Does a big bad shopping mistake you cannot return make you need to rant?

I used to really love super dry clothing 10 years ago. I work in fashion. I should be up to speed with whats happening across high st brands. I was at Pitti Uomo in Florence recently, a massive fashion trade show and I saw the Superdrug stand as they launched their Autumn winter 2026 menswear with the same preppy, heritage and outdoor influences we expect from Superdry. To be fair I was impressed with the offering, particularly the sustainability pitch and goals to be net zero by 2030.

So I bought a coat online, in the sale when I got back. The grim weather at the beginning of January compelled the purchase, my legs and bum were cold and wet in the ski type jackets I had and the only long coat I have, a riding coat doesn’t have a hood so I went in search of something to solve these problems. There are a lot of padded long coats around but when I saw the long maxi hooded puffer coat reduced down to £116 from £170 I thought this was a great deal. I didn’t expect it to be the quality of a moncler or Canada goose, or even lesser known Bosideng the Chinese artic brand British designer Kim Jones from Dior menswear has joined or marimekko the Finnish house known for its creative collaboration with high st brand known for it’s better than average quality Uniqlo. I had even considered investing in a mountaineering and hiking brand from Colorado, USA Holubar or Holzweiler from Oslo Norway where sustainability and animal welfare is at the heart of all they do, I love this brand but on this occasion my budget didn’t stretch that far and although I looked I couldn’t find one secondhand.

When my new coat arrived I remembered why I don’t buy fast fashion anymore, yeah I know superdry is supposed to be a bit better than say a Shein, Zara or Primark but it’s still the High St. The coat is made from recycled polyester but that’s where the style vs quality vs design vs ethics stop. I put it on and the garment was mainstream beige.

I bought a size 8 and the coat was so massive it would fit a size 14. It absolutely drowned me except the hood, where I wanted something over sized so it stays on, it was cut really small so kept falling down even when it wasn’t windy.

For me the coat felt like it had come from Tesco not Super dry; the finish, the stitching the zippers very basic, when I think about my perception of the brands and what they offer.

It got me thinking about shopping mistakes and how we make them, how a brand can create a picture in our minds. Like I said I haven’t bought anything from Superdry for probably 10 years, maybe even 15 and then the one positive interaction at the trade show put them back in my orbit, on my radar. A need, a quick browse online, some cute marketing pictures and bam I was sold, only to discover the dream, the illusion was shattered when the garment arrived.

I was on a budget, didn’t want to drop the £500 for the coat quality I like so you might be thinking what do you expect for £120. And yes you’d be right. This rant is more about my own shopping drivers and a reminder for me why I prefer to shop secondhand preloved. The urgency of the cold weather and needing a better coat, my interaction at the trade show and great marketing made me buy something that ended up being a mistake. I should have known better from experience.

To sum up, the coat was a good deal if you’ve been into the Superdry shop, tried it on and decided you liked it at £170. They are now on sale at £115. However if you are making an impulse purchase because of the weather based on fondly remembering the “Superdry” of days gone by, probably along with Jack Wills, Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap, Old Navy plus a whole load of other preppy brands I used to support but haven’t shopped with for over a decade, it’s not the same as it used to be, then again maybe I am not the same either.

The moral of the story, find what you like and stick to it and if you can’t afford it, don’t convince yourself it’ll be fine, it won’t. Save up instead or find what you need secondhand.

In this case the fault was mine not Superdry’s, the coat arrived exactly the coat I purchased, it was my expectation created by clever images and not enough recent in store experience that caused the disappointment.