High Street Fashions not as Good as they were?

[Scottie_UK]

I went clothes shopping with my wife today, as for Christmas we received a next voucher (not normally somewhere I would choose to go).

What does Next think it is?? Over priced, yet the same stuff as in many cheaper stores? It's that old expense = presumed quality trick that materialist sheep of the world fall fore time and time again. I remember them in the 80's when they sold cheap and cheerful clothes like you could buy at the market. Now they are purporting themselves to be an upmarket retailer.

My gawd what is it with High Street chain store close shops these days, they are soul destroying, by looking at the clothes you could not tell which one you were in. They are all the bloody same, and at the moment, all so drab and depressing.

I know a few years ago the fashions were influenced by the 1980's and almost a bright and garish as one of Jimmy Savilles shell suits. However, it seems that the fasionistas of the world are so un-inventive. Just as the early 1990 was a knee jerk reaction to the 1980's and therefore very drab. It seems today they have to do things in the same order. I think that high street fashion is anything but fashion, but just a way to get the consumerist sheep to part with their pounds.

I used to like shopping, even for clothes, but now its all **** here and **** there. The only vaguely interesting place to shop in Britain is the odd rare shop in London, and slightly more in Camden Town.

Where is the inventiveness these days, it makes me sad and a little angry that the yougsters of today do not have a reactionist or edgy fashion movement. Where has the inventiveness in fashion gone to??

[stuckinthe80's]

Next used to be brilliant in the '80s. The quality was far better then than it is now imo. There was a massive Next in Northumberland Street in Newcastle. It had a Cafe and a hairdressers too!

[Jingbang]

Next quality these days is rubbish a mate of mine used to work at a warehouse where Next returns got sent back to and there was literally lorry fulls turning up every single week.

[Trickyvee]

I must admit I'm fed up with the shops these days. There doesn't seem to be a 'fashion' any more. I used to enjoy keeping up with the latest trends but now it's all the same old same old everywhere. It's mish mash of everything from the past 40 years and none of the shops can decide what they want to be. Next brings the same things out every year YAWN!

[darren]

Where is the inventiveness these days, it makes me sad and a little angry that the yougsters of today do not have a reactionist or edgy fashion movement. Where has the inventiveness in fashion gone to??

i just think fashion designers are afraid to be creative.
it sure seems that way to me.

although its not a bad thing clothes from the seventies and eighties coming back it shows how popular they are.
i myself was never one for fashion or followed any faxhion trends.

[Techno]

I used to buy stuff in Next in the 1980s. Then I just bought underpants and socks, but I stopped buying socks there because the quality deteriorated so much. I still buy underpants there though because they have the best designs.

I think my favourite shop was Concept Man but that changed into River Island and I haven't been into it for years now.

What I long for is a shop that sells thick, stylish pullovers. They are all so thin now, I suppose because they assume that everybody lives with their central heating turned right up. They can be bought in the Edinburgh Woollen Mill but the designs are pretty naff unfortunately.

We have a shop in our town called Slaters, I often go there now because it sells nice stuff cheaper than other places. I think this is because the shop is actually on the first and second floors (ie. it has no shopfront on the ground floor) which makes the rent cheaper and they pass the savings on to the customer. The assistants can be a bit "suits you sir" though.

[HG]

Got to agree about Next, I got a gift voucher for there for my birthday and I struggled to find anything, just ended up getting a jumper with it. Their shirts seem to be the same year after year and the quality of some of the stuff is questionable.

[Trickyvee]

Popular thinking back in the day was that we'd all be wearing silver space age outfits by now, Star Trek style. I think it's about time this came to fruition!

[Richard1978]

I found Debenhams sells reasonable quality clothes at a decent price still, including thick jumpers.

[80sChav]

I think that Clothes Shopping is terrible today, there is too much cloneing with Shop's, though in saying all this I never liked Next that much even back in the day!!

I just love the individual style shop's now not the High Street, not massive Centre's like the Metro Centre or Bluewater or Thurrock Lakeside etc, but i'll try the ones far away from home as a one-off but that's as far as it goes. When you have seen one of these megaq complex's you've seen all of them I think.

Though thinking about Next I used to really rate C&A back in the 80s etc as it had that touch of style that never broke the Wallett - whatever you wanted was a reasonable price generaly, a bit like Greenwoods for smart to sermi casual. How though/por why people compare C&A to Primark today amazes me!