Are high street clothes getting worse quality?

[FajarVega]

I feel like clothes don’t last the way they used to. Things I buy now seem to lose shape after a few washes. Am I just choosing badly or has anyone else noticed this?

Unfortunately, over the past few years I don't expect, or look for "quality" anymore, in anything I buy.
Prices have continued to rise on everything though, including clothing on the 'high street'.
So I'm not surprised you found it to be so.
If anyone says differently, I'd personally like to know where they've shopped recently!

For sure. I just popped into Oliver Bonas earlier. Cardigans in nice designs and at £90 they're not cheap. They look like they wouldn't survive a trip round the washing machine. I didn't buy. If they were better quality or if they were £15 Primark prices (and they're that level of quality) I might have.

Totally agree. Trying to get decent clothes for formal office wear without spending a fortune is impossible.Really poor tailoring at most of the main retailers.

Yep, I would extend this to all products available to buy anywhere. Everything is shabby quality now!
I buy things as cheaply as possible and expect to buy it again sooner rather than later. I hate doing this as I would prefer quality at an affordable (not necessarily cheap) price but it simply doesn't exist.

White stuff used to be really good, but I sent for an organic cotton cardigan and a linen knit jumper the other week. Both went back. The cardi had sleeves that were 3in too short and the linen jumper which looked tunic length in the pics, was barely to the top of my jeans so I had a bare back when I sat down. It was also so thin it was see-through.

Everything is getting worse except cars.

There's been a general decline in quality since the 1970s and the enshittification of everything has fallen off a cliff since 2000.

I ordered some M&S trousers last week, the fabric and stitching was so noticeably bad, even at a quick peep in the dark, that they didn’t even make it out of the postage bag.

It’s become near impossible to find anything on the high street that is of an acceptable quality, even at higher price points. Yet I’ve got low-mid end high street items (h&m, topshop, M&S) in my wardrobe that are 15-20 years old and still going strong.

Anyone interested in this subject might enjoy Patrick Grant's book "Less".

I often find tops are made of such thin material that you’d have to wear something else underneath. I’ve started buying men’s t-shirts instead, they are usually better quality.

I have clothes from the early 2000s which are still wearable, not sure anything we buy now will still be around in 2050!

I won’t offload some of my older clothes for this reason.

Mostly charity shops for me now. I always find something!

They are, yes. I blame outsourcing and offshoring (not the same as outsourcing). So much low quality crap from China, ie Temu. "We maintain the same quality!" No, no you damn well don't.

I think this started to happen around 2010 when Topshop suddenly started making everything in viscose or polyester. Maybe it was fashion but I was seriously taken aback. Then about five years ago it seemed shein was better quality than the high street equivalents. Everything's crap. I also now just buy as cheaply as possible.
ETA currently wearing a pair of Nike joggers I've had since about 2011, not a bobble or sag in sight. Mind-blowing.

M and S quality is shocking compared to what it used to be . T shirts are see through and don’t keep their shape. Unlined jackets. And ridiculous size variations. I bought a pair of black trousers and then some in navy . Navy ones much smaller despite being exact same style .

Yup. I was in a big M&S this week and everything was so shiny, thin and cheap looking. More like Primark quality than M&S. Rails and rails of stuff on sale, all shit. I assume it will go to landfill, it probably cost pence to make.

And the higher price shops don't seem any better. I was looking at a Baukjen top in John Lewis - £75 for thin jersey. Better quality than Primark, but not worth the price by a long way. If it had been decent cotton I might consider it.

YANBU. Most clothes from High St chains are cheap, crap and don't last. I've got more clothes in my wardrobe bought over 30 years ago than clothes bought in the last few years, still wearing on a regular basis. I've started buying from Primark and supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury etc) as they're the same poor quality but a lot cheaper. Not only quality, but quality control of sizing is also poor, especially M&S where sizes seem to be entirely random, even within the same range/size.

I stick to a few basics.

• I buy almost all natural fibres (except viscose)
• I don't use biological washing agent
• I cool iron because too many clothes are made with polyester thread that goes brittle under a hot iron.
• Woolen sweaters are hand washed gently, rolled in a towel and then dried flat in an airing cupboard.
• Coats, jackets and wool trousers are dry cleaned.

Buying something a bit better quality is usually a good idea.

Yes they are, but I think it’s largely the fault of the consumer. If people didn’t buy this shit then they wouldn’t make it. Most people don’t want to pay for quality, they want things to be as cheap as possible so that they can have a greater quantity.

In the 80s people bought about 10 new items per year. Now I think the average is about 70.

Yup, my experience of M&S exactly. Especially the random different sizings of clothes within the same range. I recently bought some black jeans, liked them, so went back for the blue version, same range, same size, but the sizing was completely different, legs longer by a couple of inches, waist narrower by a couple of inches. They're hopeless.

I don’t think anyone would disagree with this. On another thread, someone shared a POLYESTER sweater that cost £135! Are the stores having a laugh!

One brand I do give kudos to is Uniqlo. Tons of options in real materials, and a lot of their knits are on sale right now. Plus I saw a mixed mostly acrylic with a bit (8%) of wool sweater on there for the price it should be - £12.90!

That’s the problem though… where are these “ bit better quality” items?

Exactly, The likes of Next and M&S are just as crap as Morrisons and Primark these days. It's no longer paying a bit more for a bit better quality. You have to pay a hell of a lot more in more specialist shops to get any real quality difference.

Also people often suggest charity shops and / or Vinted as an alternative. The problem with those is the randomness of the stock in the charity shops, plus for a lot of people online clothes shopping is a nightmare.

It should be as easy as pie to walk into a shop that fits your budget , try on a pair of trousers and buy them! Those days are long gone I fear.

I’ve noticed the quality of everything has gone downhill recently - new socks with holes in before you’ve even put them on (there was a thread about this recently), food, chocolate…

Probably significantly higher priced chains or shops. Jigsaw maybe,? Some stuff in John Lewis? A friend swears by Hobbs but it feels too old for me.

M&S is the new C&A. Everything is acrylic