Is anyone buying more clothes in person rather than online?

[IffWhite]

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?

We've all been there 😂

I hear you. My brain hates chaos and too much choice. I’d not been able to do more than walk in and straight back out before!

I have easy access to lots of shops in Oxford St, Covent Garden, Marylebone etc. But I still prefer online as there is much more stock and choice. I also like to see how clothes go with my accessories, esp shoes. Easy to return where I live, as lots of places within walking distance to post stuff. I like shopping in person but it’s a world away these days from my exciting trips to Topshop Oxford Circus in the 90s 😔

What has happened to T K Maxx?

For a few brief years (maybe 2009 to 16) it was the first place I looked when I actually needed something specific to wear tomorrow (as opposed to just browsing) because the Gold Label section was such a sure bet. Both the city centre branch and my local branch always seemed to receive wonderfully ‘select’ things - so I would go there before going to Cos, and walk out with coats from Margiela, C by Chloe, Rochas, wool dresses, silk shirts, and a (proper, not High St underwear brand) Calvin Klein shacket that invariably made me the best dressed person in any room. Then I moved and forgot all about it. Now back in a city with a large and useful branch (if you want towels …) I looked hopelessly for the Gold Label section - only to be told by an assistant that it still existed but not as a separate section. So you’re supposed to rummage across the entire shop floor of clothes? What bloody use is that?

62 is not old. Why do people on MN keep banging on about 'being old'? It's so depressing.

Yes! Pisses me off.

It's really strange. People describing themselves as being an "old gimmer" in their 50s even!

I think its so sad to age yourself before your time

I hate it. It's as if they're 90 when they're early 60s. Having said that I love my friend's grandma, she's 92 and goes line dancing, weekly lunch meet up with her mates, book group and yoga. She tripped up running for the bus earlier this year and asked the hospital if the cast would stop her going in the hot tub when she went to Lanzarote with her mates.

@SeditiousPam just go online for Tk Maxx
The gold section can be browsed separately.
I rarely rummage in person. Items sell out quickly though as they restock overnight.
My local store is also nowhere near as good as it used to be too. I used to love the little jewellery kiosk there but that's gone.

I don't see the correlation between saying I'm 58 or 62 so that's why I don't shop online.

In the context of S&B it's completely relevant for me to say I'm 67 so I remember metallic platform soles as a teenager in the 70s. I hated them then and I still hate them now.

Or I'm 67, I'm old enough to remember Laura Ashley in its hey day when they produced beautiful clothes made in the UK

Or I'm 67 and I've now got the money and confidence to wear expensive, outré clothes which I wouldn't have worn when I was younger.

But saying "I think its so sad to age yourself before your time" is ageist and just as bad.

The posters being self deprecating about being 58 or 62 are irritating but so is the pitying tone at how awful being old is.

But saying "I think its so sad to age yourself before your time" is ageist and just as bad.

You’re entitled to think that, and I’m entitled to think it’s sad. Being in your 50s isn’t “old”, but if you choose to describe yourself in negative, ageist terms, that’s your prerogative. I just don’t think it’s a particularly healthy way to view yourself.

I haven't described myself in "negative, ageist terms" unless you think my factual statement saying "I'm 67" is a "negative, ageist term"

I think "its so sad to age yourself before your time" is patronising and ageist. What's "so sad" about being in one's 60s or more? That comment is just as irritating as the self deprecating "I'm soo old" comments. I'm 67 there's nothing sad about it.

I don't buy any of my clothes online anymore as I think it makes me buy too much. I'm rarely at the shops but just buy things I like that I can try on then and there now.

I might get the odd WhiteStuff item in the sales, but I would seen it for real in the shop then can get the right size or colour in their no stop sale

Self fulfilling prophecy.

Shopping in person is just a different way of ‘searching’ from online. In person suits my sister who is essentially looking for visual inspiration, enjoys the process of walking around and then tries things on to see whether they fit.

To me, in person is usually a colossal waste of my time. I usually have a very good idea of what I want, say winter weight trousers in green or blue, so finding them online, in the size and colour way I want, is much more efficient than traipsing through one shop after another. I’m a big fan of click and collect for order in stores, when I can be sure of the colours and sizes I want to try on and then return on the spot any I don’t like.

There is one small boutique we are both happy to visit. I go every few years when I need something ‘different’ I call ahead to let them know when I’ll be there and the kind of occasion I am shopping for and usually find inspiration

DSis is happy to look through them most weeks and doesn’t buy anything any more often than I do.

im very happy to have one outfit suitable for every occasion. I buy multiples of things when I find the ‘perfect top’ (like President Obama’s blue suit or project 333) DSis prides herself on having a different outfit every day.

im guess she is happy with it as am I with my different approach

Well, last year I described my self as middle aged in a post and got piled on. Was I mad, did I think I'd live to 120? I don't feel old, my mother is still alive and healthy and I still work full time etc. But relative to a lot of people here I'm definitely older and was trying to capture that.

I am referring to people in this thread who are 62 yet describing themselves as "old" and someone in their 50s describing themselves as "an old gimmer".

Nowhere did I state it was "sad" to be in your 60s. I never said that.

What I said was, it's sad to describe yourself as old in your 60s.

Yep- I agree.

What I said was, it's sad to describe yourself as old in your 60s

Why is that "sad" ? I think it's entirely up to the person concerned whether they think they are old. Your post also implies that getting old is something sad or undesirable.

What's sad is making a spurious excuse of one's age for not doing something which is completely unconnected with age. "I'm 62" followed by "so I don't shop online" is a non sequitur.

It's fine for a person to refer to themselves as old at any time. It's very rude for you to project your views about age onto other people!

When I shop for clothes, I tend to be looking for specific items (e.g. a specific style of trousers or something). So running round clothes shops looking for specific things is really bloody draining, especially when the clothes are organised by 'outfit' rather than item type. Why aren't all the trousers in one place anywhere apart from TK Maxx?! So I end up buying most stuff online because I can just type in what I want (with varying success rates but it's less taxing for me than going to a shop)!

You're totally right.

Anyone in their 50's is most certainly very old. Those posters are correct, they are old.

People only get stressed about words related to age because of how it makes them feel about themselves.

I don't care if someone of any age uses the word old. Doesn't change my view of my age.