PRINCESS Diana was known to have worn comfy M&S undies and any middle-class woman worth her twin-set and pearls would have a classic-cut M&S suit hung-up in her wardrobe.

That was in the hey-day of the high street store, when business was booming and its reputation seemed indomitable.

Stores like Littlewoods may come and go but Marks & Spencer had become as deeply entrenched in the British consciousness as Yorkshire Pudding and mushy peas. It wasn't going anywhere, ever.

Its clothes were known and loved for their ageless elegance, the food was coveted for its quality, even the bags were made of stronger stuff than most.

So what went wrong for the golden retailer of Great Britain? When did its clothes cross that fine line between classic cuts and frumpy fashions and when did its staunchly middle-market image hit the downwardly mobile slope?

Hard to pin-point exactly when women took their lingerie and suit sales elsewhere but with another slump in sales announced this week, could this be the beginning of the end for every middle-class mum's favourite store?

Having seen the return to classic cuts and colours in the autumn range of clothing, the store is obviously making a concerted effort to give the masses what they started coming to Marks & Spencer for in the first place. The classic tailoring is back and so are the unobtrusive "country" colour ranges, a marked sign that M&S is focused on delivering what its traditional customer wants.

And as the popularity of M&S cuisine has never hit a low, the store is capitalising on an enormously tempting Christmas range - which includes its flagging home furnishings - as a means of pulling the trusty customers in this winter.

With an improved margin in its clothing business, as well as the encouraging feedback it has received for its autumn range in the press, perhaps the company is staggering back onto its feet after its nasty fall.

The new range will be complemented in up to 90 stores by an exclusive range designed by George Davis, the man behind the clothing revolutions at Next and Asda. But while the classically stylish range is being interpreted as an attempt by M&S to go back to its roots as the sensible woman's shop, the question is can they pull it off this late in the day.

The sales figures are worse than some in the City had forecast and they are likely to put further pressure on the retailer. Womenswear shares in the City have continued to decline and lose ground against rivals on the high street. In May this year, "unacceptable" clothing sales were blamed as the full-year profits slumped to £480.9m, just three years after hitting the £1 billion mark and left some speculating on the future of the company. But while we may be turning away from M&S in a fit of pique at its recent shortcomings, could we do without the trusty store if it no longer featured on our local high street? Most British shoppers, who still have a great affection for the store, would probably baulk at the very thought.