Wouldn’t it be nice......

I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned it, but I have found Seasalt to be excellent for good quality clothing, nice fabrics and styles, albeit not cheap - but I usually shop in their online sales. Some items are a bit old fashioned, but they also do lots of plain fabrics - maybe worth a look.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Boden. I get all my trousers there and the odd top and skirt. They are quite expensive, but their clearance department is wonderful and they have sales with really big reductions a couple of times a year. One year I bought a linen top, some linen trousers and the dress that I wore to our daughter's wedding in one of their sales for less than £60 for all 3 items. Their patterns are great and a bit different and they use lots of really heavyweight cotton. In defence of M&S, their elbow length t-shirts are wonderful and wash like rags. I do find it hard to find anything plain there though, most things have bits of lace or frills and look fussy. They have stopped giving away necklaces that you don't want with their tops though! I agree that Sainsbury's Tu clothes are great on the whole and good value. I check them every time I go in for a food shop.

Seems all the retailers have gone overboard this year (imo) for these fluted sleeves. I hate 'em. You can't wear anything over them if it has sleeves, for one thing. Plus they look rather Pollyanna. Not at all suited to an older age group.

well, goodness me - I have an advert for Toast appearing on the page now!

Poppyred have you looked at Toast?

Personally, I want nice shift dresses / pinafores that are not too figure hugging, round neck and knee length with nice deep patch pockets

If loose fitting pinafores with patch pockets are your style have a look at Gudrun Sjoden.

It sounds as if janeainsworth was suggesting exactly what you said you wanted poppyred!

I can't see how that could be thought of as flippant or condescending

I thought that Portfolio was awful! Dreadful middle aged designs I thought. But then I liked Per Una in its appliqued hey day.

I have n't been able to buy a dress this summer. I would like a shirt- waist type with a proper belt, and the length just be low the knee. I cannot find anything.
I think that this year is the worst for Mark's clothes, no wonder that they are losing money. I used to like their Portfolio range,it was meant for the older women but was also quite fashionable. They got rid of that and kept that awful range for older women i.e. crimpelene trousers with an elasticzed waist. I could go on !

I like Primark too. Cheap an cheerful.

I got a couple of plain white cotton T's in M&S. Also a couple from ASOS via my daughter's account. But yes I agree to get stuff without huge garish patterns is difficult. I'm 5ft nothing and hate big and sometimes little patterns.

Can't stand frills and appliques on anything - M&S Per Una is a prime offender in this category as are shoes that should be comfy and stylish but decorated with cut out flowers!

I heard an M&S exec some years ago talking about their fall in profits and saying that Per Una was aimed at the 50+ woman and found myself yelling at the radio " not me it isn't!"

MAIN NEW ENGLAND sell good quality cotton t shirts that wash well & don't need ironing after !!
Available from DEBENHAMS

Also BON MARCHE have good tops too.

luluaugust I agree about BonMarche for t-shirts. I have quite a few from other places but they cling in the wrong place. I think I'll go and buy some more now that it has come into my mind.

poppyred I don’t know why you think I was being flippant or condescending.
You said you wanted to buy pinafore dresses with deep patch pockets and I was merely making a suggestion as to where you might find them.

Thanks janeainsworth - I’ve done that before and haven’t found anything suitable, Gudrun Sjoden not my style. Hope you weren’t being flippant about ‘ loose fitting pinafores with patch pockets’ - you sounded a bit condescending.

AdeleJay Yes, I'm the same - lots of things too big. And as for 'catering for 50+' my money is as good as anyone elses. Trouble is they have a wrong idea of what 50+ is, both in physique and in mind.

poppyred if you look at the JL questionnaire that I posted a link to, it actually asks you what your preferences and dislikes are.
It then shows you things that fit your requirements. It saves you trailing round the shops, or if you want to go and try things on you can go straight to the items they’ve highlighted.
If loose fitting pinafores with patch pockets are your style have a look at Gudrun Sjoden. Not my thing but it might be yours.

Blinko the M&S show also concentrated on various marketing strategies rather than admitting that, whatever age you are, their clothes are awful.
I did find a white linen mix shirt/tunic in the sale which was lovely and plain (even DH approved) it's two sizes too big, but on a hot day the extra floatiness is a bonus.

Janeainsworth - I think we know by now what suits us, the problem is that there is nothing out there. Personally, I want nice shift dresses / pinafores that are not too figure hugging, round neck and knee length with nice deep patch pockets that I can wear a half sleeve tee shirt or a lightweight cardigan with to hide upper arms and the list goes on... asking for the moon? ??

Did anyone see the programme on Ch5 last evening re 'What's become of M&S?' (or something like that), presented by Fiona Phillips. Amongst other issues, one seemed to be that they are trying to be all things to all people and not succeeding.

One remark struck me though, that they didn't want to be regarded as 'catering for the over 50s'.

So what's the matter with us? Why wouldn't a national chain with a hitherto good reputation for quality and price, not want to be seen catering for 'the over 50s'?

After all, the ages between 20 and 50 span 30 years. Whereas between 50 and 90 there are forty years and potentially more disposable income.

No wonder the high street retailers are going to the wall!

You can get a personal style edit online at John Lewis
www.johnlewis.com/women/personal-style-edit

I haven't been able to find any summer skirts or dresses in nice fabric or style so I got my old sewing machine out and revived my dressmaking skills. Summer skirts are dead easy, dresses do take longer to get a nice fit, but I can get exactly what I want. Finding the fabric is not easy, although plenty offered online but you need to get a sample sent.

Someone could make their fortune catering for our fashion needs. I like some of the lovely fashion ideas on this site but many don’t suit me. I am 5’ 7” and slim so you’d think it would be easy. But no. Big floaty styles emphasise my scragginess and long flowing garments look ridiculous. I can’t wear synthetic fabrics so than cuts out the majority of clothes. I have to buy in sales to keep costs down & have to look in charity shops as I can’t
afford to pay £50 for a summer top or £89 for a dress. I have to be careful not to wear things which are too young or too short. So it’s become a game to find clothes - I sometimes get lucky in Sainsbury’s. M&S can’t even do good tee shirts any more, sigh. The better quality ones are baggy & horrible. I don’t wear linen because I like to look groomed. Moan over.
Helping with the grandkids means I wear jeans most of the time with shirts it tees or denim skirts if it’s warm. Oh for simple cotton skirts or dresses, non floaty! Oh & Boden is too expensive, I looked. That’s the trouble with wanting to buy nice things on a limited budget.

I bought a pair of patterned trousers this year, was quite pleased they had come back into fashion ( I had about four pairs in the late 80’s) and luckily had 3 plain tops ( had them for a while) which went with them, not t shirts though, as I don’t like them.It really was lucky that I had these tops though, as others have said, apart from tees, there are hardly any plain tops /shirts about.
You would have thought that fact may have registered when the buyers for the stores decided to stock patterned trousers!

Perhaps we just have to embrace the wrinkled décolletage, bingo wings and less than taut abdomen ladies?

I share your frustration. My bug bear is the clingy, stretchy, thin (and cheap) fabric so many t shirts and tops are made of. This has been going on for some time now. They are one step away from the dreaded bri-nylon. They hang dreadfully, show every lump and bump, make me sticky and sweaty and flatter only the stick thin. Even the slimmest girls seem to have back-fat when wearing these clingy cheap-looking abominations!

Oh for a bit of decent tailoring and quality material. I too loathe sequins, slogans, polyester, cutesy animals or any unnecessary embellishment. How I long for a decent 100% cotton, well cut, well made T shirt that doesn't cost a king's ransom.