Anyone else have this experience high street

[Highnone]

Decided on a few hours in our town this morning, I really need some new clothes. The whole experience reminded my why I never buy anything

M&S - all the social media posts that make M&S look amazing…really poor selection of sizes in store and everything barrel? Legged? I don’t understand it.

Whistles - used to be my go to, everything so long (I’m 5,4) and again barrels?!

I’m a size 14, menopausal stomach and feeling like a total mes. I’m living in leggings outside of work. Genuinely no clue how or what to shop anymore

Left feeling sweaty, messy and like an old bloated frump.

Wise ones help me.

Was it a tiny M&S? Mine has every type of leg shape imaginable.

My main issue is everything is polyester inc £100 tops.

I don’t really have current High St experience! I mean, once or twice a year, if I happen to be passing a Zara or Stories or Cos store, I might wander in out of curiosity - but I haven’t gone to physical shops out of need for clothes in the past fifteen years. And not much in the ten years before that.

Why bother, when you know it’s utter crap? Even the bored shop assistants will tell you to order the size and colour you want online.

It’s a reasonable sized M&S, whole floor dedicated to women’s clothes.

why is it everything so long?

I'm not a huge fan of M&S jeans but I can't fault them on their range of styles.

I've given up clothes shopping in person. In theory it allows you to assess things that are difficult to gauge online, like the thickness of fabrics, and sample a much wider range of styles without paying a small fortune in postage, however the reality is rather different. Lots of traipsing around, patchy availability and time consuming changing room faff. My patience used to give out pretty quickly and I'd lose all enthusiasm for the idea of new clothes.

Online shopping has its own frustrations, of course, but remembering the reality of the high street is enough to cure me of the temptation to believe I'd do better if I spent a precious Sat morning in the city centre.

I buy supermarket jeans. All the ones I have are very flattering and the right length. They have really upped their game.

If you order from their website to collect at your M&S, you can try on then and there and immediately return anything you don't like at their till. They usually only take a day or two to deliver and they process refunds quickly so if you can use a credit card it shouldn't cost you anything. It is more faff but at least you can try on the shapes you like - they do a lot of slimmer leg styles.

I had a morning to myself yesterday so also had a look around the shops for a wardrobe refresh. I’m mid 50’s, size 12 and found H&M to be the best for range and fit. A few pairs of wide leg trousers, light jumpers and a couple of shirts/blouses went in the bag. For some reason I really struggle in M&S, I don’t know if it the layout, how things are arranged or what it is but I always max out at around 15 mins and have to leave!

I have a large M&S store near me and I’ve given up going due to them never having my size in stock. I’m size - 8 or 10. On the odd occasion when I’m lucky enough to find my size I then find it’s ‘long’.

Surely their stock control system should allow them to hold stocks of all sizes? There’s usually lots of garments on the rails but a huge gap when it comes to my size.

If you can go midweek, the assistants generally have more time to help you than on a weekend. I’d avoid M&S and go somewhere where they actively like to help and advise their customers choose things.

Same, I’m an 8-10 M&S stores never have anything to fit me.

OP try a personal styling appointment at J Lewis.

Thanks all. I do like the idea of the JL appointment. I feel like I’ve totally lost my way.

I always order what I like the look of online in a range of sizes and lengths and get it delivered to my small local M&S. I then just go in and try it all on and get an instant return for what I don’t want to keep. There’s no point expecting the right sizes and lengths to be in-store, because they won’t be! With all the brands that M&S do now, I order all sorts. One shop. One dressing room. One trying on session. Done!

I too order online then try it on at the local outlet shop in Street. The outlet store isnt much cop, then I can send anything I dont like back.

I have also started online shopping, just feel it's more options. But also seconding the person who mentioned supermarket clothes - Tesco actually has some really comfy stuff. If you want to experiment and find your style again, I'd recommend giving those a shot. Sainsburys too (though can be pricey even for Sainsburys)

I really miss in-person shopping. The Oxford Circus branch of Topshop used to be so much fun.

Online shopping is a world of frustration in comparison.

Agree with you. If I am
passing a shop and feel like sticking my nose in I might but I hardly ever shop in person. I'm 58 and work from home so don't need many new clothes. I have a very low budget and my faves are Uniqlo, Cos, ARKET, Toast, Wyse. I also hate the fact that I seem to be invisible in shops now. I also don't want to be patronised at a beauty counter so only ever buy cosmetics online. The SAs in Toast and Wyse are lovely - probably because the demographic is older. But yes I'm much more likely to shop online.

This 100%! I decided a while ago to try and shop in person to reduce the amount of stuff I have to send back but it’s just rubbish, and I never come out with anything. M&S might be a bit of an exception but only because I can try on stuff and then order short length online, and also because there is a style of jumper I love so I pop in and buy it in every colour!

I went up to London recently and thought I would go to the flagship store of a brand I see a lot of online (and have successfully shopped with online) and everything was rubbish. Back to online shopping and returns for me.

I used to buy loads in Tesco, but not since their changing room closed. Sainsbury’s is also good but we don’t have a local one.

Watching with interest. I could have written your post, OP.

I so agree, trying to avoid polyester is a nightmare, it's in nearly everything, m&s trousers leg lengths are all over the place, I'm 5ft2 so mostly order short, they have some slim flare black jersey trousers, so ordered the short, they came up too short, then ordered the medium length they were too long, so I gave up, last week had a 20% off trousers so thought I try again, ordered the short and they arrived today perfect length.

I’ve just bought some amazing flared jeans, plus some wide legged linen blend trousers in M&S (ok ordered online) and went for extra short which I think is a 27” leg? The jeans are perfect but the trousers are a bit long, though manageable. I’m 5’2” and wear a 20.

If you have a Frasers near you, then that can be good as they have lots of different brands you can try on.
I’m in my 50s and like H&M, AllSaints, Zara, Hush, Wyse, Reiss, Mint Velvet and a lot of supermarket stuff.

Online shopping improves with practice. I've learned how to judge whether a pair of trousers is going to be the shape I want from the flat image. I judge websites on how easy it is to filter the options and whether the photos actually enable me to judge how something will look. Size guides that suggest the clothes are designed for women who're a different shape or make me an implausibly small size tend to put me off (although sizes seem to be drifting again; as a teen I wore a 10 in trousers, for years I've been an 8, but increasingly I'm finding brands that make me a 6, sometimes a small 6 - my measurements have barely changed).

@lindyloo57 I like John Lewis for the ease of filtering. It's one of very few places where the filtering by fabric is reliable (I hate shops that list garments as wool or linen when they're actually a blend). The prices and styles mostly aren't for me, but I still find it a good place to start and being able to collect and return free at Waitrose is a v. handy bonus.

Because I'm on a limited budget and no longer willing to buy synthetics (except for technical sports stuff) I also rely a lot on brands that are regularly sneered at on here for being frumpy (e.g. Woolovers, House of Bruar for real woollen knitwear). I can see what people mean, but if you're selective and know what you're looking for I think it's perfectly possible to find very wearable stuff.

Agree that poor quality control is a pain though. I was really chuffed to find a pair of properly long linen shorts in a beautiful olive green last summer. I snapped them up when they went on sale in my size and was so disappointed when I had to return them because the legs were slightly different lengths.