Clothes gone crazy!

The best clothes I've bought this year have been from charity shops, lightly worn more expensive brands.
Agree totally on the difference between quality of men's v womens. I wouldn't bother with women's socks, or pyjamas, mens are much better made.

The trick is to be picky. All shops will have decent things tucked away but it takes time and you cannot shop online as you need to check the quality of the material and the finish.

It is the growth of the use of man made fibres that makes things look cheap, I find they often hang bady and dyes look brash. Even just having a small percentage of linen or silk in the mix makes all the difference to the way a garment hangs and looks.

Other tricks are - always wear a close fit cotton cami under manmade fibres - it helps the garment sit better. Replace buttons with better quality ones Re stitch hems.

We expect cheap clothing. So we get it. But the only way to keep prices low is by cutting corners, literally in some cases. It’s increasingly common now to offer things in S,M,L etc only, not 8,10,12 etc. But also cheap fabrics and cheap finishes. And as pp said spending more isn’t necessarily the answer. It’s utterly horrendous really, all those mountains of clothes shipped off to India or Africa just so we can have a new top, worn once or twice, for something or other. Shein are the ultimate example of how lost we’ve got but most people don’t seem to care.

I did an emergency clothes shop at Morrison's last year (went for a few days away, forgot holdall!) Everything was decent quality, fabrics with a good handle, and has survived a year of washing & wearing very well.

Agree about Bon Marche, too. I've also bought a lot of stuff from Roman. Their denim's a bargain. Their dresses & tops are mostly viscose but they're well made, not flimsy and hang nicely - on me, anyway.

I think part of the problem is that clothing has to cover a huge range of sizes, all of which are priced the same. Recently someone remarked that the Sienna Miller range in M&S ‘only’ went up to size 20.

The cost of clothing needs to stay competitive so the quality goes down to absorb the increased costs involved with using double the amount of fabric to manufacture large sizes.

Apparently one shop tried to introduce pricing to reflect this (ie larger sizes costing more) but unsurprisingly it didn’t go down well and they abandoned it.

https://x.com/DLVermeer/status/1772720590031384722?t=x9sKUiQz7ajvwbj_I4kcgA&s=19

This is a good thread about what's happening to clothing in the mass market.

I feel like I've bought nothing recently except from Vinted, Uniqlo and a few bits my mum got me from M&S that actually were pretty good.

Vinted is best though as even the cheaper older stuff is better quality than what's in stores now. I've had really good luck with items and sellers (though seldom spend more than £10 so I don't mind if it's a dud).

The trouble is making your own clothes is very expensive as well. Decent quality fabric is also difficult to get hold of if you have to rely on online shops - you need to be able to to feel what you're getting. Although, at least the fit of the end garment will be better.

@WeirderandWeirder

It can go the hell for me, now. It used to be exciting, and I do love the re-emergence of 90's styles. But the cargo's ain't what they were back then. They're floppy, thin and formless with randomly placed pockets and gussets

I agree about a lot of high street stuff, but I think the 90’s style stuff was just as crap in the 90’s!

DS is into crop tops and cargo pants etc and looking at the ones I’ve bought him from primark and the like they are exactly like I used to wear from Tammy Girl and Bay Trading- that sort of stuff has always been thin and shit.

Everything is either a big, baggy tent or a crop top. I want nice, decent, fitted tops and trousers that aren't only suitable for tall people or are badly sized.

I buy a 14, in one shop they're huge on the waist and in another were cutting me in half. Surely they should be the same inch sized across the board!

Second hand is definitely the way to go. I do all my shopping at car.Boot sales on a sunday. I buy for the entire family. Anything that doesn't fit properly or that people don't like I put it on vinted.

Agreed.

I get most of my stuff from charity shops now and I am learning to sew so I can make and mend my own.

Everything I seen mainstream shops is: unflattering, badly cut and finished, shapeless or too short/clingy, too expensive for the quality.

And it looks awful after just a couple of washes.

I also I realise I don't need that many clothes (as I mostly work from home) and no longer want to get involved in rampant consumerism...

No me neither

As for the clothes, just buy second hand. I get most of my clothes from Vinted these days

Good quality, reasonable (for the quality & origin) https://communityclothing.co.uk/

Yup, me too. I have even resorted to hauling out my sewing machine.

I bought three pairs of trousers from M&S recently. Hem down on the first pair, pocket stitching faulty on second - this was after wearing each pair once. The chinos have to be washed after each wear as there's no weight to the fabric.

I've just ironed a ten year old linen shirt and it's so thick in comparison to their current stuff.

I hate that everything is cropped

Learn to sew. Making that dream t shirt is easy, a beginner could do it. There are loads of free patterns and help online in Facebook groups.

Totally agree. I like the look of clothes from places like The White Company when I see them online but then I go and visit the shop and the quality is so poor for what you're getting. Plus the cuts of clothing are all wrong. Boat neck thin jumpers where your bra straps are on full display for example? No thanks!

I pretty much only buy second hand at this point. And I get things altered to fit me properly by a seamstress. I'm mostly getting rid of excess clothes a year now anyway as I want to go more minimalist, but I do wish there were a shop I could go to that would fill the gaps in my wardrobe with long-lasting basics.

I have always had strong views on fabric quality and finishing but these days I find myself checking seams and button holes - tutting like a maiden aunt at a 1920s nightclub.

Can confirm.

I have PJs which are older than the Supreme Court, yet some M&S things bought last year are already on their last legs.

Sizing has also become very inconsistent nowadays, I.e. two of the same thing from the same brand fitting differently.

I went in an outlet Ralph Lauren at a shopping village- not really my style and obviously more expensive than some of the high street. But it really struck me how markedly better the quality was in the weight and the drape of the fabrics etc. It was like stuff in the UK 20 years ago.

I have never heard it before

Yeah I buy from vinted for this reason, as much as cost. I have a handful of makes that I know will work for me and were decent quality, and when I see something I like from them, snap it up. There is something lovely about finding something that you know will last and be worn for years.

Zara sh