mumsnet.

Wool coats are spenny. And l want one with a hood which is impossible.

They seem to be obtainable in the US but not here.

Not sure why that your was in!

I think this is the reason that back in the old days people had one good coat - because they were expensive. Decent quality coats ARE expensive.

Wool coats are crap in wet weather. They tend to be heavy, and expensive. If I go into town I want to be warm and dry. I don’t see why gortex should just be worn for country walks. My gortex trainers mean I don’t need different pairs of shoes, they keep my feet warm and dry. They are very comfortable regardless of pavement, tarmac, tracks, wooded paths or grassy slopes!
I have a long down parka coat which I love wearing when it’s really cold, as it’s like wearing a sleeping bag! Unfortunately being white it does make me look like a marshmallow on legs, but I really couldn’t give two figs. I’ll take warmth and comfortable over style any day!

I love wool coats but there is another problem - they are mostly pretty poor quality these days and not as warm as they used to be. I used to have a couple of vintage wool coats and they had a padded inner lining to make them warmer. I don’t think it’s possible to find coats like that anymore.

I love wool coats and stylish clothes but the reality is I live in a rural village with two small kids, my life is either at work where I wear a uniform or outside in the garden and I just don’t live that kind of life to make it worth spending the money.

Got to admit I find the sea of black puffer coats in the High st depressing (especially the sleeveless ones). Not sure why they are so popular though, it doesn't rain that much here and I understand people can't afford posh coats but does it have to be a black puffer?
Besides you can get some really nice coats second hand, I've got some lovely ones for less then 15 quid.
Not that they don't make sense sometimes....if it's freezing or rainy then I go for my puffer too!

I get what you’re saying OP. I used to love to wear nice clothes to work - when things were tough it would lift my spirits.

But since lockdown my office is half empty and people don’t bother so much - the outfits I used to wear now look over-dressed so if I dress up now I just feel silly. So I feel like one of the small pleasures in life has been taken away 😞

On the other hand, I too live somewhere where we’ve had rain neatly every day for the past month or so and I cycle everywhere. So to be honest, you will usually see me in fairly practical outerwear and I probably don’t look very stylish.

But I get that you were talking about current fashions and not people like me who are dressing for their lifestyle and the elements - so I have no idea why some posters have taken your post so personally!