What’s going on with women’s knitwear at M & S?

[Albusmum]

What’s going with M & S women’s knitwear? Filtered my search on the website and there are no cotton jumpers or indeed wool. Cashmere and merino available but everything else is poly blends or supposedly wool rich with 6% wool! Menswear has a much greater range in natural fabrics. I loved the cotton cardigans they used to offer in a range of colours as I could buy smaller for a more fitted look but they have none at all. They also washed and tumble dried brilliantly without shrinking. (I know Mumsnet doesn’t usually approve of cardigans, but I love them).
Can anyone suggest affordable alternatives for jumpers and cardigans (up to around £50)?

I bought a couple of wool jumpers of the same style from Uniqlo last year and one pilled and bobbled badly after a couple of wears and so I returned them both. So i'm a bit suspicious of the quality of Uniqlo jumpers now -think they were about £40 - £50 each. I mean, I expect my jumpers to last and look good for years.

I can vouch for the Uniqlo 3D knit jumpers which are 100% cotton. I've had mine for years and they wash and wear really well. I don't tumble dry them but they're still in perfect condition.

Hush often do pure cotton jumpers and you can pick them up at a good price on Vinted.

I find wool really itchy and uncomfortable unfortunately so it's cotton all the way for me.

Woolovers is your best bet, especially when there’s a sale on. I have a really nice Guernsey from them.

I love the J Lewis cashmere cable knits. I have bought the two colours from this year’s collection. Last year I bought the grey but missed out on the red. I have just found a brand-new red one at half the price on Vinted!

Woolovers is too long for short 5 foot 2 me. I hate jumpers that end up near my mid thigh. Love the stuff on their website though.

Yes, M&S should be a no-brainer for me - bit older, not looking for high fashion, just the quality basics they used to do and prepared to spend a bit more for them... Haven't bought their women's knitwear for years now - I go around in their men's cardis, looking like Monty Don... (which is no bad thing, of course...).

It sounds like a lot of people are, so hope they don't get wise to it and start to do us over there too...

'Air yarn', my grumpy old arse... 😠

I have a positive ape index (arm span greater than height) so thanks for the tip!

Same! I struggle to find sleeves that go to my wrists and stay there, it’s bloody annoying. I don’t really shop much at Sainsburys but good to know longer arms are catered for!

I have a silk and cotton mix M&S jumper, bought in 2001. I wear it loads as it's the perfect weight and breathability. Almost perfect condition, a small hole on the cuff ribbing.
Modern mid-range clothes seem little better than fast fashion.

If you can fit them would M &S schoolwear be OK?. I have 2 x 100% cotton cardigans from then for £17.00.

Agree on M and S's Air Yarn, lovely styles and colours in the range but the material looks and feels cheap and artificial.

I’d love to know who is buying these air yarn jumpers. Why would you buy a plastic jumper that makes you hot, that everyone can see is plastic?

They've been foisting plasticky jumpers on us for a good few years now. Even the allegedly superior Autograph range. I just won't buy it. Ever.

Indeed. Costs down and their profits up as prices increased despite the inferior fabric.

I seem to have hit a nerve! I received an email earlier from M & S asking me to rate my visit yesterday so I was able to give them my feedback. I asked them to consider the trend away from poly blends and that more women are interested in natural fibres. I’m happy to pay a little more for better quality and better materials that they used to be known for and I think the current offering isn’t far removed from the dreaded Shein, etc. It really does feel like fast fashion and there wasn’t any good quality knitwear basics in sight.
I’ll have to try a few different sizes of the menswear offerings and hope they fit. I’ve bought the men’s linen shirts and the autograph t shirts which have been fantastic. Why are men getting a better deal than women?

Another vote for the blokes section. I have appropriated a cotton cashmere mix jumper from Zara originally bought last week for my husband. He will have to prise it from my cold dead hands! M&S used to do lovely wool/silk mix jumpers too

"And the trend of ‘barrel legs’ has now moved to arms. I bought a couple of cardigans recently and the arms were massive, bloated things!"

'Barrel' is a shape I aim to avoid being. I won't be indulging it as a fashion trend.

There's so much nylon/viscose/poly/man-made material around in every clothing or underwear form 🥴

I like Uniqlo for basics and I used to recommend them a lot on this board. Not anymore, I’m afraid they are moving towards the plastic-fantastic direction too. Last year they had a good choice of their classic turtlenecks, polo jumpers and seamless 3-D knit tops in pure wool/merino. This year it’s the horrible “souffle yarn “, “soft knit” (WTF) and merino blends.

They try to cut costs big time and think the customer won’t care or notice.

I’ve been saying this for ages, M&S mens has much more wool than the women’s. Ridiculous really but I suppose it’s about women more and more wanting fast fashion, not sure why men still get the wool though

I saw a post on Instagram of a woman and a friend guessing the actual wool content in M & S “contains wool” sweaters. It was shocking how little wool there was. M & S are no longer a byword for quality, they haven’t been for a while, but they are hitting a new low.

I love Joules 🙂 I also got some lovely 50% cotton jumpers from Bon Prix about 4 years ago which are still going. Not sure if they still do them.

Bon Prix 60% Cotton cardigan OP @Albusmum They usually do jumpers as well and I’ve had their knitwear for almost a decade before needing new ones. https://www.bonprix.co.uk/products/recycled-cotton-cardigan//A-91740210

70% cotton jumpers OP! https://www.bonprix.co.uk/products/smooth-knit-v-neck-jumper//A-91437710

Fixing cardigan link! www.bonprix.co.uk/products/recycled-cotton-cardigan/_/A-917402_10

@PrincessofWills I agree re the Uniqlo cotton jumpers, I have 4 of them and they wash really well. They are a nice weight too. I'd like to try their merino but will wait until I'm next in the city to try things on as I'm never sure which size to order with Uniqlo.

@Albusmum Good idea re the feedback email. I've just been ignoring it but will definitely complete it when I next receive one.

The thing is, M & S seem to be chasing a younger demographic, and younger people have been brought up with plastic clothes as a norm. They are slowly shedding ageing customers to focus on providing a shoddy offering to a younger customer. That isn’t me denigrating younger people, I am sure they would prefer a better quality of clothes, but the majority of the High Street (and brands that are even more expensive than that) has been producing really shite clothes for years now and that is all they have known. We are being fobbed off. If you were born at a time when the High Street did produce good quality clothes, you feel the loss now.

Incidentally I saw a headline that John Lewis had experienced really bad sales recently, didn’t read beyond that headline, but that made me think that they will dumb down their offer soon to keep up.

I was a regular spender in M & S but have not bought anything for over a year from there other than food and some trainer socks. I even get knickers and bras elsewhere now.

We are reaping the results of years when buying a lot of stuff was encouraged. So prices declined so people could buy loads. I know not everybody did, but enough did to make a difference. But now all clothing brands have jumped on the low quality bandwagon, exacerbated by the arrival of the likes of Shein and Temu.

I don’t shop much now, sometimes if I am out and about and see an independent shop I will get one thing if I absolutely think it will fit in with what I have/or too good to pass up.