Where do you wish you could shop!?

rebekah please show this thread to whoever gave you this task so that they can see how hopelessly they are out are out of touch! Have they asked anyone to think of a range for the over 30s? I doubt it and you can no more put us in a box than any other age group.

I too would like a few more dresses with sleeves but don't think that has to do with my age. I am a size 12 so have no difficulty finding clothes to fit and I would run a mile from any shop or department selling clothes for my age. Sorry

Rebekah, I think that is a brilliant phrase "create clothes that appeal rather than target". You can probably gather from these replies that we think being "over 65" is something we celebrate NOT endure.

I think part of the problem is with a term as broad as "over 65". Given that people might reasonably be expected to live for thirty years after that, it becomes rather a broad range. Clothes for people from 0-30? 20-50?
I think well-made clothes in shapes and colours designed to look good, feel comfortable and at a reasonable price will be fine for most people. Nothing special about older people.
I am one of the rustic vegetable-growers, so for that I wear comfortable, low-cost skirts / leggings / jeans and t-shirts. I have a smaller number of more expensive clothes for going out, mostly from White Stuff, Joules and (selected not to be frumpy) Laura Ashley.

I just want to point that I am in no way suggesting that women over 65 should be segregated but rather this task has been given to me to create a range that appeals to a market that might currently find it difficult to find something she likes on the high street due to the lack of garments with a specific fit or feel.
This market may on the whole be over 65 and are the people who will benefit from this range. This is not saying that any other age cannot shop in this range or that the over 65 cannot shop anywhere else on the high street.

I understand that segregation is definitely the wrong way to go about it and inclusion of a wider range of body shapes and peoples tastes that might belong to those of the age 65+ is the way.

But I do really appreciate the comments!

I'm still not sure you've got it Rebekah

Oh leave the lass alone! She'll do a grand job.

Do I take it that your tutors are excluding men over 65? If so, that rather indicates a sexist attitude!

Having said that, I would be furious to find an over 65 section in a men's department.

I like Boden, Aldini, Next, Monsoon.....they all seem to cater for my preferences - and those of younger people too. Why this need to 'target' older people?
Body shapes are different whatever age you are as are people's tastes. All ages, I would venture to suggest, find it difficult to find that particular 'something' from time to time.
I'm sorry Rebekah I don't like to think of my age group being targeted at all because like you and your age group we all have our own preferences. Age is just a number!

At 62 I dress exactly the same way as I did in my twenties. I shop in the same stores, the only thing different is my colour scheme. Since my hair went grey (I can't see the point of colouring it) I suit stronger, more vibrant colours. I love my jeans and cords, practically living in them. I do buy an occasional sweater from the supermarket, ( the last one was from Tesco) and my daughter coveted it, saying she had jumper envy! These days, being quite outdoorsy, I shop in Cotton Traders and Regatta, but I also love Monsoon and East. Nothing in M & S appealed to me the last time I was there, so I won't be going back for a long time.

Goodness, you mean you never wore loon pants and mini-skirts or possessed an Afghan coat, hildajenni?

I certainly don't dress the same way I did in my twenties, and I'm sure those around me are grateful for it! I loved the fashion for midi-skirts in my late twenties as well - I suppose in that regard we've come full circle, yet again.

One of my favourite outfits in my 20s was a pair of hotpants with braces (worn over a shirt and with knee high boots). So I wouldn't have a hope in Hades of wearing that now.

rebekah I'd second the sleeves thing. My arms need to be covered these days and it isn't always easy to find a dress with sleeves. Good luck, I'm glad you've had a good response to your question.

How fab GK! Sounds like something from a pantomime...
I don't think I will go back to mid-thigh mini-skirts, voluminous maxi dresses, feather boas and bell-bottoms.
Though you never know.
Rebekah have you thought about studying the fashions worn by those of us who will be 65 this year, in a sociological context?
Restricted choice of styles and fabrics in the fifties; mini-skirts, political protest and revolution in the sixties; flowing maxi-dresses and the feminist movement in the seventies; shoulder-pads and power-dressing in the eighties..
Much more interesting.

I mostly buy my clothes in charity shops as I live in an affluent area where women discard hardly used clothes which is great for me.

However Rebekah here is my is my wish list.

Reasonably priced clothes
Lots of bright colours
Fleeces not just ordinary colours, some funky designs
Machine washable smart jackets with zip pockets
Comfy bras made of predominantly cotton and have a deep sides to stop any skin hanging over . No bows and I don't like my nipples showing through.
Full size pants but with hi legs
Velvet short scarves in a myriad of colours

I would like to buy these clothes online, otherwise M and Co.

Oh no, not fleeces!!! Agree about shorter scarves though, they all seem to be far too long (and I'm quite tall). I don't want to have to wrap them three times round my neck until they drape properly...

Sleeves please

Rebekah, LOL - keep digging- but we are not buying it- thanks ;).

I know a lot more overweight and strange bodyshapes in younger women than over 60s actually. Age has nothing to do with it.

More outlets for good quality reasonably priced underwear which can totally alter the look of an outfit. If I had money I would shop at Rigby and Peller!

I am 5' 9", size 14, aged 62 and shop where I like, so there!

We are all different, don't categorise us.

Good luck!

If you are going to design clothes could you design something that flatters rather than just looks awful, please no prints and colours aimed at I am guessing anyone over fifty which are just dreadful. I would like to buy stylish tops with short sleeves that are longer in length. If I ever come across something in the style I prefer the colour is awful or the print is horrible and if the print is nice it invariably has a white background...... I give up. I can't wear white or light coloured tops as I just fade away. I am still wearing a plain navy blue tunic top I somehow was just lucky to buy over 10 years ago. Now if I could only buy short sleeve (not capped sleeved), longish tops that very, very, slightly taper in at the waist in darker pretty colours such as emerald green, navy, crimson colours I would be very grateful. Oh and rebekah can you please leave the silly motifs or prints off of the front of tops. How many times have I been extremely disappointed when I finally find a top that might be okay and it's been spoilt. I can dress up my own clothes with scarves or jewellery or just wear it plain.

You might find the thirty and forty year olds are asking for the same type of styles. Clothes that flatter, fit properly and wear well. I have a pair of white designer pants that are very uncomfortable to wear. I found a shop that caters for women probably fifty and up, expensive and I bought two pairs of three quarter pants for summer that I love. They had some really suitable tops BUT they were lolly pink and some other colour I didn't like and that was their theme for that season. There are two shops I have found, much cheaper clothes and absolutely packed with women of all different ages. Because they have clothes that are a bit different and very wearable.

I shop at Uniqlo for casuals - jeans, t shirts, sweaters and I love their down jackets and coats. For smarter wear I like Jigsaw, Toast, Cos, Hobbs. I don't shop at ultra cheap places like Primark, New Look etc as the stores are jumble sale like and the quality of the clothes, if I find anything I like, is poor. I like natural fibres : cotton, silk, wool, cashmere etc and hate polyester, acrylic, though viscose can be ok. I can often find stuff I like in fashion chains such as Zara . I am size 10 so can find clothes to fit easily but don't want anything too short, too tight or that isn't cut well. I do like buying clothes but would hate to be targeted by age. Unlike others I do like sleeveless dresses as I find them cooler, and you can always slip a cropped cardie over if you are chilly. I am going out boot and coat shopping soon and will probably go to the above stores and maybe TKMaxx in case of a bargain, I did find a lovely Jaeger coat there recently. I make my own clothes as well as buying them and do like making dresses from 1940s and 50s patterns. Good luck with the project can't see such a range getting anywhere though!

Just weighing in here (MN refugee but of the older variety).

I've found that the cut and fabric of clothes I wore when I was younger, although they still fit, look droopy on me IYSWIM.

Once upon a time my figure held the clothes up - now I have loss of muscle tone, I need clothes that do this for me.

Therefore I am looking for more tailored clothes that enhance the figure and create a bit of an upward dynamic if you see what I mean.

No flowing, unstructured looks.

Yes, thin drapy fabrics become droopy loose covers.

Ok I'll try to be constructive - I know how difficult it can be as a student fulfilling a tutor brief.

The main things for me are quality and price combined. I want well made clothes with good fabrics but not at designer prices. So I am willing to pay for a few nice things rather than lots of cheaper things. My shops are White Stuff, Monsoon (but less than formerly as it concentrates on going out clothes and I don't much) Boden, Joules, Sea Salt, JL Laura Ashley. Used to love East but they have got very dowdy lately. I would like to shop in Reiss, Jigsaw, Hobbs and L K Bennett but bit too pricey and a bit too officey. French Connection can vary and are often cut small for size. Used to love Planet but don't see it about much, Windsmoor, CC and Alexon are dowdy. I used to buy a lot from M & S but as their advertising shows they seem to be focusing on thin tall people who stand around in their pants.

The unasked for Next catalogue that arrived last week went straight in the recycling- Yes I had looked through it and went in the shop - cheap fabrics, nasty colours, poor fit.

Where would I not shop?

Edinburgh Woollen Mill
M & Co
Roman
Dorothy Perkins
River Island
Top Shop
Primark
Matalan
Simply be
Plus Fifty all for reasons of quality
Lipsy
All Saints
Karen Millen - all too young and glitzy


Does that help? I stress its a personal view not a recipe for others.

I'd like to be able to shop at M&S simply because there are so many stores within easy reach.

It's true that despite being a size 14 (with aspirations to be a 12 again) things that 'fit' well enough do not always look or hang right. There's that heaviness about the waist that needs to be disguised.
Then there is the question of upper arms. More tops with elblow length or three quarter sleeves please.
Finally the bust, which is the envy of my DiL but I detest. That seems to gave sprouted exponentially. Need something to make it less Dolly Parton.

I want to wear the same kind of casual jeans, trousers, skirts, tops that my DD and DiL wears (they are early 40s) but designed to hide all the droopy and bulgy bits flatter.

M&S tried IT with their Twiggy range but they got it SO wrong.

PS looking through my wardrobe the majority of clothes bought recently are from Next.