Favourite Clothing range

Cowley said:

Thread reopened for @TT-ONR-NRN to update us on his threads…

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Very good!

TT-ONR-NRN said:

Well all, I couldn’t resist updating you on the very sad news

This coat, as we know, sparked the discussion

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And, alas, today we lost her

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Lesson learned. Check the temperature.

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RIP

I think you’re supposed to wash them on cold?

TT-ONR-NRN said:

Lesson learned. Check the temperature.

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surely dry clean only!

It’s not gone well.

DarloRich said:

surely dry clean only!

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It actually says Do Not Dry Clean on the tag

TT-ONR-NRN said:

It actually says Do Not Dry Clean on the tag

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world has gone mad!

( we have all ruined something in the wash - don't beat yourself up)

DarloRich said:

world has gone mad!

( we have all ruined something in the wash - don't beat yourself up)

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Thanks, although it’s £350 for a new one

TT-ONR-NRN said:

Thanks, although it’s £350 for a new one

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there has to be pain to learn the lesson

TT-ONR-NRN said:

Thanks, although it’s £350 for a new one

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If you’re not wanting that specific colour, I did see some cheaper earlier this week, perhaps an opportunity to refresh your look:

Got my last jackets & coats from a (non-chain) tailor near Middleton bus station - good quality at reasonable prices. Have also used TJ Hughes, Primark and TK Maxx in recent years, also Burton until they closed. Local M&S (now closed) never seemed to have enough choice of colours & sizes. Would never buy coats from internet, as I like to try on items before purchase, and cannot be bothered trying to return to seller.

Used to buy big-name (at that time) shirts such as "Old England", but found the collars and cuffs frayed all too quickly. Then bought a lot of cheapish shirts from market stalls -- and many are still in good condition after about 30-40 years of regular use (and washing).

Underwear - stopped buying cotton underpants as they wore out too quickly. Now use non-cotton stretch briefs from Primark, or sometimes, nylon swim briefs that I got cheap in a closing down sale.

Socks - "Gentle Grip" socks I find to be very comfortable - they don't have over-tight elastic at the top, and they seem to wear pretty well. I always buy them all with the same colour - those multi-coloured mixtures are stupid as identical socks rarely develop holes at the same time - unless you don't mind wearing odd socks. Seem to be mostly available at market stalls.

DarloRich said:

there has to be pain to learn the lesson

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The pain is looking back at the first page of the thread. What a plonker I was. It's sickening.

Iskra said:

If you’re not wanting that specific colour, I did see some cheaper earlier this week, perhaps an opportunity to refresh your look:

Search: 31 results found for "north face jacket"

Urban Industry, A Leading Independent Men’s Clothing Store established over 20 years ago with an ‘Excellent’ Rating from our global customers. A go-to destination for premium menswear brands, outdoor technical wear, classic & contemporary fashion and streetwear. From the UK - Shipping globally...

www.urbanindustry.co.uk

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Ah thank you I do have three other winter coats at the moment, so I may be okay for a bit, but it's a shame to lose my favourite.

TT-ONR-NRN said:

Thanks, although it’s £350 for a new one

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Crikey! I paid less than that for a Barbour!

I won't say "I don't give a toss about brands" although as a general rule I don't... though there are certain brands I consider worthy of a slight premium compared to the cheap stuff you get at the likes of Primark. When it comes to branding on the garments themselves I'm definitely in the "less is more" camp. I'm now north of 40, so it's acceptable for me to wear clothes from places like Joe Brown's and Fat Face. Superdry have some nice looking clothes but much of it is a bit too full-on with the visible branding, and they probably wouldn't be too keen on over-40s wearing their stuff! They're also a bit pricey unless there's a sale on.

EDIT: Hadn't realised this was an old thread that's been revived, and one which I'd already contributed to. Interesting to see how much (or how little) my and others tastes have changed over the years!

61653 HTAFC said:

Superdry have some nice looking clothes but much of it is a bit too full-on with the visible branding, and they probably wouldn't be too keen on over-40s wearing their stuff! They're also a bit pricey unless there's a sale on.

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I have a relative that managed to snag two Superdry zip-up duffle jackets ~8 years ago, new in store, for ~£30 each! Not sure if those kinds of sale prices exist anymore.

TT-ONR-NRN said:

Thanks, although it’s £350 for a new one

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If you have found a specific item that you would like to buy again, but don't want to pay £££ for it, set up an specific eBay search with the exact size and style, and the price that you would pay. You can then set it to get an email when one is listed.

Not only that but the Union Flag in your picture is the wrong way round!

Most of my (day to day) clothing is from Mountain Warehouse, Go Outdoors and Sports Direct, plus a few items from Sainsbury's/Next/M&S. I am very "unfashionable" - I don't like jeans, or any branded items. Plain is the way to go!

Stock clothing for me is cargo trousers, plain T shirt. Jumper/fleece of varying warmth depending on the temperature (most of these are university society branded items). Almost always my trusty black waterproof(ish) coat on top, unless it's the middle of summer - I've had this coat for probably approaching a decade and it's still fine, apart from the velcro bits no longer being sticky. Was fairly cheap, no more than £50 at the time. Shoes either robust trainers (with half the sole on one shoe no longer being fully attached!) or "walking trainers".
Going up a level of formality, trousers get swapped for either black/navy "semi-smart" items (there's probably a name) or smart black, and a smart shirt (white or pale blue; assorted sources, including charity shops). When required, a plain navy V neck jumper adds warmth. Smart black shoes (from Clarks, had them at school and they're still fine, although admittedly I don't wear them too often). I also have some smart black shirts for "all black" occasions, eg: concerts.
At the top level, I have a black suit and a blue suit (Slater's), plus a grey jacket (Next, massive discount). Components can be mixed and matched if desired.

I also have a couple of proper outdoor clothing for hiking, mainly some reasonable outdoor trousers (Go Outdoors) and a few "performance" shirts (Mountain Warehouse) and fleece (Mountain Equipment), plus walking boots (Berghaus)*. I've also recently bought a very waterproof coat (no more than £100) and a few thermal items (all Mountain Warehouse; their student discount is quite handy!), but generally my normal day to day clothing is fine for outdoor activities (unless the weather is poor).

I would like, at some point, to get a full Peaky Blinders-style clothing set, just because. But other than that, I have no particular desires; items are replaced occasionally if they get too ragged, but that's mainly it.

*Fun story - I did a weekend of hiking in the Peak District before Christmas. In £26 Sports Direct steel toes...
(I may have picked up the wrong bag of shoes on the way out of the house My "task" shoes live in bags, usually because they're muddy)

I hadn’t seen this thread until now, and was actually thinking of starting my own which would have been titled “What’s in your wardrobe?”, inspired by a conversation I had with some colleagues recently.

Anyway, I have loads of Lacoste gear (everything from hats to trainers), quite a few Fred Perry items (tops mostly), a number of Ralph Lauren shirts, a handful Tommy Hilfiger jumpers (I like their knitwear but not much else!), and various Belstaff items. I don’t always buy designer jeans; I find the slim fit “360 flex” or whatever they’re called in M&S quite good for day to day duties.

For coats and jackets I tend to stick to Belstaff and Barbour (I am from the North East after all!). I also have a very nice Burberry mac that I never wear…

For trainers I wear mainly Lacoste, and for boots and formal shoes it’s largely Loake, Barker or Trickers.

Whilst the above may sound like textbook brand snobbery, the thing is it all lasts. I actually end up giving stuff away sometimes, long before it’s life expired. I’m really not into “fast fashion” but I appreciate people have different clothing budgets.

Speaking as an oldie, apaprt from smart casual when going somewhere special, (or two piece suits if it's a funeral), most of my time is in outdoor clothing: trousers/shorts I prefer Craghoppers, they have reasonable life, dry quickly and are comfortable all day. I wear Jack Wolfskin fleeces, I've got one 100 Nanuk for summer nighjts and in between weather, a 150Nanuk mid weight that is good for most weather except the coldest days and three different 200 Nanuk heavy fleeces, all of them have tafeta lined sleeves which greatly helps in cold windy days. Also all but the lightest fleece have system zips so they can be installed in the Wolfskin shell that I have. excellent quality products.
I also have a couple of other 'leading brand' fleeces, Berhaus and TNF, but they don't come anywhere near the Wolfskin ones.

TT-ONR-NRN said:

The pain is looking back at the first page of the thread. What a plonker I was. It's sickening.

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I used to think that when I'd go back and look at my 2004 era postings on UKTrainSim. My most common thought was "I really hope nobody ever reads this again".

TT-ONR-NRN said:

Thanks, although it’s £350 for a new one

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I just got another Nuptse (coal brown) for £150, although they're sold out now. Thats about 8 North Face jackets now, excluding any other brands.

TT-ONR-NRN said:

It actually says Do Not Dry Clean on the tag

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Puffer coats are difficult to wash, I had a Superdry bodywarmer which I put on a cold wash but all of the filling inside it lumped together and nothing I tried worked to fix it.

We live and learn!

Russel said:

Puffer coats are difficult to wash, I had a Superdry bodywarmer which I put on a cold wash but all of the filling inside it lumped together and nothing I tried worked to fix it.

We live and learn!

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I got Alpkit to wash my down jacket. They also did a really good repair to a rip.

They charge £40 to wash a down jacket, but its cheaper than a replacement. They repair any make of clothing. https://alpkit.com/pages/repair-station

I've also used https://www.rohan.co.uk/servicecentre/ to resew a big rip in a jacket.

Its easy to replace worn velcro at the cuffs of a jacket yourself, or should be about £10 to get someone to do it for you.

https://keycobbler.co.uk/ resoled a pair of Dr Martens boots. It costs £70 for a new sole and polish but ended up better than new - with a new sole, but the uppers were already broken in.

32475 said:

Not only that but the Union Flag in your picture is the wrong way round!

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No such thing as "wrong way round" if it's a real flag flying from a flagpole like that is. The flagpole is simply to the right, not the left.

One brand I discovered for t-shirts the past year or so is Crew Clothing, although their sizing can be inconsistent as mentioned in another thread (sometimes their XLs fit fine, other times they're a bit on the snug side), they do seem well made from decent fabric and the sizes are in the right proportions for me, ie for a t-shirt which fits my chest measurement, the neck sizing and garment length feel right.

gg1 said:

One brand I discovered for t-shirts the past year or so is Crew Clothing, although their sizing can be inconsistent as mentioned in another thread (sometimes their XLs fit fine, other times they're a bit on the snug side), they do seem well made from decent fabric and the sizes are in the right proportions for me, ie for a t-shirt which fits my chest measurement, the neck sizing and garment length feel right.

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Inconsistent sizing seems to be common across most brands now.

I generally either go to Primark or TK Maxx and see what they've got, helps to know your european/german sizing for TK Maxx. Usually something colourful. Work trousers though are cheapo Uneek navy blue ones that work supply or I go on eBay if I want some spares.

As for puffer jackets, I have a couple of Members Only Nickelodeon jackets that have washed fine at 30 degrees, think I just used a normal cotton wash with my other washing.

32475 said:

Not only that but the Union Flag in your picture is the wrong way round!

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Meanie

I always find it quite refreshing when you see a younger enthusiast in his teens, 20s, 30s and they are wearing the latest trainers, your £300 North Face jacket etc and therefore look like everyone else in this age bracket rather than standing out in a negative way

Without wanting to offend, there is often a negative reputation of rail enthusiasts and if the hobby is to continue and modernise and it needs to shake off this image of someone wearing an anorak they bought 20 years ago and probably last washed 10 years ago. It’s probably this reputation why many people keep the interest a secret in their younger years.

Andyh82 said:

I always find it quite refreshing when you see a younger enthusiast in his teens, 20s, 30s and they are wearing the latest trainers, your £300 North Face jacket etc and therefore look like everyone else in this age bracket rather than standing out in a negative way

Without wanting to offend, there is often a negative reputation of rail enthusiasts and if the hobby is to continue and modernise and it needs to shake off this image of someone wearing an anorak they bought 20 years ago and probably last washed 10 years ago. It’s probably this reputation why many people keep the interest a secret in their younger years.

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Alas, it seems that to do so instead attracts ridicule from within the enthusiast community

A definite no-no for me is anything with the label on the outside. Otherwise I tend to buy from a range of companies whose quality and sizing I trust.

Andyh82 said:

I always find it quite refreshing when you see a younger enthusiast in his teens, 20s, 30s and they are wearing the latest trainers, your £300 North Face jacket etc and therefore look like everyone else in this age bracket rather than standing out in a negative way

Without wanting to offend, there is often a negative reputation of rail enthusiasts and if the hobby is to continue and modernise and it needs to shake off this image of someone wearing an anorak they bought 20 years ago and probably last washed 10 years ago. It’s probably this reputation why many people keep the interest a secret in their younger years.

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I mean I am a retired model tbf, so probably not a fair comparison in that I wouldn’t say clothes are completely transformational, but I appreciate it

Why not replace white with yellow, I thought today. Colour coordination and that