H&M vs Zara

[Willissatin1501]

I have always been a fan of satin from H&M, their 2022 autumn/winter range being my favourite with their thick satin slip dresses, shirts and skirts.

I have always wanted to buy a satin item from Zara as they always looked shiny and well fitting but the prices have always been too much to justify, even on vinted, but I got lucky with a bargain and bought a bright shiny pink slip dress through vinted and it arrived to day and… what a disappointment. It was more nylon than satin, yes it was smooth and had a bit of shine to it in certain light but other than that it definitely wasn’t satin smooth. At least I paid £6 instead of £45 retail price!

Is this just a rogue item and do Zara have a much better range of satin items (ie their blouses?) or is H&M the way to go? I’ve attached a photo of the Zara dress and the red slip dress is from H&M

[simonr]

I have always been a fan of satin from H&M, their 2022 autumn/winter range being my favourite with their thick satin slip dresses, shirts and skirts.

I have always wanted to buy a satin item from Zara as they always looked shiny and well fitting but the prices have always been too much to justify, even on vinted, but I got lucky with a bargain and bought a bright shiny pink slip dress through vinted and it arrived to day and… what a disappointment. It was more nylon than satin, yes it was smooth and had a bit of shine to it in certain light but other than that it definitely wasn’t satin smooth. At least I paid £6 instead of £45 retail price!

Is this just a rogue item and do Zara have a much better range of satin items (ie their blouses?) or is H&M the way to go? I’ve attached a photo of the Zara dress and the red slip dress is from H&M

I've always had a love-hate relationship with shopping for satin online. On the one hand, there is a huge variety to choose from. On the other hand, it's really hard to judge the quality of the fabric from just the photos. A satin dress can look so soft and silky in the seller's photos, but turn out to be rough.

Because of this, I've gone old-school recently and been visiting brick-and-mortar stores more often. In those visits, I've not found any Zara satin that wowed me. H&M, on the other hand, has turned up some real surprises.

They make several variants of the red dress in your photo. It's made in blue, lilac, white, brown, red and pink. I've sampled most of them in-store, and the blue one has a very silky satin fabric. More recently, I've also discovered a khaki dress that has THE silkiest satin in my collection. I've also found a white long-sleeve blouse that's very shiny.

[Willissatin1501]

I have always been a fan of satin from H&M, their 2022 autumn/winter range being my favourite with their thick satin slip dresses, shirts and skirts.

I have always wanted to buy a satin item from Zara as they always looked shiny and well fitting but the prices have always been too much to justify, even on vinted, but I got lucky with a bargain and bought a bright shiny pink slip dress through vinted and it arrived to day and… what a disappointment. It was more nylon than satin, yes it was smooth and had a bit of shine to it in certain light but other than that it definitely wasn’t satin smooth. At least I paid £6 instead of £45 retail price!

Is this just a rogue item and do Zara have a much better range of satin items (ie their blouses?) or is H&M the way to go? I’ve attached a photo of the Zara dress and the red slip dress is from H&M

I've always had a love-hate relationship with shopping for satin online. On the one hand, there is a huge variety to choose from. On the other hand, it's really hard to judge the quality of the fabric from just the photos. A satin dress can look so soft and silky in the seller's photos, but turn out to be rough.

Because of this, I've gone old-school recently and been visiting brick-and-mortar stores more often. In those visits, I've not found any Zara satin that wowed me. H&M, on the other hand, has turned up some real surprises.

They make several variants of the red dress in your photo. It's made in blue, lilac, white, brown, red and pink. I've sampled most of them in-store, and the blue one has a very silky satin fabric. More recently, I've also discovered a khaki dress that has THE silkiest satin in my collection. I've also found a white long-sleeve blouse that's very shiny.

hmgoepprod.jpg
l_wp_64f8927b4bc655cbbd0cc4a9.jpeg

Them slip dresses are something else, I’ve got the brown and black one currently with my eyes on the red, purple and white slips. They do a long version of the black and purple and they look great too. Their shirts are definitely up there for me.

The khaki dress is something I definitely want to buy

[SatinAddix]

Shopping online is a gamble but you just never see any decent satin for sale in the shops. It is a gamble.....I have around 60 nice satin items that I wear but have probably ordered around 200 in total nd a lot have looked great in photos but not in reality. I buy almost 100 percent fr ebay , there's some amazing satin on there but I find the older the better...but anything with a BHS label is generally thick and with a lovely feel and sheen. I must check out H and M or Zara

[simonr]

Them slip dresses are something else, I’ve got the brown and black one currently with my eyes on the red, purple and white slips. They do a long version of the black and purple and they look great too. Their shirts are definitely up there for me.

The khaki dress is something I definitely want to buy

Wow, that pink shirt looks great! I've never seen that one before.

Try the blue slip dress, it's easily the silkiest among all the different versions. I own 7 of them

[simonr]

Shopping online is a gamble but you just never see any decent satin for sale in the shops. It is a gamble.....I have around 60 nice satin items that I wear but have probably ordered around 200 in total nd a lot have looked great in photos but not in reality. I buy almost 100 percent fr ebay , there's some amazing satin on there but I find the older the better...but anything with a BHS label is generally thick and with a lovely feel and sheen. I must check out H and M or Zara

What did you do to the other 140+ that didn't make it into your closet?

I've had some luck with buying satin in-store. In fact, most of the satin I've bought recently are either bought in-store, or from retailers that accept returns.

A cheaper alternative to the more expensive online retailers is the Chinese fashion site Shein. They accept free returns, so I can go crazy with my orders and return most of the items I buy. However, the quality of their fabric is hit-or-miss. I've bought the exact same dress in two different sizes, and they came with quite different fabric. Having said that, I've had a couple of really good surprises from Shein. But that came after returning at least two dozen others...

[Willissatin1501]

Them slip dresses are something else, I’ve got the brown and black one currently with my eyes on the red, purple and white slips. They do a long version of the black and purple and they look great too. Their shirts are definitely up there for me.

The khaki dress is something I definitely want to buy

Wow, that pink shirt looks great! I've never seen that one before.

Try the blue slip dress, it's easily the silkiest among all the different versions. I own 7 of them

Thanks! It’s an amazing

Thanks! The shirt is amazing, they do them in white and black, just need to buy myself the black one now

[Willissatin1501]

Shopping online is a gamble but you just never see any decent satin for sale in the shops. It is a gamble.....I have around 60 nice satin items that I wear but have probably ordered around 200 in total nd a lot have looked great in photos but not in reality. I buy almost 100 percent fr ebay , there's some amazing satin on there but I find the older the better...but anything with a BHS label is generally thick and with a lovely feel and sheen. I must check out H and M or Zara

What did you do to the other 140+ that didn't make it into your closet?

I've had some luck with buying satin in-store. In fact, most of the satin I've bought recently are either bought in-store, or from retailers that accept returns.

A cheaper alternative to the more expensive online retailers is the Chinese fashion site Shein. They accept free returns, so I can go crazy with my orders and return most of the items I buy. However, the quality of their fabric is hit-or-miss. I've bought the exact same dress in two different sizes, and they came with quite different fabric. Having said that, I've had a couple of really good surprises from Shein. But that came after returning at least two dozen others...

I’ve eyed up stuff on shein a few times but I know it’ll be very hit and miss!

[SatinAddix]

Shopping online is a gamble but you just never see any decent satin for sale in the shops. It is a gamble.....I have around 60 nice satin items that I wear but have probably ordered around 200 in total nd a lot have looked great in photos but not in reality. I buy almost 100 percent fr ebay , there's some amazing satin on there but I find the older the better...but anything with a BHS label is generally thick and with a lovely feel and sheen. I must check out H and M or Zara

What did you do to the other 140+ that didn't make it into your closet?

I've had some luck with buying satin in-store. In fact, most of the satin I've bought recently are either bought in-store, or from retailers that accept returns.

A cheaper alternative to the more expensive online retailers is the Chinese fashion site Shein. They accept free returns, so I can go crazy with my orders and return most of the items I buy. However, the quality of their fabric is hit-or-miss. I've bought the exact same dress in two different sizes, and they came with quite different fabric. Having said that, I've had a couple of really good surprises from Shein. But that came after returning at least two dozen others...

That's awesome you can just return what isn't hot!!! I'm very fussy....what doesn't make it into my closet is low.qualuty and is isn't on display as pride of place

[silkcrest]

I have always been a fan of satin from H&M, their 2022 autumn/winter range being my favourite with their thick satin slip dresses, shirts and skirts.

I have always wanted to buy a satin item from Zara as they always looked shiny and well fitting but the prices have always been too much to justify, even on vinted, but I got lucky with a bargain and bought a bright shiny pink slip dress through vinted and it arrived to day and… what a disappointment. It was more nylon than satin, yes it was smooth and had a bit of shine to it in certain light but other than that it definitely wasn’t satin smooth. At least I paid £6 instead of £45 retail price!

Is this just a rogue item and do Zara have a much better range of satin items (ie their blouses?) or is H&M the way to go? I’ve attached a photo of the Zara dress and the red slip dress is from H&M

I've always had a love-hate relationship with shopping for satin online. On the one hand, there is a huge variety to choose from. On the other hand, it's really hard to judge the quality of the fabric from just the photos. A satin dress can look so soft and silky in the seller's photos, but turn out to be rough.

Because of this, I've gone old-school recently and been visiting brick-and-mortar stores more often. In those visits, I've not found any Zara satin that wowed me. H&M, on the other hand, has turned up some real surprises.

They make several variants of the red dress in your photo. It's made in blue, lilac, white, brown, red and pink. I've sampled most of them in-store, and the blue one has a very silky satin fabric. More recently, I've also discovered a khaki dress that has THE silkiest satin in my collection. I've also found a white long-sleeve blouse that's very shiny.

hmgoepprod.jpg
l_wp_64f8927b4bc655cbbd0cc4a9.jpeg

Them slip dresses are something else, I’ve got the brown and black one currently with my eyes on the red, purple and white slips. They do a long version of the black and purple and they look great too. Their shirts are definitely up there for me.

The khaki dress is something I definitely want to buy

That blouse looks amazing, you look hot in it. Where did you get this one? I'm still on the look-out for blouses with the right shine. H&M and Zara really use a weird kind of mixture for their satin fabric that makes it less shiny and less soft. Though I can imagine it's more accepted by the masses at it's less bold to wear. I've ordered and tried a lot in their stores and online but returned almost always most of the stuff as it's not as shiny or soft as on the pictures.

[Willissatin1501]

That blouse looks amazing, you look hot in it. Where did you get this one? I'm still on the look-out for blouses with the right shine. H&M and Zara really use a weird kind of mixture for their satin fabric that makes it less shiny and less soft. Though I can imagine it's more accepted by the masses at it's less bold to wear. I've ordered and tried a lot in their stores and online but returned almost always most of the stuff as it's not as shiny or soft as on the pictures.
[/quote]

Thanks! It’s from H&M, it’s from their 2022 autumn/winter range I think. I haven’t seen anything with the same satin in their range recently though. I bought that shirt off vinted

[silkcrest]

Wow, never thought H&M would sell this type of satin if you compare it with what they sell now. What a steal

[simonr]

I went to my local H&M store today and discovered this beautiful maxi skirt. It's one of the silkiest and shiniest satin fabric I've seen!

The other highlight was the fact that I wore a satin top on the trip. It has a similar color tone to the skirt, so the two made such a nice pair. I was too busy appreciating the skirt and forgot to take a photo in the fitting room, but here is a picture of the pair, back in the comfort of my home.

If you are interested, the skirt is: https://www2.hm.com/en_us/productpage.1184662014.html

[Vabhot]

I went to my local H&M store today and discovered this beautiful maxi skirt. It's one of the silkiest and shiniest satin fabric I've seen!

The other highlight was the fact that I wore a satin top on the trip. It has a similar color tone to the skirt, so the two made such a nice pair. I was too busy appreciating the skirt and forgot to take a photo in the fitting room, but here is a picture of the pair, back in the comfort of my home.

If you are interested, the skirt is: https://www2.hm.com/en_us/productpage.1184662014.html

Wow, very exciting! I am sure you had a lot of fun

[Willissatin1501]

I went to my local H&M store today and discovered this beautiful maxi skirt. It's one of the silkiest and shiniest satin fabric I've seen!

The other highlight was the fact that I wore a satin top on the trip. It has a similar color tone to the skirt, so the two made such a nice pair. I was too busy appreciating the skirt and forgot to take a photo in the fitting room, but here is a picture of the pair, back in the comfort of my home.

If you are interested, the skirt is: https://www2.hm.com/en_us/productpage.1184662014.html

That looks great! One of my next purchases is a H&M skirt! They seem to sell at really high prices compared to their dresses on vinted and they also sell quick!