Are expensive clothes worth it?

[strawberrydonuts]

On the back of another thread, I've been browsing some online clothes stores.

I tend to like places like FatFace, Weird Fish, Sea Salt, Boden occasionally... just decent quality, casual stuff. I usually buy stuff in the sale but I might splurge £40-50 for a really good quality top or shirt which will last me years. I have some clothes from these places that have lasted me 10 years.

But looking at some of the online stores people suggested on another thread, I am seeing cotton tops/ shirts costing £100+ that look no different in quality to what you can get at FatFace for half the price.

Things like:
www.toa.st/collections/womens-tops-tees/products/seed-check-boxy-shirt-french-blue

AIBU to ask what's the difference? Are they really worth it? If you would pay £100+ for a casual top/ shirt, why? (Not in a judgemental way... I'm just genuinely wondering if I'm missing something!)

It can't be just about quality because the clothes I buy are good quality. Is it design/ fit? Is it about the materials and where they are sourced?

For some things there is absolutely a difference, other items are just ridiculous. A t-shirt from Celine costs £300 because it says Celine on it; not because it is higher quality than Uniqlo.

A button-down shirt might be worth paying £200 for if it has interesting or unique tailoring. You can probably count on the fact that it is constructed out of quality materials.

I find the biggest difference is in the tailoring of more ‘complex’ items - trousers, coats, blazers/suits and dresses. For example I have a wool dress from Alexander McQueen and the tailoring is stunning and it looks stunning on. The bodice is beautifully made: boning, lining, interlining and padding. It’s made of silk and wool and has held up beautifully - I expect to have it for many years to come and to (hopefully) pass it on someday. Needless to say I don’t feel the same about some of my dresses from Banana Rebublic.

I’ve bought a few more expensive t- shirts and they’ve been great. There’s one from I think Chanel - was on sale - people have asked me where it’s from. The quality of the cloth is different. No branding.

For me it's not so much does a garment seem expensive as the fact we've slightly lost sight of the true cost of clothing.

The supermarkets/Primark/Boohoo etc make a £40-50 top seem very dear but that's because the former is not producing clothes in an ethical and realistic way.

The shops that get me are those where they charge more but actually have no better ethical practices so then you are just paying for the brand name.

I appreciate not everyone has a budget to spend £50 on a t-shirt, although I also think we are now conditioned to buy lots of cheap clothes which we then treat as disposable. Some people might find they could actually spend £50 on a t-shirt if they changed their shopping habits. (three tops a year instead of thirty) But this wouldn't be as exciting.

I also appreciate what pps said about lifestyle, weight change etc. But more expensive garments tend to resell well so at least you can put it back into a clothing cycle for someone else to get wear out of. For fast fashion items people feel they might as well just go and buy new.

I'm glad there is a movement towards ethical fashion and more mindful consumerism as buying lots of cheap clothes - way more than we actually need and often via being manipulated by influencers and the like - is destroying the planet.

Finally I think it's all relative in that if you have a salary of £150k a £100 t-shirt is like a £20 t-shirt if you have a salary of £30k.

The clothes you're talking about are expensive to most people. Are they worth it?
Is the quality much better than say Matalan or New Look?

It depends on a lot of things, many of which are unknowable at the time of purchase. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it's well-constructed or of higher-quality fabric. If a cheaper item is poorly constructed, that may just mean that you'll have to fix a seam or reattach a button. Whether a higher price is worth it depends on how easily you can do those things. Fashions change, jobs change, and sizes change. It's true that a high-quality (and correspondingly expensive) suit can last years even with weekly wear. But if you change jobs or gain/lose weight in that time, the fact that it has several years of life left in it won't do you much good as it hangs in the back of your closet.

I would consider paying that sort of money for an item I truly loved, as a rare splurge. But I wouldn't pretend it was a good investment, or "worth it" by any quantifiable measure. It would be worth it to me if wearing it made me happy enough to justify the price, and that would be the end of the analysis.

I totally agree with @GrandmasCat about getting a color consultation. You'll look better in cheap clothes suited to your figure and coloring than you will in expensive clothes that are more flattering on someone with different coloring or proportions. This is true even if they're the right size. Two garments can have identical measurements but flatter completely different figures because of design details.

I am a stupid size. I will buy what fits. I find sometimes cheaper or teens (jeans) brands come up better. I am also gothish in my style. I only wear black or band tees. They're bloody expensive, but last forever.
I used to buy a lot from Boden for DD, but her winter coat fell apart after 3 months of school. I did get a refund, but I didn't expect it. I replaced it with a coat from Matalan which was just as warm inside and DD loved the style. It was 75% cheaper.

There are a couple of threads in S&B at the moment about brands which you would imagine to be ethical - Boden being a prime example - but actually score very low in terms of what they actually do. Cheap brands are not necessarily less ethical / sustainable

I actively dislike anything that has focussed on their "brand" - signs of this are websites with lots of "storytelling",a section called "our story", or anything about lifestyle and values.

I don't need my clothing to have a lifestyle or values, I've got my own.

I do think there are higher quality items, ime supermarkets especially tend to have thinner fabric, more man made fibres etc.

But not exclusively. DS has had a few great pairs of jeans from supermarkets that were lovely and lasted better than boden cords which were crap, however I had some lovely leggings for DD from boden which were great

I dont assume something from a particular shop will be good or worse quality - I look at the item, feel how thick the fabric is, see how tight the weave looks, check what it's made of on the washing label, and look at the cut (eg bias?) to consider how it might stretch or shrink on washing.

Generally speaking I'm going to expect more from a thick, more tightly woven pure cotton jersey teeshirt, than a thinner, looser weave teeshirt in a polyester or viscose. The latter is probably going to stretch on wearing then shrink on washing and drying, so the shape is going to go.

I don’t believe they are for a second.

I have clothes from primark, Tesco, new look etc. that have lasted for literally a decade or more, worn frequently, washed often, and look as good as new. Some of the best fitting and nicest quality items I own cost less than £15. It’s all emperor’s new clothes imo until you get into stuff like really, really high end luxury shoes and bags.

I honestly don't know what people do to their Primark clothes to make them fall apart so quickly. If you look after clothes, they will usually last. I've got things from Primark now that I've been wearing for 12 years!!

I think with designer clothes, you're paying for the brand mostly. You can get better quality high street brands (such as Next etc) without having to go as cheap as Primark or anywhere near as expensive as designer.

@DappledThings

All the shops you mention are expensive to me. I have plenty of items from Primark and supermarkets that have lasted 10 years+ as well.

Same!

A lot depends on how you wash and dry clothes.

frumpety

Would there be a way of washing and drying to make clothes last a bit longer and would fit in with busy lifestyles of today?

I wash all at 40c with Persil and fabric conditioner ot dettol machine. I either line dry or dry on a clothes rack. Jumpers are done on a delicate wash, bras are washed by hand. I find the m&s jumpers bobble after a winter of wear, even though I don't overwash. It is not too bas as they cost 20 but I don't like shopping.

I like cotton tops for summer. A lot of the 'good quality' brands have a heavier material which can be sweaty. For tops I get debenhans, m&s and pay 15 to 25. These last 2 or 3 summers. I mix these with supermarket tops for wfh which only last 2 summers.

I also make sure wardrobe is not crushed/use clothes covers for some things including just shoulder covers for some jackets and renew my hanging moths things on a schedule rather than when I see a moth. It may be the most organised aspect of my domestic set up now I think about it !

I don’t know why this debate has become about cheap versus designer. There’s a lot of ranges in-between those two. This is really about quality & durability and pleasure I guess. Overall I think there’s a benefit in spending more - better weight fabrics, better cuts / fit and in some cases better ethical standards. I think these are the clothes that have longevity in your wardrobe. I have fast fashion items and without exception they don’t last as well. My linen shirt from H&M is much more lightweight than a Jaeger one I bought on eBay. My Monki blazer is not as well made as my Arket blazer or the Daks one I bought from a charity shop. The clothes from Toast will have ethically sourced fabric and will not be manufactured in sweat shops. It doesn’t mean that’s true for all higher end brands.

We have a problem with fast fashion, disposable items that don’t even last a year before they end up in landfill and horrific conditions for the people who make them and we don’t even care about it. Chains on Primark et al are built on the premise that you will get bored of an item and be onto the next trend. They turn over huge numbers so even if you have an individual item that lasts well you’ve bought into the whole business model. We have to change how we view fashion and our wardrobes - it’s a big problem. I think the answer is to consume less overall, buy better quality & second hand.

@strawberrydonuts honestly, I am skeptical about expensive clothes. I have designer handbags, shoes, belts, clothes etc - for no other reason than the fact I could.

But, take note, Alexander McQueen wore the most cheapest of clothes, he dressed his models in bin bags and began his career with dole money - I find the only meaning behind expensive clothes is lining the pockets of a business, like most things expensive.

I only ever buy jeans or jeggins from primark as my thighs are bigger than my waist/hips and they allow the stretch on my thighs and the tightness on my hips, cannot find it anywhere else.

I tend to shop for what style I'd like to wear - not the designer, not the shop, not the price.

Usually jeans or workout leggings and a crop top from ASOS that £6-£8.

All I wear 😂

Really want to buy fewer good quality things and not buy cheap crap. I always find I get more wear out of the more expensive things.

Sorry mean't to add if you bung everything on a hot wash and then fling it in the tumble dryer, both expensive and cheaper clothes will struggle to look good for long.

I have been thinking about this a lot and decided to focus on ethical brands. If you look on Good On You directory.goodonyou.eco/ it's quite surprising how some brands are rated. Toast for example, isn't rated well: this tells me it's aesthetic of sustainability is just green washing. M&S on the other hand are more highly rated. Some higher end stuff is ethical, some isn't - I'm now building a wardrobe from brands like M&S, Thought but also one-off items from Birdsong and Frank.

OMG I hate Toast! Their clothes are frumpy, unflattering, and badly cut.

But Mumsnet loves them! I wonder if it's because their prices are high that they have to justify it.

I think sometimes expensive clothes are worth it (eg lovely cashmere that doesn't bobble, well cut jeans) but sometimes definitely not (Toast). It totally depends on the brand.

Some are, some aren"t.

I had a velvet boden jacket for about 10 years that still looked as good as the day I bought it (I got rid post children as there is.no way I'll ever fit into it again). I also splashed out on a lovely down filles coat last winter (not canada goose, I'm not that flush!) and I've never been so cosy in my life.

On the other hand, I bought myself a £70 pair of dungarees from seasalt and they broke after 8 wears. I wasn't impressed with their dresses either.

The most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever bought were from Primark.

I don't think price is always linked to quality. You really need to see.clothes in person to get a feel for how well made they are. Internet shopping is a no until you find.a few trusted brands.

I probably could afford more expensive pieces but I'm rather frugal and don't want to spend a fortune on clothes. I generally shop in Primark, supermarkets as well as selecting some second hand pieces from ebay. I choose wisely based on the quality of each piece and my wardrobe has lasted surprisingly well. I don't buy clothes that often as I hate the throwaway culture. What I buy I want it to last. I also think it's easier to buy clothes if you have a small frame as things tend to sit better so you don't need expensive tailored items.

I tend to think it's worth paying for quality if it's something that one would wear a lot and over a long period of time and of course if one is in a position to do so. I've been very lucky that at certain points of my life I've been in a position to buy expensive things and these are keeping me going through periods like right now when we're living hand-to-mouth and I've not bought a single item in about five years.

But I am far from convinced there is a linear causal relationship between price and quality. If the price is high because the material and construction are good quality, that's one thing. If the price is high because of trends or labels but the underlying quality is poor, that's something else, and learning how to evaluate intrinsic quality is something which in my experience Brits are not particularly good at.

I read somewhere a while ago that the average French or Italian person spends slightly more on clothing than Brits, but buys less than half as much. That tells me quite a lot.

Budget is defo the deciding factor and I think there is a skill to getting the quality and look at a snip.

Ebay, sales, outlets etc.
Key investment pieces

To me, a tshirt could be something you wear every day if it fits amazingly I'd pay more.

But I'd be more likely to pay more for an outer jacket, quality shoes etc.

@thevassal

I think people exaggerate how long cheap items don't last for. I've got shoes from primark, tesco etc I've had for years and are going fine. Things like a pair of winter boots might only last a season or two if you wear them every day...but twenty or thirty pounds every year is still cheaper than 150 for a good quality "classic" pair that you feel you have to keep wearing forever even though two years into buying them knee high black leather you can only wear with skinny jeans is completely out and everyone else is wearing brightly coloured ankle boots with their mom jeans!

Basically the ethos of buying something to last years assumes fashions, tastes, lifestyles and your weight all stay the same for a decade or more. But how many people does that really apply to? You could buy an expensive going out black dress, £300 boots, perfectly fitting work trousers, a burberry trench as a pp posted upthread, etc in your late twenties - all great quality 'classic' items....then 3 years later you're working from home so never wear smart workwear, lovely heeled boots have been replaced by wellies for walks in the countryside, the classic lbd no longer fits and you're too scared to get babysick on the trenchcoat!

This is such a good point. Not everyone wants to or will be able to fit into long lasting expensive clothes year after year!

I also get frustrated with people criticising shoppers for ‘fast fashion’ if they shop at places like primark. I love primark but I don’t recognise this idea of buying a top to wear on a couple of nights out and then discarding it. I buy things that will last a long time and wear them until they no longer look alright (which tbf has never happened yet with cheap clothes I buy anyway).