Surprisingly, a post I wrote around this time last year about the ghastliness of M & S clothes is in Battleaxe’s top ten most viewed posts ever. Given that I have been scuffling round Hastings the last few days looking for the last minute little something to take to Madrid, and that included a Marks brush past, I thought I’d do a quick update before I go…..
Isn’t it odd that however many clothes one has in one’s wardrobe – and Battleaxe has loads, believe me – one always wants something different to take on holiday?
That’s beside the point. Back to Marks. The clothes in the previous post were truly dreadful. Has it got any better? Clothing sales continue to decline, Chief Executive Marc Bolland has gone, and Battleaxe still doesn’t buy anything in there apart from Heatgen tops and skinny jeggings.
Now I read that Alexa Chung has been appointed as the ‘new face’ of Marks and Spencer. What? What insane maniac at Head Office dreamed that idea up! In what conceivable universe is a ‘thinspo’ role model skinny girl who has never had a proper job going to appeal to Marks customers? For those who might not know, ‘thinspo’ is stuff for anorexic girls. Lots of ‘proana’ websites feature A Chung’s skeletal limbs and xylophone ribs but my caring computer thoughtfully denies me access to them. These articles from the Daily Mail say it all. (Get this absolutely clear, readers, Battleaxe does not touch the Daily Mail apart from guilty moments with free copies in coffee shops).
I bet some Battleaxe readers have never even heard of Alexa Chung. I only know about her through reading loads of celeb magazines at the hairdressers for the ages it takes for my hair colour to cook. Here she is – a real inspiration for Battleaxes…..
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| Alexa Chung, Glamour, 2015 |
It is high time Marks realised that they are NEVER going to attract youth, and stopped messing about. Just because they sold a few horrible 70s style suede skirts (at £199) as worn by A Chung does not mean that their fortunes have changed. Young women would not be seen dead in those stores. Marks need to ensure that women grow into the store as they get into their thirties.
The core Marks customers are 40+ adult women (and men) – not the real oldsters who wear the ‘classic’ range – who are fashion conscious but who don’t want ditsy, impractical clothes, and don’t want to look frumpy either.
So, what’s available right now down in Marks in Hastings? Some of the stuff is actually slightly better, but I still wouldn’t buy it. Bizarre cuts and garish prints. Skirts either far too short, well above the knee, or far too long and
frumpy, well below the knee. How is it the likes of White Stuff,
Mantaray, Great Plains, Seasalt etc can get skirts just right, but M
& S get them so wrong?
So many things look shapeless and awful on the rails but maybe better on the website.
Yes, they have brought back the t-shirts I liked last year with slightly longer sleeves, but what is it with the colours on display?
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| Bad tunic on the rails |
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| Looks a bit better on the model |
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| Unspeakable…. |
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| Grotesque |
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| Nightmare floral |
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| This skirt is too short |
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| Too long…. |
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| Dress looks dodgy on the rails…. |
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| But actually quite OK on the model – too short though… |
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| Not a bad coat |
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| Good style but ugh – those colours…. |
OK enough……
Argh, I have an overexcited ‘helper’ making major mischief round my feet, shredding my new orange towelling dressing gown, biting the computer leads etc…… Hah, little does he know he’s off to the cattery for a week tomorrow….
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| Digby helps Battleaxe with the writing…. |
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