To think the price of clothing has soared!

[Orangegreen]

Not talking particularly high end brands. Even supermarket clothing lines, historically cheaper shops, ASOS etc. Hard to find a dress for under £30 and that is often pushing it, usually they are in the £40-60 bracket just for an every day type dress. Occasion wear is probably much more but I’m not in the habit of buying this!

I nipped into Primark the other day thinking they would be cheaper but not anymore.

Why has it gone so crazy?

£13 is good for a kids' dress...if the quality is good.

Probably because we are not in EU anymore. Was in Spain and clothing cheaper for same items in Zara.

I'm greatful for all the lovely dresses and tops I bought in Bravissimo - especially now they aren't doing clothes. 8 years in and they all still look great and get a lot of wear, nice thick stretchy fabric too and wash beautifully

It's a bit of an exaggeration based on your experience perhaps. As it is I've heard quite a few negative experiences about vinted itself and also with the whole reseller problem (which is related to vinted).
I'm glad it's been good for you though.

Charity shops

Everything's made elsewhere and costs more to get here. Plus cotton is more expensive. I wish it meant less sweated labour :(

What are you on about? A quick look at the Primark website shows loads of 'every day' dresses for under £30.

BTW, I think 'full-priced' clothing has gone up because most shops constantly have sales. They used to be at set times. January, End of Season, it's now constant!

I use Vinted and wait for sales from my favourite brands, can get some good deals that way.

For perspective, when I was a teenager, C&A was the go to inexpensive clothes shop and that is roughly what I would have paid for those items then. 40 years ago. I felt I had a bargain when I picked up a paper bag waist skirt for £12 and I wore it until it had holes in it (and I couldn't squeeze into the 25" waistband any more!)

’they’? Who’s they?

The clothes shops don’t want you to spend less…

What do you mean by the reseller problem? l know from facebook groups l am in that clothing resellers try to get away with selling on Vinted, although it is meant to be private sellers only, and also some buy items cheap on there to sell for more on other sites

yes. this. and yes clothes, food all have been far too cheap for far too long, yadda yadda, but wages haven't risen to match at all.

It's been a race to the bottom for too long. Keeping prices lower proportionately over a long period of time when they really should have risen. And now a sudden jump. Prices should have increased slowly over time - then it would still feel like value for money.

It's a similar patten with the cost of eating out. Prices in restaurants literally stayed the same for ~10 years. Eating out feels like a cheap treat when it shouldn't.

Eventually restaurants are forced to increase prices due to inflation (after a period of reduced quality while the try to reduce costs), but it feels like too big of a jump after such a long period of static prices. A few months later, restaurant closes.

Prices should have gradually increased in line with inflation to give restaurants a better chance of survival.

I purchase all but underwear secondhand. Eco-friendly and costs less.

Totally agree. I used to buy basic black work trousers from Asda for £4; doesn’t seem that long ago. The equivalent is now £10 more. Everything is so expensive now.

Harsh. I would say for every 30 things you buy, there’s a terrible one.

The prices you are used to paying are stupid, though. I make some of my own clothes, and I couldn’t do so for cheaper than primark just paying for materials / not accounting for labour. If you consider it takes several hours to make a dress, the materials involved, is it really reasonable to expect to pay less than £30?

£20 for a pair of black trousers for school for DD from New Look the other week! But they fit her so we just had to take them although I'd have expected to pay only between £10-15 not so long ago.

This x1000.

We have been spoiled with very low inflation for a long time. Everyone expects low prices but then complain about low wages.

‘Cheap’ brands yes are really bad value for money and are absolutely more expensive than they used to be and cost a lot per wear. It’s actually cheaper per wear to buy expensive and keep it a long long time. ASOS etc quality is just awful. I still think M&S is good x

As well as more general inflation, Brexit has had a huge impact on the clothing industry.

Hopefully, some of the price increase is attributable to a greater focus on supply chain sustainability and labour conditions.

Additionally (much needed) increases in minimum wage have caused significant cost pressures across the retail sector.

I've always been a fan of independent brands (or individual makers) with a focus on quality and sustainability, so I don't mind the increases in high street prices, as it makes the clothing I like (which generally lasts for ages) far more affordable/financially justifiable in comparison!

Completely agree!

Ordered my 3 children, 3 pairs of leggings/joggers and 3 T-shirts each and it came to over £90, nothing fancy just navy bottoms and multi pack of T-shirts for the top 😵‍💫

I do agree with the vinted comment. I haven't been able to get much success on there, and I'm not alone. Great if you do well though.

Agree with the shop prices, but I'll also say it - charity shop prices have increased and the quality of clothes has been poorer. Not all, I still get some very good purchases, but I've definitely noticed it.

"Why has it gone so crazy?"

In March 2022, the minimum wage for most adults was £8.91.
In April 2024 it's £11.44.

That's a 28% increase in just over two years. That's for the people that work in the shops, in the warehouse, cleaners, people that maintain the buildings and computers/tills. It will also affect the cost of things they need to use in the business like cleaning products and till rolls and toilet rolls.

Electricity prices for business are astronomical at the moment. The business I work in, their electricity has gone from £450 per month to nearly £2000 per month. It's a small business in a building the size of an average house. There is no price cap on business electricity. The cost in places like Primark will be astronomical.

I imagine too, that makes have gone down, as people can afford less. These overheads still need to be paid for by customers. That will also have a knock on effect on prices.

Zara was significantly cheaper in Spain than in the UK before Brexit ever happened. It certainly can't have helped, but it's definitely not the only reason

What pisses me off is my local charity shops regularly charge more than the original retail price for dirty damaged clothing! I can no longer afford to shop in charity shops. I sew my own now.