Have you fallen out of “love” with a shop you previously loved?

[Britpopbaby]

For me it’s &Other Stories. Granted I looked in yesterday and did try something in but there’s been a change of direction and Inam not liking it.

I used to love Principles when they had stand alone shops. Great quality and they were the perfect fit for me.

I thought I’d made it when I bought my first ‘blouse’ in there, it was silk as well.

I only got rid of my last lovely very smart work blouse from Principles last year, I thought I'd never fit it again and since then I've lost weight. Gutted doesn't cover it.

I still have a beautiful silk kaftan from Principles and a navy Rocha John Rocha tshirt which is my all time favourite t-shirt. Scoop neck, slightly fitted organic cotton. It’s a bit holey now so I wear it for gardening but the shape is so good. I loved Richards too. When I was first working and had real money for the first time I spent a fortune in there. M&S Indigo was great. Per Una when it first started had some lovely stuff before the embellishments set in.

sorry, what are they charging sparks card holders?

I’ve given up on it. The death knell was sounding loud and clear for quite some time but those awful garments Jo was trying to convince us about was when the rot rally set in. And the fit of the clothes - a few months ago on the actual FB page the Managing Directors T-shirt didn’t even fit her properly. It was too tight under the arms and across the bust. Then there’s me who despite losing 5 stone is still having to wear a 16/LL whereas I’m now a 12/14 everywhere else.

I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the quality and fit of some knickers I bought in Tesco a couple of months ago. They were in a pack of 5 lovely colours and a high leg cut, they were so nice I went back and bought more.

Don't envy me, I'm 5'2! :) I ordered some short dresses from Me + Em, but the pockets were by my knees, my hands couldn't reach them! I find this in so many places now, especially higher end high street. Your experience as a taller person also having problems is interesting, they really aren't made to fit anyone. I thought at one time it was an age and class thing, as age and class both correlate with height.

A trip down memory lane! A vintage Next archive!
It was launched earlier than I thought and my mum still has and wears the knitwear featured on the 1982 Vogue magazine.

leicestershirecollections.org.uk/fashion/next

Lol, yes to be fair ME+EM are known to fit taller! Wish I could afford them!

Boden. I found out that Jonny Boden was a fox hunter so that was that.

Was it Next Directory that was launched end of 80s? I remember it was one of the first good mail order catalogues.

If you are interested @ChillWith then have a look on Etsy - there are a few people who offer the service. I am paying about £90 to get one done but hopefully it's a nice way of preserving some bits of my youth !

I bought a lovely dress in the sale which is cotton I think with a viscose lining. It looks lovely and will see me through Autumn.

Yes that’s right. They always had copies of it in store as well if you didn’t want to buy one and they’d telephone an order through for you.

Well this thread has cured me of my shopaholic tendencies I may save instead!

As a quilter the person who is creating yours for £90 is giving you an absolute bargain! Please do consider a good tip!

Hush for me. I used to love their clothes, I bought a jumper last year that was v pricey and looked like a dishrag after 2 wears! I do still like the odd thing but sooo expensive now for the quality I just cant justify the prices.

Also used to love clothes from Oliver Bonas but gone off them as well. Same as fat face and boden. Mostly awful. M&S has filled a gap for me this summer, and weirdly my local peacocks has had some lovely things and I never used to set foot in there!

Also been buying from levis again and I really love their jeans, also have 2 jumpers that have been excellent quality and worn on repeat!

I can remember when Finery London first started and I got some lovely bits. Then it relaunched and was awful.

OMG I would wear all of those Next clothes to death! Wow I love those slubby knits, all those pockets, that tartan wool. I would buy every outfit on that page except admittedly the Team GB blazer.

I never knew Next was ever like that. TBH I don't think I've ever been in a Next. But I've just looked on the website and it looks indistinguishable from Matalan now, and that's roughly where I placed it in my mental ranking. What happened?

It changed I would say in the late 90’s as most chains did. Less wool and natural fabrics, more manmade fibres.
I just got my work ‘stuff’ from there in the end but it was but good quality at all by then.

I was still buying massive combats and tiny tops from Camden market with my teenie mates then I suppose. We wouldn't have gone in a work clothes shop.

Next used to be fantastic in the 80s and early 90s. A bit edgier than M&S and the quality was really good. I had some lovely things there. They used to make made to measure suits for men too, DH had a couple from there.

I really mourn Jasper Conran London. The quality never went down, but I guess that’s why they had to close - he wasn’t prepared to compromise

I still have a black velvet trouser suit that I bought from there. It was an evening suit with a lovely trim.

It no longer fits but I loved it. I wore it quite a bit. Its still in good condition and I think it would still gain compliments if worn today.
I also had a velvet evening dress from there.
Principles also did a petite range, which was good.

My husband had a coat from there which lasted years. It was a lovely coat.

I had some stuff from principles at Debehams, it was ok but not as nice as the standalone shops.