Do you think M&S will consult us now?

I fear they do think that they design a range "for granny" - which my MIL, aged 81, and a very conservative dresser, thinks is frumpy.

Then someone needs to put 'em right Jess. I know the range you're talking about and 'frumpy' is spot on. Elasticated waists, crimpolene, trousers ending at ankle bone and all in various shades of beige I'd rather go naked!

And those pastel cardigans with embroidery on the front...

Or better still, little beads ...

Or both!

I went into M&S a couple of weeks ago, I wanted a large cotton T shirt to slip on over a swimsuit, found one I liked and as I wanted it loose fitting bought one a size too big. When I got it home it was made of a stretch cotton which clings to every lump and bump, even though it was a size too big!

Hellish, isn't it?
Then there are the fairly nice tops but almost see through. So not only do we see every lump and bump but our nifty support bras too.
Ana not both together surely. I'll have to call the Fashion Police.

Why 'Design a dress for Granny'? A horrible idea, anyway that is M&S' problem already, they design all their clothes for some mythical 95 year old who is happy looking a frump.

The obsession with 'embellishment' that seems to have gripped every clothes store with an older demographic, drives me to despair. The number of times I have seen from a distance what looked like an attractive top, whether cotton or knitted, and then got closer and seen the dreaded embellishment and walked away.

Yes, what is it with the craze for beads and suchlike on clothes. I don't think even my grandmother (if she were still with us) would wear most of the clothes in M&S. Wish they would go back to doing classic styles, but in lots of colours, not black or beige.

sunseeker, I have found that if I want a large tee shirt to go over a swimsuit, I buy a men's one. I still miss good old C&A which provided me with men's silk shirts at minimum cost - excellent for beach cover-ups in very hot conditions.

Thanks annodomini, I did indeed end up taking one of my late DH's cotton shirts as a cover up.

And they don't do size 8. There are some of us about...

Just come back from local mall. Called into jlewis to return a dress and apple to sort out my iPad and mac air which had got into a muddle thanks to BT!
All sorted now.
While I was there I popped in m&s! What a load of rubbish
Came away with special offer salmon and smoked salmon though which are now on the freezer.

Flickety that's the whole point. M&S haven't a clue what a Grandmother is like in this day and age and what she wants to wear. We need to put them straight.

But what is a typical Grandma, there isn't one. Age can range from 40s to 90s, income; pitifully small to great comfort, Can be working or retired active, disabled etc.

This is the problem, more than any other group, women over 50 cannot be catergorised and any company trying to appeal to them as a group is bound to miss the boat with at least two thirds.

Yes, we know all that.
And there's a ruddy great hole in doughnuts too

In which case how can we put them straight about what a grandmother is like in this day and age and what she wants to wear?

Short answer to your question - No. Why break the habit of decades?

I give up! You win.

I agree with Flickety.
I don't want to wear the clothes that some designer thinks are appropriate for my age, as if everyone who is nearly 64 wants to wear the same stuff.
I want to wear what I've always worn - things that I like because they're stylish and which suit me.

I agree. I used to buy a lot of my work clothes from M&S in my 30s and 40s then they stopped stocking the staples everyone relied on and tried to attract a 'younger' market.

My tastes haven't changed since then - simple, well-cut basics and underwear that actually fitted well - why do they assume that now I'm in my 60s I've suddenly decided that all I want is stuff even my own granny wouldn't have worn?

I popped into my local branch (Crewe) to see what the up to 50% sale had on offer. I needn't have bothered, it was diabolical. I think they dump all their rubbish on this branch.

No disrespect to older women but all those browsing the Per Una range looked well into their 70s.

As my mum would have once said " I wouldn't be seen dead wearing that"

Last time I tried to shop in M&S it was a midweek morning so as was to be expected the customers were all older people (like me). Except that they were all definitely the dowdy frumpy 'suitable for my age' end of the demographic. Needless to say I came out of the store without buying anything.

Last weekend I made my annual trip to Glynebourne. The simple long tie-belted shift dress I wore, in a fabric that was heavy enough to drape well, came from New Look.

My last word on this then I'm off somewhere else. I thought this was all about getting M&S to design clothes for the older woman which didn't make her look a) frumpy and b) lumpy c) mutton dressed as..
We can't all wear the same clothes we looked good in when we were 30 or 40. Arms sag despite hours at the gym (oops that's another thread), for many of us waistlines expand or lumps appear in places they never were before. Bra sizes change.
I used to be a size 12 and now I'm a 14. Not very big but there are bits of me I want covered up. But we still want to look 'good'.
So yes, we do want 'simple, well-cut basics' but with a few concession to our advanced years such as a little more sleeve or less cling or see through, etc.
We all agree that M&S used to deliver but hasn't for many years; they've simply lost the plot. No we don't do frumpy or dowdy. So let's tell them what it is we want.
Rant over.