To think that clothes are such poor quality now?

[Pythone]

(And other products too, really!)

I saw this tweet which summed it up: twitter.com/lingerie_addict/status/1494349028296900613?s=24

I've been thinking this for months - the difference between newer things and things I bought pre about 2017 is so stark. E.g. a nightdress from John Lewis which looked nice on the website, but then in real life the material is so thin and is only printed on one side, so the other side is just white with the design sort of showing through. Everything from mid-level shops seems to feel like the "cheapest of the cheap" from a decade or two ago, sometimes even like a fancy dress costume level. Thin fabric, weak construction, terrible finishing, strong chemical smells when you open the bag, and looking bad after a few washes. I bought a dressing gown from M&S and the pockets are just coming away at the sides even without being used.

In the mid-2000s I'd buy cheap things, often as part of a costume for a party or for a one-off outfit, and they'd just end up as part of my regular wardrobe for years. These days it's hard to imagine anything lasting that long, never mind things that weren't really expensive to start with.

Has anyone else noticed this?

M&S probably do make some high quality pieces they will just be tiny buys for online & flagship stores.

I agree. The standard of materials used in much of the clothing on sale is dire.
M&S used to be so reliable and in the past few years it really has gone down.
Knickers that used to be 100% cotton are now some microfibre sh*te, the ones that are cotton are of such flimsy material !!Ghastly polyester coats and plastic shoes.

I’m not sure l understand Hiraffe?

Items made abroad are practically always cheaper than stuff made in the U.K. And buyers and suppliers will move production around countries for the cheapest price.

So mainly they would be profitable. If Brazil was too expensive for shoes, then they would have moved production to a cheaper place.

@Iamthewombat

M&s as example, used to use UK factories and quality, fit and fabric we're excellent and quality. Then they moved production abroad and I all went to shit

They had to, to stay in business. Nobody wanted to pay traditional prices for traditional British-made clothes. I think about the lovely things I had from M&S in the 1990s when I was doing my accountancy training and I could weep! Beautiful Italian fabrics in suits. Cotton knit jumpers. Well cut trousers. Then all of a sudden anyone in the mid-market had to go cheap because everyone decided that a skirt should cost no more than £8 and a T shirt couldn’t be more than £5 because that is what Primark charged.

I think it was a Mumsnet thread I read ages ago, where someone who had worked for M&S in one of their London stores was regularly assailed by customers telling her that she had a cheek trying to charge £12 for a T shirt and it was robbery. This is in the last 10 years.

Yes. And I remember when the UK factory workers were on strike because M&S were moving production abroad. Unfortunately, there strikers were all wearing much cheaper brands.

It is such a shame. M&S had such good quality clothing in the 80s and 90s but because everyone started shopping at Primark, they had to change their offering.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow but it's not a simple as that.
Brazil for example will have had fantastic leather & craftsmanship built up over years of industry making shoes. Moving that to another country takes time & is often a struggle. I remember we couldn't get Vietnam factories to produce certain shapes because they didn't yet have the expertise to do this.

My point about profitability was in response to You can still make high quality items abroad. As I said of course you can but these items may not be profitable because the RRP will likely have to increase, which customers often do not want.

It’s not always a struggle to move production to another country. We did it all the time. There were always cheaper factories who were keen to start producing new items and could undercut current suppliers.

I agree that may not be the same with shoes. I’m just talking from my experience.

Do people not expect to pay more for quality items? I would.

As far as I can see this is how 90% of UK fashion works now.

Cheap faddy clothes are designed and made (with no regard for social or environmental impact) in sweatshops in Bangladesh, China etc and shipped to the UK.

People buy these cheap clothes in huge quantities, wear them once or twice and dump them in charity shops or "recycling" where they mostly end up back in developing countries as landfill and pollution.

Everyone in the West turns a blind eye to everything except buying, wearing and "decluttering". If they have noticed how rubbish the clothes are, they complain that better or more ethical clothes are far too expensive. In developing countries they have little choice as they rely on the export trade and the West dictate terms.

I feel sick at the horrible destructive treadmill of it and our privilege in buying and disposing of these unnecessary and useless clothes without paying a fair price.

@hiraffe did you work for Tailoring department in Topshop by any chance? I am asking because they used to do a lot of business with Vietnam.

People do expect to pay more for quality items - personally my problem is finding quality items in the first place. Not only the quality itself, but also in a style and cut you like and that suits you. I rarely buy anything and keep clothes until I can't wear them anymore, but what does that help me if it's difficult to find anything good? It just gives more time to look than for someone who is constantly buying.

The other problem is that as discussed above, sometimes you pay more and the quality on offer is equally poor.

Lots of unwanted clothes go to the Third World to be worn.They don’t always go directly to landfill.

Textiles can often be re used to make cleaning rags or needle felted blankets. It’s not as polluting as some other products. And man made fibres/plastic are often recycled into other clothing

@Acidburn Never made it to that dept. They normally move you around quite a bit particularly in the junior days but I was quite lucky to stay on depts quite long.

YANBU
Completely agree. I've got clothes I've had for years that look as good as new. Have bought a couple of the supersoft jumpers recently and they have literally lasted about two washes before looking like tat, and they're probably full of awful plastic fibres of some sort.

It’s not always a struggle to move production to another country. We did it all the time. There were always cheaper factories who were keen to start producing new items and could undercut current suppliers.

Yes it depends on the product but often factories promise you the world but can't deliver. Also you have to do audits & know as much about the supply chain as possible (not foolproof obvs).

Do people not expect to pay more for quality items? I would.

I certainly do. So the only high street shop I buy shoes from now is Russell & Bromley which probably isn't high street any more but I want leather footwear from Europe.

But I'm talking about want. I don't believe the vast majority of the population want to pay high prices for excellent quality. You can disagree.

@hiraffe i see.. and are you still in Buying?

But l think a small percentage of the population would pay higher for better made stuff. I agree the majority wouldn’t.

I know all about factories who promise you the world and can’t deliver😖. They lie and say they’ve sent it when they haven’t!

I bought a floaty chemise thing from Boux Avenue recently as a present to myself. It looked absolutely stunning on the website! Not just the model obviously, but the actual garment. I dreamed about it for months. When it came I was terribly disappointed. It looks and feels so very cheap and is just like the garbage I'd expect from Ali Express or Wish. I can only think those are indeed the places our High Street shops are now sourcing their garments from. I didn't send it back as in the end I got it for twenty quid, but I def should have.

Don;t even get me started on some joggers I bought from PLT The quality reminds me of things my grandparents would buy from adverts in the back of magazines in the 90s/00s. It just feels so dodgy and like the fabric will literally disintegrate.

I will say when I've bought Asos Design pieces I've been really impressed by the quality. That's one brand I actually trust at the moment.

@Acidburn nope not compatible with dc

Agreed. Given climate crisis, I think legislation allowing for either minimum standards or prosecution for substandard goods is needed. Last year I returned several items because they failed within first few months (headphones, toys). Thr shop didn't care, just replaced them. But I do. I detest adding to global warming and landfill just because the manufacturer skimped on materials.

It's why i buy mostly second hand off ebay etc now....better quality...you might as well buy primark as same quality as the more expensive shops....in fact some of their stuff is really good and lasts for years.

[quote Brightandyoung]@Cognoscenti

I bought these - they are actually good quality!

]][/quote]
@Brightandyoung Thank you! I'm going to give those a try 😊

Spend more money on quality items, and take great care over them. I mostly shop on eBay 99% of the items I buy and new or worn once. My wardrobe is worth thousands but I have spent a fraction of that. When I feel I am not wearing pieces I sell them on and don’t make much of a loss as I’ve taken such good care of my clothes.

@workwoes123
I do the same as your mum. I have a few patterns that I make a variety of staples clothing for myself from.
I do use other patterns too.
There are fantastic fabrics for sale if you source them correctly.
A decent dress to make can cost me around 80 quid ,a coat I just made, fabric cost 150 quid. So how people can expect quality clothing off the rails for a lot less than baffles me?
The smell of chemicals when you go in some shops is awful too.

Definitely agree. Not seen much difference in the quality in the lower end shops (like Primark or George at Asda) but the quality of more
Mid range shops has definitely deteriorated, the quality of Next clothing is shockingly bad and M&S underwear is pretty poor too!

@Cognoscenti try these ones too direct.asda.com/george/women/leggings/black-control-ponte-full-length-leggings/GEM866205,default,pd.html?cgid=D1M1G20C33

@HardbackWriter

My best tip is to buy secondhand (I use vinted a lot) and don't buy stuff that's on there but new, buy things that are genuinely second hand.

A) you can buy things that would have been a lot more expensive new (though, as discussed, this is no guarantee)
B) if it's second hand but in good condition then you know it won't fall apart on the first wash.

I didn't buy anything that wasn't secondhand in 2021 as a new years resolution and while it generally worked well I was excited in January to buy some 'new' things. That excitement went as soon as the stuff arrived (it's not really practical for me to do much shopping in person) and it was all such obviously crap quality. I've gone back to secondhand - the stuff just seems better.

I’m a massive convert to second hand since I found Vinted. Never had much luck on charity shops but Vinted has been great so far. Not buying much anymore anyway as saving but when I need something I get it from there now mostly.