Morning:
10°c
For years I've been lying about my wardrobe. It started with a plunge-neck, figure-hugging evening dress. Then there were the skirts - a flippy, knee-length A-line, and a pencil skirt with a box pleat. A silky smock and two super-flattering cashmere cardigans kept the deception going.
Only this month, after being praised for my little black cocktail dress with its clever satin twist, did I finally confess: all my best clothes were bought in Marks & Spencer. Not my most expensive outfits (they're all hanging, gently worn, on my bedroom rail) but the garments that get the biggest compliments and the most wear.
There's a certain cachet about declaring your Prada-esque coat is a £30 Zara rip-off. But say the evening dress your friends are oohing over was £19.99 from M&S (that's really what it cost) and you risk blowing your cool as well as your cover. In M&S you're hard pressed to spend more than £60 on staples you'll wear again and again. The store needs to spread the word that, wear for wear, they're the cheapest shop in town.
Poor old M&S. Despite this week's drop in profits, it's been getting it right for years - with scant appreciation. Admittedly, the ugly Per Una range leaves me baffled and I felt personally affronted by the over-hyped and tacky Patricia Field collection. But that's what happens when your connection to a store is so emotional - for most Brits, it goes back generations.
Yet like a favourite auntie, Marks often forgets to boast about its best assets. Who knew that those party dresses in store windows now were also recession-proof? Take my cocktail dress (£45), snapped up this week in 10 minutes when a post-work dinner came out of the blue. Like the other sharp little numbers in the same collection, it's a classic cut that nods to the season's trend for shifts and shimmer. I know I'll wear it a dozen times before Christmas.
And when it comes to sizing, the shop is almost alone in offering such a full range. I'm not the only size 14 who knows that if all else fails, you can buy something in black that'll fit at M&S. In your tea break.
Let's give the guys at Marks and Sparks a break: their store deserves some credit, especially in the economic crunch. It's taken on board the concerns of real women with realistic wage packets. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to M&S to stock up on pants.
Reader views (2)
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- Chris Lawrence, burnley, 06/04/2009 14:07
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I'm totally with you! As I sit here in my 3 year old black broderie anglais pencil skirt (so unusual and always complimented upon)I know that my most wearable and flattering classic clothes seem always to be from good old M&S who probably make up around 70% of my work wardrobe. It's discreetly stylish, easily affordable and most of it lasts well enough. More than once I've wished I had bought an item in duplicate (or even triplicate) so much have I enjoyed it.
- S.Robertsonfleck, London NW2, 06/11/2008 13:37
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