Is anyone buying more clothes in person rather than online?

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I bought 3 dresses this year.

2 in store that caught my eye and i now love - from m&s and a department store. Both under £50.

I tried on many others that didnt work.

1 from online - almost £300 and it is just ok.

I have gradually cut down and down on online shopping because so much just disappoints on quality or simply doesnt suit me.

Anyone else upping their in person pu4chases?

In-store only I tend to go to one shop in particular and have done for years
Probably helps that I'm male.
But I do love shopping even if it's not for moi.

I tried buying online twice, the clothes were awful but I missed to deadline for returning. So I put them in the charity bag so wasted my money. I only ever buy in person. It means my choice isn’t as wide but at least I know they’ll fit.

I'm in my late 60s and don't feel old either!! I've been buying clothing online for years and while I loved in person shopping when I was young I can no longer find what I like (in a small town) and even when I go shopping in the city somehow the joy has been lost.

Plus, I LOVE getting parcels!! (and don't find returns difficult either)

No! I hate shopping in person. It takes so much time and the shops I like are never in the same place (and I live in central London!) I find it such a waste of my time and I like to try things on with things I have at home, with better lighting and more space. Now you can use a locker to scan and send it back (I literally have to go past one everyday), it’s no bother for me. I buy a lot on Vinted now, such great quality, and I like the circular economy element.

I bought a few things from M&S the other day, ordered to the shop, went in and tried it on and immediately returned anything I didn’t like at the drop in box there (so quick and easy). I really liked a top, but it was the wrong size. I tried to find it in store (it said there were three in the store I was in, again massive store in central London), asked where it was, nobody could find it. I ordered it on my phone whilst in the shop (the store assistant recommended to do that) and it was delivered to that store before 1100 the next day.

So far this year about 75% of what I’ve bought I either bought in store or I had seen the item and just wanted a different size or it was a duplicate, eg had a blue T-shirt, ordered a green one.

i love going to the shops. I like looking at the displays, touching the clothes, holding them up, trying on multiple sizes. But I have access to lots and lots of shops.

Online shopping takes skill. I have got a lot better over the years and AI is quite helpful too, picked out what Abercrombie jeans would be best for me. It’s often frustrating and time consuming. I’ve never not returned something that’s not right though.

I think I probably do a mix of both. I love Vinted and don't mind experimenting there but I never return things so I tend to stick with brands where I know the sizing and have lots of customer reviews.

Although I am also a 15 minute walk away from a big Primark so that is kinda my happy place!😁

I'm 63 and been buying clothes and shoes online since 2003. I can't remember the last time I bought anything in a high street shop.

Often they don't have my size so I see something lovely in store and have to order it anyway.

i have resisted until august, now optimistically buying online, and returning.

I’ve always argued for real shops but my high street now pretty much consists of poxy branches of M&S, Next, H&M and an assortment of nail bars and vape shops. And it’s not like I live in the back of beyond. Even the charity shops are turning to shit. So I love the idea, op but it’s too late.

Editing to add, as this appears to be relevant, I’m about to turn 70 and of course it’s old, how long do you think you’re going to live?

I'm late 60s and buy everything online. I'm tall with big feet so have no choice. Have done for years...back in the 70s I was mail ordering from Long Tall Sally!
I live in a city with decent shops and buy the odd thing in Cos, White Company etc.

It must be nice being a standard size. Being pear shaped with awkward feet I need to try stuff on before I buy.

I have to try on about 20 pairs of shoes before I find any that are comfortable. I wear a size 6, but not all shoes in that size feel the same on me.

I buy from the same few places where the sizing is reliable. My feet are odd-shape too! But now I can buy on eBay from their outlet and pay much less. But trying not to buy any clothes at the moment, but using what I have.

I don't know if I'm being a bit 'middle class' here but I find most of the high street shops the clothes these days are just really bad quality. I used to like browsing, and I still do in a decent shop, but a lot of the usual chains I just never want to buy things because I know it won't last or wash well.

I've recently started buying from shops again.
Reason being I've lost a lot of weight in the last year, so needed some new clothes and finally not too big to worry shops won't go up to my size.
Big vinted fan, tho

I was having this exact conversation with friends a few days ago as I have recently started enjoying going to shops again and seeing random pieces that I wouldn’t have seen online. So now I have a more varied wardrobe.

Yes same here. Difficult size. Not ordered much online this year. Had a lot more time though which helps

I had slipped into online shopping almost exclusively, as I live in a very small town and always had to commute to a bigger town to clothes shop. And then in the past year, I’d moved to using Vinted only - with one in one out policy - which is sustainable and financially sound. However at the weekend i ended up in a big city with time to kill and I went in person clothes shopping and it was so lovely. Trying different things on, holding things next to each other to see how they’d look, no rush, all the options. It was a pleasure and one to continue when time and money allow. I forgot there could be fun in clothes shopping!

Hopefully for several more years yet, as long as my health remains good. A local woman recently turned 109. How can 70 be old, lots of people are still working at that age?

I don’t buy from normal shops online, I exclusively buy from Vinted or in person. If I buy from
vinted and get it wrong it gets re sold or goes to the charity shop.

If I buy in person it’s always an impulse purchase as I’ve got out of the habit of ‘going shopping’ so I bought a dress and a blouse in the Liberty sale as I was in there buying skincare.

Basically this, but I do live close to a city and in a city where there are lots of decent charity shops. I like a sale bargain and have had 2 successful M and S sale buys this year.

I gave up buying clothes online some years ago as there are so many awful fabrics about and it's hard to tell what something is going to be like. I don't mind man-made fabrics if they're soft and hang well, they're often easier to wash and care for, but I hate the feel of cheap, rough fabric. Coupled with that, sizing is completely unpredictable. I really do not want the hassle of having to return items, so I buy in person where I can try the clothes on first.

Of course it's old. You can be in roaring good health, run marathons, go to festivals every summer and still be old. It's not a state of mind or an attitude it's a life stage, nothing more and nothing less.

Anyway returning to the topic of the thread, the comments about in-person shopping being more enjoyable really resonate with me. I think of real shops as a social activity - even if you shop alone (and I normally do/did) you still have to leave the house and interact with people. Now you can build up a whole wardrobe without speaking to a soul. More convenient, maybe but it's yet another opportunity to connect with your fellow humans that's been lost.

I have bought 3 dresses this summer and returned all 3 as too big, too transparent, wrong colour, and so on.

It's been rather too hot and unpleasant in the day to go to the shops.