AIBU to think that clothes are so cheaply made these days?

[BogstandardBelle]

I don’t live in the UK so I love a chance to shop in my old favorites when I’m visiting... I was back recently and had a day to myself out shopping - and it was so disappointingly

Oops - the Harry Potter ad got in the way and made me post too soon!

...every shop I went into was full of horrible stuff and so cheaply made with corners cut everywhere. So no fitting (darts and shaping) or panels (to give a shape) just shapeless, baggy tops, drawn in with cheap elastic round the bottom and the cuffs. . Cheap nasty fabrics, nary a natural fibre to be seen. It seemed to be the same in all the big stores, debrnhams, marks, etc.

Are there any reasonably priced stores out there, which still put some effort into designing clothes for the high street?

I agree, most high street shops are full of cheap ugly shapeless badly-made shit - which is why I shop in charity shops. At least you can find some quite well made stuff from a few years ago, from decent brands. I found a nice Oasis shirt for £2 and Jigsaw skirt for £2.50.

FCUK, Jigsaw, Whistles, Cos, Warehouse, Ted Baker - those sorts of shops you get on the first floor of House of Fraser are quite nice - but also pretty expensive.

Oh, and sewing is a great one - that way you can pick the fabrics AND tailor the clothes exactly to your shape. And no-one else will have the same.

It is really terrible. Cos and Arket have some reasonable stuff, but aside from those and a couple of charity shops near me, I don’t even bother looking for clothes anymore. I got so fed up I bought a sewing machine last year and haven’t looked back.

But that's because they are comparatively much cheaper these days.

You can buy a new tshirt in Primark for the same price as a cup of coffee.

Yanbu, I buy some vintage clothes now, and I'm learning to sew. I also don't like the fact that clothes that cheap are going to be made in a sweatshop. conditions in the rag trade here used to be bad enough back in the day, and that was with health and safety.

Yanbu.
Stella McCartney was on radio saying ‘oh people should buy one thing that’s great quality instead of cheap stuff’ but that doesn’t really work as fashions change fast and it’s not affordable for most to even have one Stella mc shirt.
Tk max can be good for nicer quality European brand finds....

My mum dressmakes - which is prob why I’ve started noticing how dire they are these days. I’ve had clothes from debenhansv/ m&s etc I the past which have been lovely and well made but not now.

Ima 14/16 bottom half, but a 16/18 top with very broad shoulders and back so unless my tops are well fitted they just hang like sacks and I look like a lollipop on a stick! Maybe I need to learn to sew as well...

I agree OP. I used to love clothes shopping and now loathe it. Literally everywhere sells crap. It is almost impossible to find decent material or even cotton. Everything is acrylic, even in most of the higher end shops. Absolute tat everywhere.

I remember when Next opened in the early 80s; their stuff was so good for the price, and just one of each size out, displayed really well.

The second I walk in now (rare), it's the smell of cheap plastic that hits me and their clothes are rubbish.

Lots of costs have increased in terms of shipping/transport & factory workers earning better wages in the EU has pushed production to the Far East. Raw materials have really increased, 10 years ago you would find leather shoes made in Italy etc on the high street. People often don’t want to pay more & retailers competing with the likes of Primark have to reduce costs. It’s not uncommon to see patent shoes in KG that are not even real leather for £90. A shoe from Russell & Bromley that used to be £120 is now more like £180, although their customers can probably swallow the price rise. In terms of fabric quality, it’s using less natural fabric, lower quality & less skilled seamstresses.

YANBU. Clothing retailing in the UK is a national disgrace. One of the things I notice when abroad is the better quality of clothing and that most people have some style.

As for the fashions changing fast, why do you need to be bound by fashion? The latest one is what I term the 'short trouser virus'.

Whistles, Karen Millen, Warehouse, All Saints to name a few.