Closed clothes shops

SIR – With the news that Marks & Spencer has decided to close 100 stores across Britain (Business, May 24), can the members of the board recommend where men can find the wide range of clothing currently sold at our one local branch?

There has always been a great difference between the numbers of shops where women make their purchases and the availability of menswear shops.

Rev Tom Chapman

Stourbridge

SIR – In attempting to woo the young away from trendy high street shops, Marks & Spencer has failed to see that the majority of people in its stores are at least 50 years old. It doesn’t stock clothes that we actually want to wear.

I want cotton-with-stretch trousers that do not gape and that fit properly round the waist. I want sophisticated colours and no cheap, flimsy polyester. I would like cotton and silk now, and wool in the winter. I want dresses that cover my knees and chest, without string straps or bare backs.

I also want consistent sizing; of the shirts I tried recently, all supposedly the same size, some were too tight, or too short, or narrow in the sleeve.

I have had a £20 M&S token for some months but have so far been unable to spend it.

Valerie Thompson

West Horsley, Surrey