Whatever Next for my fashion tastes?

By Bag Lady on January 29, 2008 10:52 AM | Permalink

THE new spring campaign from Next is just hitting the shops and I was expecting something really amazing having been told they had overhauled their marketing images this year.

But has anyone noticed a dramatic difference in their look?

That is not to say that I don't like Next clothes, I just tend to think of them as pretty safe. When I am thinking of work outfits I tend to think of Next but would it really be the top choice for a night out?

Isn't it funny how our attitudes towards shops and styles change with the times though?

When I was a student who refused to wear any colour other than black and went for skirts as short as possible and trousers so tight the zips had to be pulled up with a coat hanger (this was the eighties after all) the word Next was enough to send me scurrying to find solace in the latest Sisters of Mercy record.

The truth is that Next was everything that was mundane, middle aged and boring.

So how did that same store become a 'must' on my shopping destinations? Gradually those clothes which I had dismissed as 'grey' began to look more and more attractive and before I knew it I was handing over my credit card for one of their suits.

So has Next changed or is it me?

And even more worrying, does this process continue? Is there an age at which pleated skirts and flowery blouses suddenly look like a good idea? Heaven help me.