Where Have All the Great Fashion Brands Gone? Why Women Are Struggling to Find Clothes They Love

If you've walked into a store lately and wondered why everything looks the same, you're certainly not alone.

I recently spoke with journalist Jessica Yun from The Sydney Morning Herald about something I've been hearing increasingly from my clients: women are struggling to find clothing they actually want to wear. It's not necessarily because they don't know what suits them, or that they don't have the budget to spend. It's that they're walking into stores and simply not feeling inspired by what's on offer.

After 20 years working as a Personal Stylist, I can understand their frustration.

A sea of beige, brown and oversized everything

There's no denying that fashion has embraced a more relaxed aesthetic in recent years. Neutral palettes, oversized silhouettes, wide-leg trousers and loose, unstructured garments have become the dominant look across much of the retail landscape. While there's absolutely a place for these pieces in a modern wardrobe, the problem is that so many brands appear to be offering variations of the same thing.

If you walk through a shopping centre you'll often see the same muted colours, similar shapes and oversized proportions repeated from one retailer to the next. Not every woman wants to dress in oversized linen or head-to-toe neutrals and not every woman feels her best in these silhouettes.

The women who feel forgotten by fashion

One of the most common conversations I have with clients, particularly professional women in their 40s, 50s and 60s, is about where to shop. Many have successful careers, established personal styles and the means to invest in beautiful clothing. They're not necessarily looking to follow every trend, but they do want to look current, polished and interesting.

They don't want to dress like they're 25, but equally, they don't want to look dated. Women want clothing that reflects who they are today. They want quality fabrics, thoughtful design, flattering proportions and pieces that can move between their professional and personal lives.

They also want choice.

A woman in her 50s shouldn't have to choose between something overly youthful and something that feels unnecessarily conservative. There is an enormous amount of space between the two.

Fashion has changed, and so has the way we shop

When I started styling clients two decades ago, the retail landscape looked quite different. There were more clearly defined brands, each with its own aesthetic, customer and point of difference. You could walk into certain stores knowing roughly what you were going to find. Today, fashion moves at a different pace. Trends spread quickly through social media, and retailers are often responding to the same influences at the same time. The result can be a sense of sameness, even across brands operating at very different price points.

There's an overwhelming amount of choice online, yet finding something different and interesting can take hours.

The good news? There are still wonderful brands out there

This is the part I always remind my clients of. There are still some fabulous Australian designers, independent labels and smaller boutiques producing interesting, beautifully considered clothing. They're just not always the brands you see when you walk through your local shopping centre.

Some specialise in beautiful tailoring, others in colour, print, interesting shapes or quality everyday pieces. Some are relatively new, while others have been quietly doing wonderful things for years. As a Stylist, a large part of my work is researching, discovering and keeping across these brands. I'm constantly looking beyond the obvious retailers, exploring new collections, revisiting independent designers and finding pieces that offer something a little different.

Sometimes the perfect garment comes from a well-known Australian label. Other times, it's from a smaller designer my client has never heard of.

That's one of the things I still really enjoy about my work: finding something that a client wouldn't necessarily have discovered themselves.

Personal style shouldn't disappear because a trend takes over

I think it's important to remember that just because something is fashionable doesn't mean it's right for everyone. Oversized clothing can look fantastic when the proportions are considered. Neutrals can be incredibly sophisticated. Relaxed tailoring can feel modern and effortless.

However these are options, not rules.

Some women look and feel wonderful in strong colour, structured jackets, defined waists, beautiful dresses or more tailored silhouettes. There's no reason they should abandon those preferences simply because the shops are currently full of something else, however the most successful wardrobes aren't built around whatever happens to be trending. They're built around the individual: their lifestyle, personality, proportions, preferences and the way they want to present themselves.

Perhaps we need to shop differently

I often encourage clients to move away from the idea that they should be able to walk into one shopping centre and find everything they need. Sometimes finding the right pieces means exploring a different shopping precinct, looking at smaller labels, shopping online with a more informed eye or investing in fewer, better garments.

It can also mean being more selective about what we bring into our wardrobes.

I'd much rather see a client purchase one beautiful piece that they absolutely love and will wear for years than five pieces they are only moderately happy with.

There is still plenty of great fashion to be found

Despite my frustrations with parts of the current retail landscape, I'm certainly not pessimistic about fashion. I still discover wonderful designers, interesting collections and beautiful pieces every week. However, I do think women are having to work harder to find them.

For women who are busy managing careers, families and everything else life throws at them, spending hours searching through endless websites and stores isn't particularly appealing.

Sometimes you just need to know where to look and thats where the advice of a Personal Stylist can be your best support system. Check out the great article HERE.

With style,

Caitlin

Article by Jessica Yun, featured in the Sydney Morning Herald.