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.

aw I loved when toast was in JL @IlovePond ! Their sales were always so good. I was still just dipping my toes in at that point…if I could see myself now 🫣

I sent mine back on the same day @ScottishMouse so hopefully your refund will come through soon 🤞

I've just had a refund notification for a return I sent back on December 28th. Still waiting for my order on January 2nd to be fulfilled.

Like @OftenOrange my experience of the quality has always been a bit hit and miss. I remember a jacket arriving with every single button attached only by one thread and having to sew them all on properly before wearing. I guess we're less forgiving when the prices are higher

I have to say that the customer service in the York store is excellent. They are always friendly and not pushy in the slightest, plus I haven’t noticed a high staff turnover. They seem like a happy team!

They definitely read this thread, they actually commented on a thread once but then stopped.

@OrangeyLemonI agree that the York store has wonderful staff, far better than Cambridge which is the other store I often visit.
In have today had both refunds from the parcels I sent back on the 27th. I only kept one item from the five I ordered, very unusual for me.

Yes - the York store is great, always friendly and helpful in there.

Incidentally, I once mentioned 'social media' in the York store - was going to say it was a shame that Toast had stopped stores doing separate Insta posts. The lady serving me said unprompted 'oh the Mumsnet thread?'.

👋 to Toast.

My first refund of sale things has come through promptly. The sale order made on 2nd has yet to be dispatched.

I have to say I cannot get the quality elsewhere at the same price point. Some High Street stores have increased prices massively for things that do not compare in feel or style.

I've dipped in and out over the decades. The sales goods received when you used to get the mail order poster through the door were so erratic.
Order a ton of stuff and get all the fun stuff and no basics or the next time all the staples but no crazy bombardier jacket.
And the quality, as the suppliers has always varied.

The hunt on the high street for decent materials is harder, particularly since my eyesight with those tiny dark labels! At least online it's all on the website which does mean you are forewarned.

I’ve been to many TOAST shops. York I agree was full of lovely staff. Cheltenham, my closest, is also great. And Notting Hill staff are always very friendly and helpful too.

I don’t think I’m done with Toast yet as what’s the real alternative if you’ve been in for decades, like many of us have?

I definitely like less and buy less than I used to though and don’t ever go into the shops any more (I could get to Edinburgh and Harrogate a few times a year) due to there being very little to see in the shop and a couple of negative experiences, one of which involved the words ‘don’t touch the things on the table!’ and ‘if you want to buy I can tell you what the fabric feels like’. I’m 54 and have clean hands, just in case anyone was wondering.

I haven’t ordered anything for about a year now, either. Still have Kindred though, strangely.

I’m not done with Toast either, though I agree that quality has been a little off in recent times. I will return the cardigan with the gaping buttonholes.
That said, I tried on a gorgeous wool skirt by Apuntob last week in a boutique local to me, planning for their upcoming sale (£425 full price 😆😆 so was hoping for 50% off), and it was just not as perfect as it should be for even half price - pleats were a bit unevenly sewn so it looked more gathered on one side than the other.
I keep fewer things that I order from Toast than I probably did in the past, but I have bought things recently that have been very close to perfect - the Donegal vneck cardigan, for example.
I’m waiting for one more sale item - the wool vneck sleeveless dress in biscuit. Does anyone have it? There are very few reviews. I fear it is not made for a 5’2” menopausal woman carrying a little too much weight in the middle, but I loooove the look of it.

I’ve bought very little this year as I just have too many clothes already and can feel my style and needs changing as I come up to 55.

My biggest successes of the past year have been Scottish knitwear companies and Marks and Spencer for stuff I’d normally have bought from Toast, like jumpers, jersey tops, canvas trousers and cords and House of Valerie (a boutique in Nantwich, Cheshire) for more unusual, expensive stuff. I love the drop crotch velvet Rundholz trousers I just got there (£245) and think I’ll be moving towards an edgier style in that vein as I get older, as until now my style has been quite romantic and is starting to look a bit ‘baby Jane’ on me now!

I take it nobody here has the cream cotton/silk Kantha top then?

Oh my goodness the merino wrap has arrived! Its beeaaautiful 😍 heavy and very soft with gorgeous detailing like a little leather reinforcement where the wrap is shaped to go around the neck. I was thinking I'd only keep it if it was exceptional (as I've spent LOADS in in the sales) - and it is. Its just so special ♥️ I'll take some pics

Mine went out today and I ordered on the 29th so you can possibly work it out?

Why did Toast come out of JL does anyone know? I'm assuming it was something to do with JL charging for concessions.

I think the quality and finish (French seams!) is very good. You can literally wear things inside out as I have very nearly done on several occasions. And the staff - in Llandeilo, Mayfair, Shepton Mallet - have all been lovely. The women in Richmond were exceptionally kind when I clumsily tripped up the step and banged my forehead last year.

But something has seriously gone wrong this sales season. I haven’t heard a peep since ordering on January 2. Last year an order on December 23 was despatched six hours later and one at 18:30 on 31st was en route by Jan 3. Both had free Kindred postage.

I don’t know and I’m no business expert - just a nosey shopper - but it seems French Connection sold toast to the Danish company Bestseller Group in 2018 so perhaps its just that one side or the other did not want to keep JL concessions for branding / financial reasons after that, especially as JL’s plans for modernisation and large scale closures must have been in the pipeline by then.

I don’t think JL’s large modern department store image goes with the very ‘artisan’ ‘craft’ feel of Toast’s branding over the past few years and the fact that all the toast shops are in market / historic towns with a certain demographic.

According to the all-knowing google AI John Lewis have not dissolved the partnership and still sell toast clothes but some items ‘may temporarily be out of stock”. which is interesting (I know that’s not true, don’t come for me).

I don’t know what’s happening in Wales but here in Scotland we’ve been trapped by three feet of snow since Friday and its still falling.

Royal Mail has been at a complete standstill since then, no deliveries and the village post office is open but won’t take parcels. I haven’t been able to get to work which is 5 miles away on a busy B road.

Combined with the New year holiday if I’d ordered from the toast sale in the last couple of weeks I wouldn’t be worrying if it hadn’t even been sent yet, although an email update clarifying the situation probably wouldn’t go amiss.

I’d be bereft without Toast

Yes I am still a Toast fan, however a lot more discerning these days. Now that the prices are higher (in the sales as well as full price stock) I am less likely to keep things that I’m on the fence about.

I think also my tastes have changed and although I still love some of their knitwear, I’ve been less enthralled with the dresses and tops.
The rise of M&S clothing has meant that I have bought a few things there in the last year or so which is a first for me. I have some great wide leg black trousers that were £29.50! Of course I am still a Cos fan and have bought a red boiled wool jumper and a pair of wide leg jeans this year.

Not even a sniff of snow in Edinburgh @Leftsidefacing. Not that I’m complaining, I spent a few winters in Canada and had my fill of snow there.

@ScottishMouse I’m on the North coast. Its about as grim as Scotland gets up here.

I think the benefit (to me at least) of Toast being in JL was that I found it much easier to shop, try things on, get different sizes etc without always having to ask an assistant. I find the Toast shops quite difficult to shop, and I can only really do so after I’ve looked online and decided what I want to try - as well as being sure of the prices so I don’t keel over! My closest store is Cambridge and the staff are usually helpful and kind but I would prefer to self-serve without having to ask for sizes, colours etc. I’m a pretty confident person and feel comfortable with the Toast ‘look and feel’ but I can definitely see how it could be pretty intimidating. I know JL didn’t have a huge range but I did really like it.