that time of year again.

[Brissles]

Aside from poly/elastene, the other thing that depresses me is the early airing of Autumn and Winter catwalk collections.

Yes we've been pebble dashed with godawful prints for months in poly/elastene, but now we're going to be battered with dirgy sludgy colours in cheap acrylic/woolly tunics/cardis, and endless hours of Outerwear, which means lots of black and plum puffa coats with hoods.

For a start we're getting overload info on climate change, and we don't exactly experience 6 months of freezing weather in winter Britain. In fact, apart from a couple of weeks of below freezing temperatures in recent years, has meant I don't really wear a thick 'winter' coat anymore.

Apart from winter white, I don't know who decreed that as soon as October rears its head we all have to disappear into a colour pallet of blacks/plums/greys/browns/ and teal (ugh) until the end of March. Well, I don't, I live permanently in paler colours which make me feel better, but even going into the High Street shops is depressing when met with rail after rail of dingy colours.

 

[Loveinamist]

Went shopping yesterday with DD for a dress for a wedding in three weeks and saw mustard when she wanted floral. It is still August right?

 

[maymorganlondon]

Went shopping yesterday with DD for a dress for a wedding in three weeks and saw mustard when she wanted floral. It is still August right?

Summery clothes seem to be on the sale rails by this time of year. Which is both sad and good...for a bargain hunter!

I think shops should have a permanent holiday section. Not everyone goes on holiday for sunshine in the summer. Actually if you don't have to pay premium prices for your holiday, why would you?

 

[shopperholic]

We tend to have our holiday abroad in September (this year though it was April) so grab a few bargains in the clothes and suncare department (IW clothes, high street suncare) end of August. Just bought some Sugar Crisp dresses and a load of Maysa tops on IW reduced, cotton viscose £12.99, that’ll do me for Salou next year :mysmilie_3:

 

[Twilight]

I can hear the voice over now: "As the seasons change & the leaves begin to turn enjoy those crisp autumn days by wearing our latest collection of sludge coloured clothing".

 

[Silver Fox]

The only thing I like about the MW range is often the colour palette pity do not like the garments or quality/ fabrics/ prices.M&S for me offer colours which are too garish and do not stick to wearable classics.There is so much time money and research goes into this colour palette choice each season, with predictions coming out 18 months ahead of the season.So this season’s Sludge will have been predicted back in late 2017 early 2018.

 

[AndiK]

I am not a retail expert and don’t work in the fashion industry so I realise mine is a mere layman’s view, but I will never understand the thing that shops do with their ranges over the seasons. Why when we walk through the stores do we have to be faced with autumn/winter clothing in the middle of a July heatwave and light spring/summer wear when there’s snow on the ground? Is it just me that doesn’t buy clothes for months ahead (except maybe the odd special occasion)? I have lost count of the number of times I’ve gone looking for a couple of cool throw-on dresses when the temperature has soared in midsummer, for example, but there are only a few extreme sizes of things nobody wanted on the sale rails or thick fabric trousers and tops in the main area. I realise they want to be ahead of the game (or ”fashion forward”, as QVC used to say ad nauseam a few years ago when presenting nail polish, make-up, bags and clothes - thank goodness that ceased) but does that suit the average customer? Are we not allowed to be more spontaneous?

Sorry, bit of a rant there about shops in general. I’ll go and take my meds.

PS Hallowe’en stuff in TK Maxx when I went in yesterday. WHY??!

 

[Twilight]

I am not a retail expert and don’t work in the fashion industry so I realise mine is a mere layman’s view, but I will never understand the thing that shops do with their ranges over the seasons. Why when we walk through the stores do we have to be faced with autumn/winter clothing in the middle of a July heatwave and light spring/summer wear when there’s snow on the ground? Is it just me that doesn’t buy clothes for months ahead (except maybe the odd special occasion)? I have lost count of the number of times I’ve gone looking for a couple of cool throw-on dresses when the temperature has soared in midsummer, for example, but there are only a few extreme sizes of things nobody wanted on the sale rails or thick fabric trousers and tops in the main area. I realise they want to be ahead of the game (or ”fashion forward”, as QVC used to say ad nauseam a few years ago when presenting nail polish, make-up, bags and clothes - thank goodness that ceased) but does that suit the average customer? Are we not allowed to be more spontaneous?

Sorry, bit of a rant there about shops in general. I’ll go and take my meds.

PS Hallowe’en stuff in TK Maxx when I went in yesterday. WHY??!

I agree with you & some would say that it's all to do with modern marketing & 'trends', however, retail has always done things well in advance. I'm sixty & can remember seeing the Back to School promotions when I was a child & they were always up & running before the summer holidays began. On one occasion I was in Birmingham with my mum & sister & those dreadful words were written on a huge posters of a blackboards in every window of M&S, my face must have shown my horror because a woman walking towards us burst out laughing & said she could sympathise. We'll have Christmas starting on 1st September & Easter when that holiday's just been packed away.

 

[AndiK]

I agree with you & some would say that it's all to do with modern marketing & 'trends', however, retail has always done things well in advance. I'm sixty & can remember seeing the Back to School promotions when I was a child & they were always up & running before the summer holidays began. On one occasion I was in Birmingham with my mum & sister & those dreadful words were written on a huge posters of a blackboards in every window of M&S, my face must have shown my horror because a woman walking towards us burst out laughing & said she could sympathise. We'll have Christmas starting on 1st September & Easter when that holiday's just been packed away.

Yes, in QVC’s case, so many of the guests love to crow on air about how they’re already looking at colour trends for Summer 2020 because they’re so much more fashionable and “with it” than us mere mortals who have to trot along in their wake. Not that I am someone who has to have the latest thing or get things before everyone else, myself. I do get that they have to be prepared and get the right stock, but I don’t really understand why the shops have to shove it at us out of sync with the seasons, especially if that’s all they display. Ah well, that’s the fashion gravy train, I suppose. They won’t change.

Ha ha, I remember that sinking feeling of seeing Back to School posters in shop windows in July. We would spend a few weeks just outside Skegness and a trip into the town was a treat until the posters in the Co-Op window brought us down! Actually, in the case of kids, it’s all the more ridiculous because over a couple of months, they could easily have shot up or gone up a shoe size. When my niece was about to start secondary school, they deliberately bought much of the uniform quite late because she had had a couple of growth spurts in the previous six months.

 

[Brissles]

The only thing I like about the MW range is often the colour palette pity do not like the garments or quality/ fabrics/ prices.M&S for me offer colours which are too garish and do not stick to wearable classics.There is so much time money and research goes into this colour palette choice each season, with predictions coming out 18 months ahead of the season.So this season’s Sludge will have been predicted back in late 2017 early 2018.

Since the M & S shop closed its doors in my nearest town a couple of years ago, I hadn't ventured inside a store until last week, when I went into the huge one at Brent Cross in North London. I can now see why they're in trouble !

I had to ask an assistant where the Per Una range was due to bad signage, and after walking through several ranges probably renamed as "Bored & Uninspiring" we came across a small corner where Per Una was quietly hidden away. In the past I have delighted in rummaging the rails at the different styles and colours, but what faced me was a bit of tartan, some plain cream blouses, lots of greige and nothing that made me want to look further. I turned and walked out.


This wasn't so much a change from summer into autumn, but more that M & S didn't know who they were targeting or didn't even know what season it was.

 

[candycane]

QVC are promoting a Christmas gift show at the moment but dressing it down as "gifts for all occasions". The ad does appear a bit Christmassy though and it's only 11 August for God's sake.

CC

 

[maymorganlondon]

Since the M & S shop closed its doors in my nearest town a couple of years ago, I hadn't ventured inside a store until last week, when I went into the huge one at Brent Cross in North London. I can now see why they're in trouble !

I had to ask an assistant where the Per Una range was due to bad signage, and after walking through several ranges probably renamed as "Bored & Uninspiring" we came across a small corner where Per Una was quietly hidden away. In the past I have delighted in rummaging the rails at the different styles and colours, but what faced me was a bit of tartan, some plain cream blouses, lots of greige and nothing that made me want to look further. I turned and walked out.


This wasn't so much a change from summer into autumn, but more that M & S didn't know who they were targeting or didn't even know what season it was.

That store is a nightmare for fashion. Wherever there is a space for it seems to be the only rationale for where something is positioned. I don't blame you walking straight back out!

 

[Twilight]

Since the M & S shop closed its doors in my nearest town a couple of years ago, I hadn't ventured inside a store until last week, when I went into the huge one at Brent Cross in North London. I can now see why they're in trouble !

I had to ask an assistant where the Per Una range was due to bad signage, and after walking through several ranges probably renamed as "Bored & Uninspiring" we came across a small corner where Per Una was quietly hidden away. In the past I have delighted in rummaging the rails at the different styles and colours, but what faced me was a bit of tartan, some plain cream blouses, lots of greige and nothing that made me want to look further. I turned and walked out.


This wasn't so much a change from summer into autumn, but more that M & S didn't know who they were targeting or didn't even know what season it was.

Apparently M&S are getting rid of their Per Una range, both clothes & cosmetics. I loved their original perfume & wore quite a lot of their dresses & cardigans when they first started selling the brand. I'm going to have a look at the back of the hall cupboard where some of my favourite oldies are boxed up, maybe they're so retro they'll be due for a revival.

 

[maymorganlondon]

Apparently M&S are getting rid of their Per Una range, both clothes & cosmetics. I loved their original perfume & wore quite a lot of their dresses & cardigans when they first started selling the brand. I'm going to have a look at the back of the hall cupboard where some of my favourite oldies are boxed up, maybe they're so retro they'll be due for a revival.

That's a shame, but I think that M&S have forgotten why they created sub-brands in the first place. It used to be a byword for affordable high quality clothing, classics if you will, which stand the test of time. Ironically that position would chime well with the backlash against fast fashion. I rarely find something I can wear in there these days. 90% of what I buy comes from Sainsbury's or Tesco, and I don't go for fashion but try for a more timeless look... Emphasis on the TRY!

 

[Brissles]

I now order most of my fashion from Navabi - based in Germany with several brands under its umbrella. I always find something quirky, and from order to delivery it takes less than a week, AND beautifully packaged.