to feel annoyed that clothes in shops are so crap

[soggydigestive]

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?

@Bossbabysapprentice - Polyester and acrylic are plastic. I really hate the feel of them as a fabric and I don't like the fact that plastic lint escapes into our waterways.

But you're happy with the fact that growing cotton accounts for the use of more pesticides than any other crop? It's pretty much impossible to grow cotton on a commercial basis without large quantities of insecticides, and 16% of the world's insecticide use is on cotton. I suppose the fact that cotton-growers are poisoning the water supply in China, India & Pakistan doesn't matter as long as you can have clean water in Australia.

I like disposal fashion because I'm forced to refresh my wardrobe. Over the last few years my weight has fluctuated so for me I've not felt as guilty having to chuck loads of stuff out and buy new.

However, I'm about to start a new job, my first ever job where I don't need a strict uniform, so just 'office attire' and I have no idea where to start! I can't find nice, well made, affordable clothes! I like the look of Dorothy Perkins however I haven't been in the shop yet to try them on and have no idea if the things I like will look good!

What i find quite sad too is that clothes available in local stores reflect the demographic locally so if you live in shit town, the Midlands, you’ll only be able to choose from shit clothes @ shit shops, The Midlands.

Ive occassionally gone into shops after seeing adverts for lovelg clothes only to be told that theyre only abailable in London, Surrey, etc. So the shitness of our situation is compounded.

Terfragettecity (great name) you need J Crew

www.jcrew.com/uk/c/womens_category/suiting

Expensive but worth it.

waronwant.org/sweatshops-china

Just had a read of article about working conditions for factory workers in China (above link) and it makes sense that so many of the clothes made in China are poor quality and badly made. Those poor people. It's not something new and I get that it's old news but sometimes I forget that their working conditions are so poor. And reading this was shocking really. So many things are made in China it's a bit hard to avoid buying it even though after reading this I really want to boycott anything made in China in the hopes they improve the working conditions. So, I still get the frustration of wanting better quality clothing but this puts it into perspective. Why doesn't the UK and Australia manufacture the majority of the clothes available in each respective country? Because it's cheaper to get it manufactured in a country that only pays it's workers equivalent to $2 a day for 70hrs pw with no breaks or leave entitlements.

The other day I was in our nearest big city, and thought I'd look for a nice cotton white shirt for work in summer, and some basic comfy jersey shorts and tshirts for my kids, 6 and 9.

I went into a flagship Gap store, and couldn't find either of these. Ladies dept was like a jumble sale, tables piled high and signs like 'everything on table £15' but I couldn't actually find any white shirts.

Kids department was not much better. Seemed promising at first but then I couldn't figure out the sizes. No ages or cm measurements, only S,M,L. Most confusing!

I left with nothing.

Terfragettecity (great name) you need J Crew

i need therapy - each time I try to buy clothes is what I need!

Just looked at Jcrew and too flouncy and floral for me...

Was on holiday recently and went into a Muji - lots of lovely cotton and linen simple things. I think there are only about 4 or 5 stores in the UK tho 😕 and I really don't like to buy without trying

maudlin well I'm in Norfolk so plenty of naice towns around

The other issue I have is being tall. And so many shops have stopped stocking longer length!

I basically need to become a naturist...

Skiiltan 'But you're happy with the fact that growing cotton accounts for the use of more pesticides than any other crop?'

Of course not. However, I wasn't aware of that until your post and then I looked it up. Still does not minimize the impact that lint from our synthetic clothes is having on our oceans and the fact that fish and other sea creatures have been found to have been affected by it.
Since I learnt something new from you, you could drop the angry attitude and learn something new from me

It's the British management disease that's the problem: always trying to drive down cost and pitching for the highest price point to the level where it's a bit of a piss take and said item is no longer fit for purpose.

We've had this problem since the 70s, along with the obsession with employee bums on seats = productivity and an old-fashioned notion of company hierarchy where the shop floor is never listened to by management.

The truth is that we Brits put up with the results and have foolishly convinced ourselves that fast fashion isn't expensive. When you are looking at buying a top for £10 that you wear twice before it turns into a rag, that's £5 a wear and that's bloody expensive. Compare it to a wool coat for £200 that you wear for three years during winter where each wear works out at under 50p.

I think the problem has got significantly worse in the last two years though...to the point where clothing on the high street and in department stores is just shocking.

bananafish81

Most of my wardrobe is Uniqlo

Terrific value and simple / classic.

I love Uniqlo, too. And Cos is growing on me, too.

Too many toos

Went to the HK Muji and loved it. Uniqlo and Muji have Japan in common. Love both brands.

A lot of my clothes are around 10 years old and still going strong but are obviously not fashionable and some things do look a bit dated.

I have been struggling to find things I like in the shops that I can afford, that fit my shape and look like that will last more than 5 washes. For example I went shopping the other day looking for some trousers that were suitable for warmer weather with half decent fabric and didn’t make me look like a hippo. 25 shops and loads of clothes tried on but I found nothing remotely suitable.

99% of clothes I have bought in the last 4 years have come from charity shops. It can take a lot of trips coming back empty handed before I find a gem. The few things I have bought new have been from various high street shops and supermarkets but I know they won’t last half as long as my old things (also bought from the same places) as the quality just isn’t there anymore.

I rarely buy clothes on the Continent. The colours are crazy and the styles are dated.

None of those brands have a shop anywhere near me!

I am prepared to spend a lot on my clothes - I have a wardrobe full of Jaegar and Austin Reed but both of those brand are now defunct and even spending £200 on a dress doesn't guarantee quality.

I have a dress I bought 30 years ago from Jaegar, lovely soft colours and a basic shift style and fully lined. It cost me more than I could afford but I'm still wearing it. The Jaegar dresses from a few years back don't come close to this level of quality.

Massimo Dutti
WinserLondon

Both good for more formal clothes/classics.

YANBU OP. They are awful. Horrible colours and patterns and everything seems designed to make you look pregnant.

Yuck.

clothes available in local stores reflect the demographic locally so if you live in shit town, the Midlands, you’ll only be able to choose from shit clothes @ shit shops, The Midlands

No they are horrible everywhere. Even in big cities. Nothing to do with demographics (except the insulting/patronising M&S outlet stores that they put in places that they deem "poor").

Yes.
That's why I steal them from my neighbour's washing line.

In all seriousness, I buy a lot of clothes from charity shops. Seriously nice clothes, excellent condition, low cost (Herve Leger dress for £9.50 anyone? Yes, it's real!).
Current offerings are very poor value.

I agree quality is appalling in most high street places now. My best clothes are all from 10-15 years ago when fabrics were still halfway decent.
Trying to find something non-polyester for work is almost impossible.

I switched to buying quality stuff from charity shops. I paid £39.50 for a pair of jeans from M&S, which I thought was fairly expensive for jeans from them. They looked like dishrags after half a dozen wears so I took them back and complained.

Even my teen daughter despairs of clothing and complains when she comes home from a trip somewhere. She's 18 and hates primark, new look etc. She's a Zara girl but I don't think they're particularly great quality for the price point.

At 50 I'm in fashion nowhereland

it's the awful synthetics that bother me. my bother going to all the effort to make something in sweaty, disgusting, meltable plastic.

I am also prepared to spend money on decent clothes. I dont think I’m asking much - natural fibres, quality fabrics, decent cuts. Stuff that will last.

Can I find it? Can I hell. I do sew, but I don’t have time to sew every single thing I wear. Cos is good but there’s no shop anywhere near me, and really you need to try stuff on. I refuse to buy polyester, or viscose/rayon either (its sweaty and washes badly.) and everything is crap fabric - regardless of how much it costs inbthe high street, even the upper end.

Cotton, silk, wool. Decent cuts. I’ll pay for it. But where IS it??

Ironically I find kids clothes quality much better - most of the supermarkets do decent quality kids things.