Went into Preston today and the options were pretty poor and limited. My go to is pretty much Next, M&S and H&M but the range of anything decent was lacking.
I know there’s online options but it’s nice to physically try the clothes on before buying.
No good options anymore. I have been naked for 3 ½ years.
Charity shops. Fuck feeding fast fashion, poverty wages, and low quality materials for profit.
If the clothes have survived someone else’s use and are still in good enough state that a) they were donated instead of binned and b) they were put out for sale instead of binned, then that implies the quality is good enough to last me a couple years as well.
I know my money is going to charity instead of some fashion CEO who will use it to exploit people as much as possible.
And, I’m reusing or recycling clothes instead of them having to be manufactured from new, thus reducing my carbon footprint.
Apart from no guarantee of what you’ll be able to find, so finding something specific can be difficult, there’s really no downsides. Although depending on your perspective this can also be an upside as it makes shopping less predictable, more spontaneous and thus more fun.
There’s hundreds of charity shops to choose from as well, all with varying causes, layouts, quality, products, etc. Give it a go, make shopping fun again!
The 90s
Still rocking shell suits?
Crop tops and ripped flared jeans. Gotta get that midriff out.
Uniqlo because they actually try to make affordable good quality stuff instead of fast fashion that breaks down after a single wash.
And thrift/vintage shops.
At the moment, George Asda has been my go to for jeans. Can’t stand this obsession with skinny and slim fit legs.
Mainly Next, with a but of M&S, Tesco and Asda. They (and M&S) have a much larger stock online, so I tend to order online but ock and collect in store, so I can order a few in different sizes, try them on for the best fit and return what doesn’t work. That way you get the larger range of options but the convenience of trying them on in-store.
That’s a good idea. The Preston M&S store is really weird, there’s a lot of space in the actual store that’s unutilised, they could add way more clothes.
I used to use a site where you could buy from multiple shops in one go but it actually got bought out by M&S and closed down, haven’t really found a “go to” place since.
Yeah, I lost quite a bit of weight and had to rebuy my wardrobe, often with no idea what my fit is now. So, for example, I looked up what Next had to offer on the trouser front (and back - not making the assless chaps mistake again) and it was a lot so I thought I’d pop into one on the local industrial estate. Unfortunately, they had mile upon mile of racks of jeans and chinos but pretty much nothing else. I had to regroup, go online and order a few in different sizes and cuts, try them on and return the rest.
Best I can tell, the shops have given up being more than glossy showrooms for the basics, and you have to go online for the full range.
Uniqlo or M&S, honestly.
I don’t have the mental energy to deal with primark’s varying quality and sizes any more.
M&S jeans are great - last me as long as stuff like Levis ever used to and cost less than half as much.
Love it.
I love the chinos. Fantastic pockets.
I hate Primark. The stores are always chaotic, the clothes never quite fit right and they fall to bits far too quickly.
Great for kids clothes though.
Don’t forget hunting through the trousers rack for the one pair that is your size.
Only to find it’s not there, and you have to contemplate their skinny options (newsflash: The regular fit is skinny, the skinny are basically spray-on jeans for people without leg muscles).
Asket has some nice (albeit expensive) options. They have a capsule wardrobe mindset, so you have fewer clothes of higher quality.
For about a decade or so only online. Mostly Ebay or Amazon, but also Etsy. I hate shopping, most product listings have sizing guides and if it doesn’t fit you can return it fairly easily. Been thinking about buying some stuff from https://techwear-uk.com/ recently.
Pretty basic here, H&M or Zara with the occasional visit to TK Maxx and Fat Face. Found my fake leather jacket through TK Maxx, feels like visiting the local second hand record shop as 85% of visits have nothing in my style in but I’ll see something that interests me the other times.
I have enough shirts though, (too many) music related but occasionally based on TV/game franchises
Rock concerts. I only wear black band t-shirts. Bit expensive, though.
Almost exclusively buying second-hand through grailed the last few years. Takes some effort like going to a second hand shop, but I find great deals on new or gently used brands I couldn’t otherwise afford
I’m mainly shopping in Uniqlo now. Assume that’s the Manchester Arndale store nearest for you.
Browsing various stores, don’t go for cheap stuff at Primark, try go for better stuff. 90% of the time you will walk out with nothing, 9% of the time you will find something decent you like, 1% of the time you find an entire rack of stuff and will be good for the next 5 years…
Aim for the sales really, however much better a crew t-shirt is… It’s not £50 good…
Stores: Crew White stuff Next M&S (mostly work stuff) Tesco (socks only!)
I really have no idea, I don’t even know if some shops sell mens stuff.
TX Maxx mostly.
