So Mary Portas's show, Mary Queen of Frocks, revealed her collection of clothes for women in their 40s on Tuesday night, Portas tweeting throughout in a huge advertisement for the House of Fraser store which has been quietly trading for eight weeks.
I'm six months off 40, so I have a keen interest in this market, and Portas is right that there could be more choice, but I doubt that her mini collection will solve the problem. Her so-called "no-brainer" dress will look to many like an asymmetrical sack. The shirt and sweater contain too much viscose (I'm a fabric snob, but, hey, I'm nearing 40, so I'm allowed to be particular). So where else to go?
The problem is that the fashion disenfranchisement works on two levels: the clothes and the ambience. The perfect coat might be waiting for you in Topshop or Selfridges, but you'd never find it because those shops seem labyrinthine now (it's hard to find your way when the music's so loud).
There is Whistles, with its sharp trousers and silken dresses, but you need to shop the bottom of the range to find anything for less than £100, and since the bottom of the Maxmara collections is scarcely pricier, I'd sooner go there: the clothes last for years. Hobbs will welcome you and, if you try on enough items, might have something for you. Cos will not make you feel out of place, but you need a taste for the austere and architectural.
Gap (scruffy, small fitting rooms), Uniqlo (bigger ones), Toast, Jigsaw, APC, Comptoir des Cotonniers, The White Company (good white shirts) and Jaeger all have plenty to offer at different price points. And, crucially for this season, you won't find a better pencil skirt than at Zara. Avoid crowds of youthful folk and go in the morning when teenagers are still in bed.
