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AIBU?

to feel annoyed that clothes in shops are so crap

205 replies

soggydigestive · 25/05/2018 21:59

Why is it such a struggle to buy decent clothes. I went in Gap today and everything was reduced but it was all awful. Just dreadful designs, fabrics, unflattering things.
I went on holiday in Italy recently and could have bought everything in a couple of clothes shops I visited - simple tops and t shirts in lovely fabrics and loads of great colours. Here I can't get anything similar to that, we just don't seem to have shops like that.
And yet with M & S going down the pan and the High street in general not doing well, why can't we just have clothes shops with some decent good quality good fabric not too expensive things in them?

OP posts:
Ethylred · 25/05/2018 22:05

Don't worry, when Brexit really hits the fan everything will be lovely.

crunchymint · 25/05/2018 22:07

Yes I'm with Patsy who said - I don't want more choice, just nicer things.

unintentionalthreadkiller · 25/05/2018 22:09

I think there are nicer things but they're too £££ for my budget - Cos, Whistles, Toast, Mint Velvet

Elphame · 25/05/2018 22:10

I feel the same way.

I desperately need some new tops and jeans but the quality is so poor - even with the more upmarket brands that I can't bring myself to buy anything.

Gap quality is now dreadful - the fabrics are so thin you can see through them.

UpstartCrow · 25/05/2018 22:11

I've been learning to alter and sew clothes because of this. Not long ago clothes used to last for years. I've got vintage jeans from the 50's that are still going strong; new ones last me 2 years.

Devonishome1 · 25/05/2018 22:15

I used to buy my clothes from Next but the quality now is awful,t.shirts that are so thin and see through and generally not great designs. Very inflated prices. I’ve just bought a couple of nice tops from Tu Sainsburys.

soggydigestive · 25/05/2018 22:32

Yes if money was no object maybe it would be possible to find something worth buying. But in the Italian shops (sorry to go on about them!) it was normal prices. Maybe European women get better clothes to choose from Confused
I can't understand why things like good quality plain cotton tops, for example, in lovely colours and simple styles seem impossible to find. But I'm irritated too because shops don't seem to understand why people don't buy their tat clothes and yet its so obvious

OP posts:
SaltyPeanut · 25/05/2018 22:32

It's like a lot of food in a lot of supermarkets these days.

Clothing, electrical, homewares and on and on, all heading the same way.

1001 varieties, great you may think, until you realise they're all made by the same 6 parent companies, all quite similar really and they're all actually quite shit.

MrsCD67 · 25/05/2018 22:34

I hate how so many clothes are so flimsy and thin! The amount of clothes I own that I can't wear without an underskirt or vest Angry

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheChips · 25/05/2018 22:46

'Prints' seem to be the thing at the moment and I hate them! I feel really mumsy in them and feel like I'm wearing a pair of curtains.

I too, crave for simple, well made, 'classic' clothes (that don't cost an arm and a leg).

thedevilinablackdress · 25/05/2018 22:56

It's a race to the bottom.

Most high st stores are in a sprial of trying to be cheaper and cheaper. Relative to income, clothes are a LOT cheaper than they were a few decades ago. They also want us to keep constantly buying so bring out new trends every other week, which inevitability leads to ridiculousness...cold shoulder tops anyone?

MaudlinMews · 25/05/2018 23:19

Couldn’t agree more. Quality and design are terrible across the high street whether it’s Primark, Warehouse or Karen Millen.

Everything is a horrible colour (sludge green/brown, terracotta, mustard, black) and covered in garish flower prints and to top it off, frilly flounces everywhere or the dreaded cold-shoulder.

A friend who moved over from Greece said that the UK is a laughing stock because of its whacky fashion. Apparently we get the dregs of European manufacturers stock (costs more to get it to us apparently so we’re dealt with last). Another Spanish friend said the same. I don’t know if this is true but when I’ve visited Spain/Greece/Italy, their clothes are so much better than ours (but too small for me as I have Viking blood in me,) Grin

Bloody annoying though. no wonder retailers are struggling. I’m very tempted to go to Hamburg or Düsseldorf and stock up there.

gamerwidow · 25/05/2018 23:27

It’s just the way it goes some years. Last year it was all gypsy tops and seventies boho which is the worlds worst style for someone like me with big boobs and and small waist who needs tailoring not floaty tents.
I’m also of an age where I’m starting to see new trends in the shop that I remember wearing the first time round which is always dispiriting.
It’s saving me a fortune because I just keep wearing my old stuff.

ijustwannadance · 25/05/2018 23:37

I just want all the off the shoulder bardot stuff gone. Sick of it being everywhere.

I want nice summer clothes and dresses that I can wear my normal bloody bras with.

soggydigestive · 25/05/2018 23:39

It's bizarre isn't it really, we have just become conditioned to it. But if we go to the supermarket or go to buy a TV or makeup or most things really, we choose from a selection of things we like. Not so with clothes, in my case anyway. I actually think imagine if I could go into a shop and there were loads of things I wanted and I couldn't decide what to get. Wouldn't it be great to have clothes shops like that. And yet it is only a dream.

OP posts:
Misty9 · 25/05/2018 23:42

I totally agree that quality has massively gone downhill. I bought a top from oasis last summer and it's so worn and misshapen this year I've consigned it to the gardening/decorating clothes category. My problem is lots of my clothes are wearing out now and I can't find anything decent to replace them - so I have to buy poor quality in desperation and know it won't last.

What's the answer??

unintentionalthreadkiller · 25/05/2018 23:53

The big names have too many shops with too much sq ft, and the rents are astronomical and they're locked in for 5, 10+ years. Coupled with the 2017 business rate revaluation they're basically fucked. Hence pile it high with cheap prices ie quality to try to get enough turnover. That's why they all want CVAs now.

Rant over. I just want a nice cotton t shirt that is longer than my midriff!

ToadOfSadness · 25/05/2018 23:54

The answer is to buy less and buy better which would mean a capsule wardrobe with basics and mix and match. Change the look with belts, jewellery etc. Look at French chic or Italian style, simple clothes, chosen carefully and worn with style.

Buy better pieces which last and add to them when you have the money. Only buy what really looks good on you.

I know it is not easy, and I have far too many clothes but I have my basic wardrobe which I always seem to fall back on. When I find something really good I buy more than one of them.

The current cheap tat is just that, cheap tat but if people keep buying it then that is what the shops will stock.

MaudlinMews · 25/05/2018 23:56

I’ve taken to buying better quality. So £70-£100 for a top, £200+ for a dress etc. It’s the only way to avoid the frilly, polyester awfulness. There are a couple of boutiques near me that stock French, American and German clothes in cotton, silk, linen mixes and wool mixes and they’re lovely and normal (normal shaped/tailored stuff in nice colours - white, ivory, blue, navy, light grey, light pink, peach, lemon etc. with normal sleeves or sleeveless and the holy grail - the v-neck! ) some have tie sleeves and tie shoulders which I like and a couple of midi dresses have side slits - not stupid frills. I bought a vneck fitted white cotton / silk mix t-shirt and its gorgeous. So worth the price tag.

As I walked through the clothes in m&s earlier I thought no wonder you’re losing money and market share, who wants an orange, floral jumpsuit???

WTFsMyUserName · 26/05/2018 00:06

In the last five years I've bought about 10 items of clothing. And they were all second hand on eBay. That's how depressing I find it to shop on the high street. Before that I used to buy relatively well made, good quality material items from French connection, whistles, Zara and even Topshop sometimes. Now i find that even the designer diffusion lines are full of polyester crap and cost a fortune.

BettyBooJustDoinTheDoo · 26/05/2018 00:20

I cannot stand shopping anymore, I find it so stressful, years ago it was such a pleasure, spoilt for choice. Now clothes are so badly made in cheap materials and what gets me most is everything is square, there is no shaping or tailoring to anything, I would love to find a long length white cotton shirt that actually has darts to follow the female shape but no the only shirts I can find make me look like I’m wearing my dads shirt for an art class in primary school.

WTFsMyUserName · 26/05/2018 00:25

I agree @BettyBooJustDoinTheDoo, boxy cuts give me the rage because I have broad shoulders but small waist and narrow hips. Fashion at the moment is ugly.

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Terramirabilis · 26/05/2018 00:37

I think it is this race to the bottom on pricing. 20 years ago when I was teen and first started to take an interest in the price of clothes, I was only shopping in places like Dorothy Perkins, but I'm sure the prices were as high, if not higher, then than they are now. And given how the value of money has eroded, in real terms they were much more expensive. You can't get top quality when you pay a pittance but we've been conditioned to expect cheap, cheap, cheap and perma-sales. Remember when sales were only twice a year and you couldn't really find discounts much outside those times?

MaudlinMews · 26/05/2018 02:58

I agree that the shops sell tat because (some) people buy it wear it once then throw it away.

I remember swooning over gorgeous skirt suits in Next for £120 in 1999. They’re far cheaper than that now because the quality is shocking.

The ‘Quality Basics’ section is really where M&S should concentrate its efforts instead of on the hideous pink, frilly dresses it seems to think we’re all craving.

AjasLipstick · 26/05/2018 03:03

Try living in Australia! We have TERRIBLE clothes here. The cheap stuff...our version of say George at Asda is on a par with what you might find on the worst market stall or pound shop in the UK.

Faded colours and man made fabrics, tacky awful designs made in China.

The "Best" stuff is shocking and not even as good as say Next. It's awful!

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