A New Year and a new Toast thread 🎊

[IlovePond]

Welcome to the Toast thread where we talk about what we love, (and what drives us mad 😹), about all things Toast.

As usual, pictures are welcomed, as are comments, questions and info about Toastie topics.

But, and I hate to say this because I've been a Toast fan since the beginning, you shouldn't have to make alterations to a brand new garment to make it functional, at these prices. I think my love affair with Toast is waning.

I bought the Japanese denim barrel jeans @ £225, and they are a perfect fit, but after a couple of wears they bag at the knees and not in a good way, and I really don't want to wash them every two wears. The cord trousers are the same. They almost lose their shape after one wear, they bag on the rear thighs. My Gap jeans don't have this problem! Not to mention waiting 6 working days for an order and they haven't even been dispatched.

I rang them today and they said I can't pay for next day delivery retrospectively. I can't cancel the order, they have to wait for it to be dispatched from the warehouse then recall it from Royal Mail. But I can reoder and book for next day delivery, but of course that means paying again and I don't feel so inclined. Is it just me?

@Scottishmouse Cos deliveries come from Europe mainland now and are very slow as a consequence.

Thanks @OftenOrange I’ve had a look at the dungarees as another size came back in stock. They do look really nice and I’ll give them a try if they come back in my size. Am just unsure of the length (I imagine they’ll be too long on me at 5’4), but willing to try.

I absolutely can’t stand trousers bagging, especially at the knees. I avoid any trousers with elastene in it as I’ve had such bag experiences with it (Annie jeans - the perfect style on me, but such horrendous bagging). I’ve found the Le Bon Shoppe arc trousers to be a good style with minimal bagging. Have given up on other barrel styles, including the Toast cords, and will stick to wide legs from now (sadly).

@PrincessofWells I won’t say its just you but at this time of year I’m willing to cut them some slack. I’m old enough to remember when everything was ‘allow 28 days for delivery’.

I’ve been a fan for a long time but the prices are too much for me now and the quality has gone down. I’ve been back to M&S for the first time in years for 100% cotton canvas trousers and they are better quality than the last pair I got from Toast. I don’t know much the conditions either company’s clothes are produced in, to my shame I know - I just have a budget and need to get dressed.

@CakeAndJazz Hope you find them; I’m 5’ 4’’ too , they are a bit too long but I’m quite liking wearing them with small turnups. I’ll wait to shorten them until they’ve gone through a couple of washes .

I’ve got a pair of pure cotton Annies from years ago that don’t bag, but the ones from last year are awful for it. And when the elastane warms up they slide down as well.

Companies all say the increasing amounts of elastane in trousers is ‘for our comfort’ but we know its because its a cheaper material, we’re not stupid.

@Chrestomanciscat @ScallopShellWalk I’m planning on wearing mine while sitting in the sofa! I think it’ll come into its own on an evening outside when it gets a bit chilly. I think the white will be ok, it’s just a big blanket really isn’t it?
@CakeAndJazz I have some Arc pants but I don’t wear them much because I find them really heavy and a bit of a burden on the stomach even though they are elasticated. Perhaps I just need to get used to them!

The elastane is because they don't have to put darts in or tailor anything. It's lazy design and sewing.

Does anyone know if Toast ever read these threads and all the comments on feedback, style, fit, delivery? It's an absolute goldmine of a focus group!

Agree the postage should be more reliable, if not fast, and I'm never keen on getting a paper bag full of expensive items.

@ScottishMouse - hurrah for your Christmas miracle, and yes Cos is EVEN slower than Toast - with them there's no chance of gambling on a size with the prospect of re-ordering - it all takes way too long.

No sign of despatch for my Friday order yet - though it doesn't seem to be very promising going by the reviews on here for bagging and looking bad after two wears
@Yorkshirelass04 - they do read this thread. Not sure how often though

@Leftsidefacing gosh, would absolutely love a 100% cotton Annie. I wonder if there might be any alternatives I’ve not spotted?

@Snowyowl78 I wear my natural pair so much and find it really good for cooler weather. I also found the weight of the material differs across their prints/colours (red gingham is very light and raw denim very heavy) - possibly based on what time of year the style is released. I think they’re also that style that’s just been more comfortable on me the more I’ve worn them. They’ve also recently updated their sizing if that might help.

@PrincessofWells I was just thinking the same thing regarding tightening up of buttonholes, etc. It’s one thing to add an extra stitch to a top to reduce cleavage or to take up a hem - that’s personal choice- it’s quite another to have to mend/alter garments due to sloppy workmanship.

Toast quality is no longer the reliable factor it once was. Some pieces are still wonderful, but at the prices they charge, each garment should be perfect.

I’m getting increasingly grumpy about my duffel coat - I have worn it maybe ten times and it’s already looking like something I got in a jumble sale due to the bobbling/pilling and the fabric’s attraction of every scrap of fluff and fibre for miles around. To say I am miffed is an understatement. There’s no point in my contacting Toast as I got it in the sample sale, but I know that it’s identical in material to the ones that went on sale.

I have had wool coats before and they have never bobbled like this. It just looks scruffy.

It was still expensive at the sample sale so I am annoyed at making such a costly error. It’s given me even less tolerance for poor quality from Toast than usual.

@CakeAndJazz Marks and Spencer have some great 100% cotton trousers in this season. I got the green canvas barrel legs in short length. I’m 5’ tall, size 14 and they’re perfect.

@IlovePond I just sold my cord pinafore from about ten years ago on ebay, it was thick fabric, incredibly well made, cotton lined and a generous length. It was incredibly warm and would have seen me out I think. I sold it because I got asked (again) when the baby was due while wearing it. I’m 54 and don’t have kids so couldn’t even laugh it off.

You absolute beauties @Abdnshireoutdoorsy and @IlovePond , butter stain no more! It was a large hand size stain and it’s all gone! I even sold an expensive item on vinted and was considering buying a second pair with the proceeds if my size came back in.

all the talk of extra looks at the sale had me have an extra look but eek of the prices are about to come down again. I’m gonna try the little round neck velvet jacket. It’ll either give me something perfect for over dresses (I get cold!) or will make me look weirdly prim, I look forward to finding out.

Also a dressing down which the reviews all say is awfully thin, but then I have a thick piglet in bed housecoat that’s not wearable in summer and a scraggly gap dressing down I’ve had for almost 20 years so it might fill a gap in my imagination.

and 😮 @faustina do they really?

My recollection on the adding of 2% elastane to the Annie's was that they had complaints that they were too rigid and the waist was rather unforgiving .
I have zero issues with mine, they wash beautifully and I live in them.
I think when discussed previously the conclusion I came to was that I have flat knees 😅

Well my first orders arrived really quickly, but the then twitched (as I always do) and placed two further orders which are still showing as unfulfilled quite a few days later. And yes, I’ve had the emails asking me to review them!

Does anyone know where toast are up to with deliveries? I’ve got an order from 31st not fulfilled plus 2 from the 2nd.

@Leftsidefacing - I really wish I had been into Toast during its glory years of being a) reliably good quality and b) sold in JL!

I do find with some of Toast’s clothes, that being only 5’4” and not thin, I have to be careful that the clothes aren’t ‘wearing me’ and to check that I don’t look like I am in a ‘costume’.

That’s great news @hicat - so pleased the stain came out!

I am pleased to report that the refund came through on my return this morning. I was starting to get a bit miffed about number two, then realised it’s still in the back room waiting for parcel tape 🙈

@Theteapotsbrokenspout I've only just had an email 5 mins ago that an order I placed on the 29th December has been dispatched. Hopefully you'll get an email soon fingers crossed.

@IlovePond how long did your refund take? I am waiting for one on a parcel posted back on 27/12. I have another return to do, but I might wait until I can get to the shop at the weekend as that will still be quicker than waiting for a refund from the warehouse.

@Theteapotsbrokenspout still waiting on a dispatch notice from non sale order on 30th, as well as some sale items from 2nd

Thanks @MiracleToast @AmethystMoonShine One of mine is a full price item but I’ve really lost interest in the 2 sale items. In the 6 years I’ve been buying from toast I’ve never known a sale so shambolic.

I don’t really feel that Toast quality has changed, I bought clothing in the first year or two that they branched out from nightwear because I loved the styles but the fit and aftercare was all over the place : wrap skirts that flew open, little ruched tops that shrunk to baby size in the first wash.

I stopped even looking for a decade because I was into other makes and I found Toast invariably big and baggy , returning to the fold about five years ago I now find quality and finish really good.

But customer service especially in store I now find disappointing . The SAs are OK but as a regular I’m sorry to see the high turnover, no friendly familiar faces. The store experience used to be lovely , but they made fitting rooms ears insultingly tiny in order to incorporate menswear .
I’m also noticing that things have slumped following their expansion into US which is a sign of the aggressive marketing moves of the parent company .

A