To ask for your opinions on the quality of clothes from different shops

[janeybumtum]

I'm talking about the kinds of clothes that get worn and washed frequently like t-shirts, long sleeve tops, shirts, vests, leggings, underpants, jersey dresses and joggers. Not so much things like pretty dresses that only get worn on occasions and never see the inside of a washing machine.

I find too many things from high street shops (even high end high street) don't last that long. The seams come unstitched, thin straps snap, they have trailing threads or the black things wash out grey. I find black joggers are particularly bad for looking worn and grey (especially the Nike ones). I had to throw out a White Company T-shirt yesterday because it had so many little holes in it.

For pretty dresses, you can get away with quite cheap ones from wherever, as long as they don't look like they're already falling apart when they're in the shop as they don't get used day in day out and and are often dry clean only.

I don't want to have to bin things that look too shabby to wear and would obviously be inappropriate to give to a charity shop.

It's not my washing that's the problem - I always wash on low temperatures, follow washing instructions and a lot of other people have made the same comments.

I have things from M&S, Topshop, Zara and so on from 15 years ago that are still in quite good condition, but the things I've had from the same shops in more recent years are awful quality.

I don't like to buy tons of clothes, I just want to have nice quality plain basics which don't date and I can regularly wear and wash without them falling apart. I've always been of the buy plainer clothes and collect very nice accessories camp so I don't end up with an overflowing wardrobe of pretty things that I never use.

I'd be very grateful for recommendations on where is good to get the various basics and everyday clothes from which are of good quality and last!

How do you starch laundry then? I need educating!

plain t-shirts seem to be one of the hardest things to find in good quality. It's not easy to find ones with a nice cut, but the thinner ones that have a better fit seem to develop holes very quickly.

A clothes buyer once told me that cheaper cotton t-shirts are cut from material that is made from a woven tube of material. More expensive cotton t-shirts will be made from cotton that is woven flat. This is the reason that often the fit of cheaper ones and the way they last is less good - because the tube weave will tend to curve where as the flat weave will stay flat. Cheaper t-shirts lose their shape more quickly.

Buy spray starch and spray during ironing! It works very well with cotton to give it more body. You know when you buy something and it's really nice then you wash it and it's like a limp rag? It's because of the dressing they put in the fabric. If you use starch it replaces the dressing and feels crisper with more body. Smells lovely too. I think you can buy it in powder form to add to your final rinse, but i haven't used it for years.

I haven't used the powder form for years I mean. I use the spray starch a lot.

Jon65 you know you can do something else while the washing machine is on though?

I used to buy a supply of M and S plain t-shirts every year in different colours.Fine for work. Went today and was shocked at the difference in quality thus year. So thin! Didn't buy any. Did however get nice work trousers from Debenhams and will go back for more in other colours. I wash most clothes on a quick 30 minutes wash to prevent wear and tear and colour fade.

The decreasing quality of clothes in the UK is infuriating. Some of the newer, design-led brands are the worst. The Hush t-shirt I bought actually washed less well than dishcloths I own, and it was all it was good for after one wash.

I second Uniqlo for excellent knitwear.
Gap is not good now, except for cotton shirts. I think that Hobbs has maintained its quality, although I'm sure it's not cool enough for many ( I like it, I'm not cool though!). Next is pretty grim nowadays. Boden is variable. Their cotton stuff and swimwear is still lovely. The endless jersey dresses are overpriced and poor quality. I like Jigsaw, expensive but decent quality. Fat Face cotton stuff like Pima t-shirts and shorts are as good as they were a decade ago. Joules cotton dresses are good, but again not cool.

I often wait til I'm overseas to buy stuff now. The lovely boutiques in the unassuming town we overnight in our UK high streets to shame. Clothes and shoes are costly, but at least you can see why. US brands like Loft abs JCrew are good, but I don't know if they sell them here. I have bought Gant and Lauren here when I'm feeling flush.

Please, anyone, recommend good quality British brands. Not super cheap, but stylish and well made.

Does anyone know where to get packet starch from? I tried to find some recently, and all I could get was the spray stuff.

Amazon has packet starch

@BiscuitDrama I know, but my clothes wear much better for not going in the machine.

I tend to avoid buying clothes that don't look like they'll wash well or last long because it works out cheaper to buy better quality brands, although these are typically expensive brands, it's better than having to replace a whole wardrobe of cheap clothes so often.

I also think the same way with shoes and I avoid trainers because the soles wear down too fast so I wear walking boots as they last years. If I'm not the one driving I take them off during car journeys and when at home.

If holes are appearing in your clothes you might have a moth problem

If you look into the materials of clothes that last longer and wash better you wont have this issue.

Unless the company or shop is false-advertising them as something the clothes ins't made from.

Avoid those clothing shops where Chinese people are pressuring you to come inside, they sell fake clothes that look very similar to the real ones at the same price as the real ones but the ones the Chinese people are selling are actually fake and are of bad quality and made of inexpensive materials.

you can get jcrew shipped here but you don't get the 20-25pc off discounts you get in the US so it is v expensive.

@Jon65 how many people's clothes are you washing in your weekly 90 minutes?

Mine. My husband doesn't care if his are machine washed so they are. Blimey, you don't think I'd wash kids by hand as well? Although I remember 'a girl called Jack' did wash all her clothes and child's clothes including bed linen by hand as her w/m broke and she couldn't afford the repair or the launderette. I think she soaked them for a couple of hours though.

I've never been disappointed in the quality of anything I've bought from Sea Salt, Mint Velvet or White Stuff, which is why most of my wardrobe comes from there these days. Crew Club is shit for the money, I threw away a skirt from there after only about 4 wearings, it had gone so out of shape, and their t-shirts are really thin.

Boden and Next have really gone downhill imo and M&S is very random. In M&S, the quality of the same style of t-shirt can vary according to the colour, so I think the fabrics don't all come from the same supplier.

Gap's not what it used to be either.

Starch?! That would mean ironing...

For big standard basics can't fault Tu at Sainsbury's. I also don't wash unless needed (not underwear!), don't iron and don't tumble. My stuff lasts forever.

Bog standard...

Tu from Sainsbury's is as good if not better than the high Street brands. For better stuff I usually go to bravissimo because they actually fit me, jeans are M&S