M&S knickers - what’s happened?

[gillefc82]

I’m in my 40s and for most of my life I’ve bought my everyday wear knickers (thongs to be precise) from M&S. They’ve always washed well and lasted but I’ve found that the ones I’ve purchased during the last year or two have fallen off a cliff in terms of quality, e.g. holes appearing around the stitching after only a couple of washes.

Is it just me or are others having this issue? And can anyone recommend somewhere else where I can buy quality, comfortable cotton thongs that will last more than a few months?

Another vote for Wirapa, although I could do with the cotton being slightly thinner, ironically. Note, they do somewhat remind me of the school knickers we had to wear for PE!

I’ve just bought a pack
of high waisted knickers from Asda, thought they would be rubbish but actually they are really good, very impressed.

I bought M&S period pants and they were like gossamer (new see through cotton..rubbish) and no coverage at the back. Switched to Matalan and the cotton is far better quality and the coverage understands where the blood flows.

For ever day knickers I buy men’s briefs; the quality of the cotton is SO much better.

Yes!! Also I used to buy ones called ‘midi’ - covered my whole bottom and wee no higher than knicker line …..now you can’t seem to buy them! Does anyone know where you can get a normal black cotton pair of knickers from?!

Life has become so hard now. We now have to over think knickers, before we just grabbed a pack from M & S and we were good to go. Now we have got to shop around for what was a staple product. Quality is shit everywhere. I just want some high legs, decent cotton, don’t roll down or ride up, in some decent designs as well as in nude, black and white, that aren’t too thick or like school knickers,, and that aren’t too expensive.

What are Sloggi like?

I swapped to Tesco F&F after several decades of buying M&S, and they're lasting so much better

For what it’s worth, I found dupes of my old M&S midis (but with a gusset wider than a toothpick) at Tu. they’re exactly the same design - the ones with the lace around the top of the legs at the front. No idea what M&S are playing at, but apparently they’re unconcerned that Sainsbury’s are making off with their business model.

They are hideous

They truly are. I bought them and sent them off to the charity shop immediately.

It’s not just you, I’m also in my 40’s and I’ve always bought my underwear from M&S. Lately the knickers fall apart after a few weeks, I now wear men’s underwear boxer shorts from Primark plain black.

For ever day knickers I buy men’s briefs; the quality of the cotton is SO much better.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO just NO

Yes this has happened to me with M&S and Next underwear. Holes appearing near the waistband

I must have been eager to pee once because as I pulled down my knickers I tore a massive hole in them! The cotton is so thin like paper...

I've spent so much money on underwear in the last year. In the end I gave up and just buy cheap ones from Primark instead.

Literally no difference in quality between Primark, Next and M&S (for undies!)

Completely agree.

This seems common practice. Abandon your boring middle aged customers to chase the younger market.

So stupid because your middle aged customers a) tend to have the funds to shop, b) tend to be loyal and c) younger people won’t touch you with a barge pole because you have been a shop for the middle aged for decades.

I can only assume some blue haired twenty something in marketing is persuading those in charge and old enough to know better that this is a good idea.

No to quality pants?? I don't want to pay a pink tax and I want quality lol

I wonder if anyone from Marks and Spencer will read this?!

I used to buy mine from Tu/Sainburys. They were a pack of 3 black ‘knicker shorts’ with lace at the top on the front and no VPL-they were £8 and the best knickers ever, I often saw them recommended on various forums. They just stopped making them about 4 years ago-I don’t understand why, they were such a good basic. I have written to them more than once but they don’t seem to care!

I wrote to them with a complaint and me this thread- no response. They would do well to read it, they are losing a lot of previously loyal customers.

Just putting some washing away. I compared a pair of knickers from a recent purchase M & S multi pack high legs to an older purchase from the same type of pack - these are about 10 years old, they are rarely worn, nude coloured, so only worn under clothes that require nudey colour knickers. Got my ruler out - gusset at top seam in new purchases is 6cm, older ones are 7cm. Shrinkflation right there.

It’s similar in Primark. Every six months I go in to restock my trainer socks. Same ones every time and each time I buy them they are smaller and thinner.

It’s similar to food items that just disappeared, never to return. I assume it’s because they cannot make the item cheap enough to sell anymore it’s easier to just retire it altogether than try and make an inferior product.

I ordered what I thought were my usual M&S knickers through Ocado and the smelt real bad

I’ve thrown them away so can’t confirm material but I’m sure they are what I’ve ordered in the past and I don’t smell that bad - according to my other knickers

I wouldn’t mind, but a good friend (and former colleague from another multinational company) was Head of Customer Services for M&S from the Autumn of 2024-25….during the cyber attack and resulting chaos. Sadly, but perhaps not surprisingly, her appointment didn’t last more than a year.

Bizarrely, it never occurred to me to raise this issue with her at the time, although in hindsight I suspect she wouldn’t have had much capacity to deal with this anyway…her hands were probably pretty full!!

Should I be offended that, at the tender age of only 44, you’re classifying me as middle aged?!! How very dare you!

I am boring as shite though, so you’ve got me bang to rights there!! 😂

Boody! There was another knickers thread in here a month or so ago. I wanted m&s to redeem themselves so much i bought another batch about 6 months ago. Waste of money. Didn't get round to taking it back. Most of it remains unworn. Boody is bloody amazing. I bought a few seamless tank tops from there too. Who knew I didn't like seams? Very comfortable. Stripe and stare better than m&s, very generous sizing. Washes well. I don't have a wedgie issue in them but much prefer boody.

Interesting what you say about their jeans. I’ve finally (and if I’m honest, reluctantly!), stepped away from my Xennial skinny, low rise jeans and this winter bought a few pairs of high waisted straight legs from M&S.

Being just 5”3, I opted for petite and so far I’ve found their super soft line to be pretty good - comfy, sitting just where I want/expect them to and washing well. Sadly the same can’t be said for their petite Siena Magic jeans - after just one/two washes they have shrunk and are now, at best, ankle grazers.

Really disappointing, particularly when I’m sure those jeans were the most expensive pair of the lot!

Based on your recommendation I’ve just ordered some of their thongs and have even taken a punt on one of their wireless t-shirt bras. I’m a 32F, so definitely venturing out of my comfort zone without wiring and am a bit worried the lack of proper cups will give me a monoboob, but it’s worth a try!

Thank you!