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I'm still not over Oasis or Warehouse, I have so many clothes from each of them (before they were sold to Boohoo) and still get compliments.Never thought Topshop would go! I’m actually still gutted about it
Same, oasis was so good for smart but reasonable dresses. I think pretty much everything I have worn to weddings was from there, such good quality
Oasis had lots of nice smart little dresses for the office too. I used to buy suit jackets in Warehouse for work and really liked them too. Such a shame
Yeh I have some from there too, and its all stuff which I've had for over 5 years and still totally perfect condition. Nothing equivalent now imo. Not clothes related but I can't believe wilkos is closing
It's crazy how the high street has changed even in the last 5 yearsNever thought Topshop would go! I’m actually still gutted about it
I actually really miss Dorothy Perkins, I didn't even shop there much towards the end, but around 2008-13 they did really nice jeans/ boots/ jumpersMermaid456 this is so kind of you, I'm going to take a look through ALL of these you wonderful person
I find Levi's have accurate waist sizing but their cotton styles are stiffer. On their own website they have some description on how it fits and it'll give an idea on whether it is regular, loose or slim fitting. I'm pear-shaped and like their 501s but they're more straight and looser cut compared to skinny jeans so more room for my hips.
You're right, I've ordered a handful of new Topshop stuff from ASOS and returned it all cause none of it has been any good!
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Good luck! I really hope you find a pair you loveMermaid456 this is so kind of you, I'm going to take a look through ALL of these you wonderful person
Any fellow Londoners ever been to Roman Road market?
It was pretty shocking just how much high street stuff was there, being sold for absolute peanuts. Topshop jeans were £10 and they were more expensive..
Was a bit of an eye opener on how cheap this stuff must be to make in reality, if market stall sellers can still sell them for a profit for a few quid.
It was pretty shocking just how much high street stuff was there, being sold for absolute peanuts. Topshop jeans were £10 and they were more expensive..
Was a bit of an eye opener on how cheap this stuff must be to make in reality, if market stall sellers can still sell them for a profit for a few quid.
I haven't for ages but I might go and see! Did you go recently?
You realise how much things are marked up!
Haven’t been to Roman road in ages!
Yep! I went today! Can’t believe it’s taken me so long tbh.
On one hand I get why we need these types of market: it provides jobs and clothing for the traditionally less well off. Lots of migrant communities and old school east Enders.
And I’m assuming selling it off to these stall holders is a way for fast fashion companies to recoup a small profit/break even, while avoiding landfill…
But at the same time, holy hell it was cheap. And so many high street brands. primark, next, river island, asos design, topshop, marks and Spencers, in the style, Wallis, principles, Karen Millen, cos, kangol, rocket dog…
Most of them were being sold for less than £15. Very often much less.
But jeez… it kinda made me realise just how much clothing must be overproduced for it to trickle down this way? It probably wasn’t *this* season and maybe even from a year or two ago, but none of it looked u fashionable or out of date, which is a testament to just how much waste there is in fast fashion.
Once upon a time the poor would be dressed in “shoddy” or noticeable old clothing, because clothing production was so long, relatively slow and expensive. Good quality clothing would last years and be passed on to other people then mended and reminded before finally, maybe, being given to the rag and bone man.
Obviously having people dressed in rags isn’t the aim , but it shows how rapidly the industry has changed in a very short space of time.
We’ve basically just exported poverty elsewhere. The Victorian child labour factories which we decided we didn’t want here in the U.K., we now source from abroad. I’m struggling to see how it’s much better than colonialism or slavery in all honesty, which is the hot topic of the day. Like, what is the point in reading the guardian and talking about reparations to the likes of Grendada when… slavery is literally still happening? How is a sugar plantation in Jamaica run by slaves much different to an ASOS supplier in China, with child Labour and slave-like working conditions? We do the exact same thing that the old plantation owners did, basically turn a blind eye because it’s abroad. In 100 years our descendants will be talking about us in similar terms.
Anyway, sorry for getting on a soap box. I didn’t expect it to hit me like it did? I didn’t go for shopping really (thought I was tempted to buy a pair of M&S linen shorts for a fiver!), more out of curiosity.
I buy the vast majority of my clothing second hand so I duno what my views would be on buying from the market this way? On one hand, is it still creating demand the way buying direct from fast fashion brands is? I don’t really think so. It doesn’t feel much different to buying something new from EBay after someone’s left it in the back of their wardrobe for too long and couldn’t return.
On the other hand… it felt like I shouldn’t be buying from there. Would fast fashion companies still produce as much as they do if markets like this weren’t a viable option for them to offload stock..?
Interested in what other people’s thoughts are? Has anyone else bought from there?
Really interesting points @cee-bee
I also think the prices sold at the market shows how much of a mark up it’s sold on the high street, a lot of it is a complete rip off - I’ve seen ASOS charge £100 for shoddy cut, poorly sewn polyester dresses. It’s not different that with luxury items too. I’d see the prices these clothes are sold at the market akin to an item being on sale
As usual with living in a capitalist society, they sell us the idea that we can have everything we want for a cheaper price, and super quickly and get us addicted to it - we can buy a different outfit each weekend, and toss it in the corner afterwards never to be seen again. Then we’re blamed for overconsumption, which is correct to an extent but companies are also to blame. At the beginning many of us were guilty of buying an outfit and only wearing it once, but now we have more information on how it’s affecting the world there’s really no excuses anymore to still shop how we did.
Companies like Shein and now Temu are the real threat at the moment, the reality is most people don’t care about how fast fashion affects the world and aren’t bothered about being mindful, they want cheap and quick - especially as we’re living through a cost of living crisis
My shopping habits have changed massively over the years, I definitely shop less and do the odd impulse purchase, mainly buy second hand and nowhere near as bad as before. Companies like ASOS are a bit of a scam now as the quality of their clothes is dogshit these days, but they’re not doing as well as they used to so who knows the future of these companies. Never in a million years I thought a company like Topshop would go out of business!
I also think the prices sold at the market shows how much of a mark up it’s sold on the high street, a lot of it is a complete rip off - I’ve seen ASOS charge £100 for shoddy cut, poorly sewn polyester dresses. It’s not different that with luxury items too. I’d see the prices these clothes are sold at the market akin to an item being on sale
As usual with living in a capitalist society, they sell us the idea that we can have everything we want for a cheaper price, and super quickly and get us addicted to it - we can buy a different outfit each weekend, and toss it in the corner afterwards never to be seen again. Then we’re blamed for overconsumption, which is correct to an extent but companies are also to blame. At the beginning many of us were guilty of buying an outfit and only wearing it once, but now we have more information on how it’s affecting the world there’s really no excuses anymore to still shop how we did.
Companies like Shein and now Temu are the real threat at the moment, the reality is most people don’t care about how fast fashion affects the world and aren’t bothered about being mindful, they want cheap and quick - especially as we’re living through a cost of living crisis
My shopping habits have changed massively over the years, I definitely shop less and do the odd impulse purchase, mainly buy second hand and nowhere near as bad as before. Companies like ASOS are a bit of a scam now as the quality of their clothes is dogshit these days, but they’re not doing as well as they used to so who knows the future of these companies. Never in a million years I thought a company like Topshop would go out of business!
Great points @cee-bee and I think you're totally right. We've outsourced slave labour to faraway countries so that there's a real disconnect between the conditions our clothes are made in and the affordability of them. Though factories in Leicester were caught paying slave labour to make Boohoo's clothes and that hasn't affected their bottom line.
I hadn't heard of Roman Road market but if it is just getting rid of excess clothes (and presumably at a loss) then it seems like a good thing. A lot of our excess clothing, even charity shop clothing, ends up in poorer countries, disrupting their economies and traditional clothing manufacture there. As long as it doesn't become like some outlet stores such as TK Maxx where brands are creating lower quality pieces specifically for the outlet. But this seems small scale so I don't think that would be the case.
We seem to have taken major steps backwards. Fast fashion is even more disposable now. At least in the heyday of Topshop Jane Shepherdson (who was the brand director for many years after working her way up) actually believed in good quality clothing that was fashionable and interesting. Philip Green coming in marked a huge drop in quality and is the reason she eventually left. Interestingly all of these big fast fashion brands are owned by men, they don't actually care about women's clothes and they're perpetuating cycles of shopping and it's kinda gross.
I hadn't heard of Roman Road market but if it is just getting rid of excess clothes (and presumably at a loss) then it seems like a good thing. A lot of our excess clothing, even charity shop clothing, ends up in poorer countries, disrupting their economies and traditional clothing manufacture there. As long as it doesn't become like some outlet stores such as TK Maxx where brands are creating lower quality pieces specifically for the outlet. But this seems small scale so I don't think that would be the case.
Unfortunately the biggest hurdle is shein (and temu) and I think everyone needs to commit to never buying from there simply because they produce SO much more than even other ultra fast fashion brands
We seem to have taken major steps backwards. Fast fashion is even more disposable now. At least in the heyday of Topshop Jane Shepherdson (who was the brand director for many years after working her way up) actually believed in good quality clothing that was fashionable and interesting. Philip Green coming in marked a huge drop in quality and is the reason she eventually left. Interestingly all of these big fast fashion brands are owned by men, they don't actually care about women's clothes and they're perpetuating cycles of shopping and it's kinda gross.
so true! I learned alot from the topshop doc
I was obsessed with the Kate Moss Topshop waistcoats! I used to wear one with everything. And the Topshop Baxter jeans were a classic!
Phil Green destroyed topshop. The only reason it failed was because he gave up on it and let it fail. He’d gotten what he wanted from it (presumably entry into the fashion world and beautiful women to perve on). He’s a leach of a man. The whole family are horrendous people.
Someone I once knew was a director at Arcadia back in the early naughties. She told me a top that sold for £20 would have a unit price to them of 50p.
She also told me Philip Green was a horrible bleep. All the staff hated him.
She also told me Philip Green was a horrible bleep. All the staff hated him.
I’ve been keeping an eye on Vinted for some Topshop peep toe flats I had in Year 10. They were green, polka dot with a bow on the front. I used to wear them to school every day (against uniform code because I thought I was really cool and rebellious…).
They used to STINK to high heaven and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I still had them.
Clothes shopping just doesn’t hit the same as it did in 2005 when I couldn’t afford to buy anything more than a plain vest from Topshop.
They used to STINK to high heaven and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I still had them.
Clothes shopping just doesn’t hit the same as it did in 2005 when I couldn’t afford to buy anything more than a plain vest from Topshop.
Makes sense.
I don’t even think they are being sold at a loss on Roman road. That’s the tragedy of it.
I reckon a standard top is made for about 50p
I reckon the high street brand sells it for £40, make a profit of £35 which mostly goes to shareholders and high level corporate staff.
If it doesn’t sell, they sell it for £1 to market holders, still making a 50p profit or breaking even depending on overheads.
I reckon the stall holders sell it for £5 and make a £4 profit, but still a small profit.
The only losers in the scenario are the factory workers who were probably paid 3p to make the item.
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