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?

Costco sometimes has good deals on branded clothes.

YANBU. Not only is everything really expensive, it's all really nasty too. I spent ages scrolling through several online retailers this week and found nothing that I would actually want to buy

That works out at £5 per item of clothing, which isn’t unreasonable at all.

Agree with PP, we all got used to ridiculously low prices and now things are priced at what they should be it has come as a big shock.

Do people honestly need new clothes or do they just fancy new clothes.? Do people shop as a hobby or when they’re a bit bored. I used to be a bit like this. I still am sometimes but try and restrict myself to second hand shopping. If you find vintage clothes from places like M&S and remark on the quality you need to remember that proportionally that purchase was probably quite a pricy for someone. ( cost versus their earnings).

Much as I’m sick of not being able to afford nice stuff any more because my wages are low and everything is expensive, it’s about time we stopped the culture of cheap ‘throwaway fashion’ - better for the planet to buy less and wear more. If I want something I can’t afford new, I go to Vinted and have got some great work clothes from there. Yanbu though in that every damn thing has got so expensive compared to wages, for those of us at the lower end of the massive wage gap. I don’t go clothes shopping that often so haven’t really noticed it there as much as you, but we never eat out any more apart from McDonalds and I can’t justify buying anything in a coffee shop any more.

Was going to say this.
I am no style icon but am fussy about quality and fit and I have had so much fantastic stuff from Costco.

Am another one who tries Vinted and eBay first but I don’t buy shoes and trousers on there. Need to be able to try them on.

My DD has a pair of vintage Levi’s she has worn to death so has been stalking eBay for the exact model and size and bought two more pairs last week. One is perfect and the other is too tight and long. Some things need trying on.

I think the supermarket stuff has gone up. I bought a skirt from sainsburys. It was 28.00 which was more than I am used to paying from there.

I just buy in the sales, I bought some Seasalt and WhiteStuff things in Next sale recently. Because clothes like this aren't generally fashionable it is never worth buying at full price. I bought some summer jeans from M&S with a 20% Sparks discount.

New Look has lots of dresses in the £30 range. You do have to search through the tat for the gems, though. And there is always a 25% code floating around.

Primark still has decent children buys but you have to actually look/touch the material to figure out if it's going to last. £7 for branded joggers is good.

M&S has kids' clothing discount codes all the time. The clothing is very good quality and they are doing more branded items (i.e. pokemon, harry potter). Their cotton pjs last for ever.

Nike/Disney/NBA store we only shop during big sales (NBA just had a good one). Happy to pay £25-30 for a good quality kids' hoodie if it lasts and lasts and can be handed down.

Stuff like adult shoes, jackets/coats, sweaters we only buy higher quality, expensive items now, and sell stuff on when we get bored of it.

Vinted is definitely more hit and miss for me, I'm big and have a strange body shape that unfortunately doesn't look good in much 😂 so most of the time things on the hanger look awful on me. I bought a few things on Vinted for my holiday last year that ended up looking awful, I ended up selling them on at a loss.

But Vinted for kids stuff is amazing, I've had so many amazing bargains on their. I've also sold on lots of DDs stuff for bargain prices as well because I just want it out my house and she earns a few pennies.

My post was meant to be in response to @KeinLiebeslied54321 😊

Agree about Fatface. To be fair I usually only bought in the sale but even that never goes to a price point I am happy to pay now. Was thinking about trying Amazon fashion but maybe someone could advise if their stuff is any good?

And about time too. The sooner we move away from fast disposable fashion and the "wear it a couple of times and discard it for the next new thing" the better.

I buy far fewer clothes than I used to. Just got a couple of bits in Sainsbury’s sale. I wouldn’t have paid full price for what were essentially basics. Quality down, prices up. I did splurge on a couple of Hobbs dresses before Xmas. Sale prices but still close to £200 for both. One was woolly and despite careful washing has gone bobbly very quickly. The other had a broken belt loop after one wear and wash. Not sure what the answer is!

I haven't bought any clothes from regular shops for about a year...

I get things from charity shops if I really need something. My favourite pair of jeans was found for £4 in a charity shop...

Frankly, I have realised I had way to many clothes as it was and that there was no need to keep up that endless consuming drive.

I am planning to get a sewing machine and do some of my own stuff too because what I see in regular shops is just too expensive and badly put together.

I got a couple of jumpers from cotton traders a couple of winters back and they are still looking good and they have had a lot of wear this winter. They were more than I like to spend initially but have been worth it in this case.

Clothing is stupidly cheap

Expecting to buy an item that lasts for less than 2 hours of a minimum wage means someone is suffering somewhere

I only buy second hand now as I can only afford new in a sale

I bought an incredible 100% wool jumper from Toast for £58 in the sale, I expect it to last me decades

Brexit
Exchange rates rubbish. Most commodities are bought in USD and it’s £1=$1.25. I was in USA 16 years ago and it was £1=$1.97.
Red Sea blockade so cargo ships sail around Africa - adding 12-14 days to transportation

Another vote for Vinted here. I have so far picked things I know are likely to fit as they're from tried and tested brands - the quality has been excellent. I was particularly pleased with a brand new pair of shoes for a fiver. My husband has sworn he'll never buy work shirts new again and we've had such lovely things for our DD (7) that I can't see myself buying new for her again for a while. I know we'll probably have a bad experience at some point, but so far it should be outweighed by the good - for our bank balance, the environment and ethical considerations.

This sort of comment always comes up and rankles with those of us who volunteer in charity shops. There is no logic whatsoever in pricing things at more than they cost originally. There is no way on earth that any chain or shop will have this as a policy as it just doesn't make sense for a shop that is there to generate money. What IS possible though is that there are a few volunteers who don't recognise specific brands and think Nutmeg or Tu is high-end high street rather than supermarket. And that if there is a manager (not all charity shops have paid staff), they are so run off their feet doing everything else that they don't have time to check prices every day.

Also agree that the quality of high street clothing has declined massively over the last 20-30 years along with prices.

Changing perceptions of value though is difficult. I remember buying a pair of jeans when I was a student, I think I paid £15 for them in about 1993 or 1994 and that was a standard high street price from somewhere not particularly expensive. 30 years later, supermarkets and Primark are still selling jeans for the same price or less.

Also a big Vinted fan - have just bought a BNWT dress on there originally from the pretty little dress company, I paid £25 including postage, the tag price was around the £100 mark.

Having lost 8 stones since August, I’ve been obliged to buy clothes and shoes-dropped a size and a half. I did have a few bits left from slimmer days. I’ve been used to buying online, mostly eBay so was shocked at the prices in eg Asda for basics, plus I’m reluctant to spend much when I’m not finished losing (someone told me 18lbs=a clothes size, obviously it’s not that simplistic). I’ve lost 5-6 dress sizes, depending on brand, the variation drives me nuts!

I only discovered Vinted last year (I live under a rock) and bar one item that had an undeclared stain that won’t wash out, everything has been great. I’ve bought loads of jeans for £3, brand new stuff with the labels for similar. Just about to pick up a Regatta coat-£5. I’ve sold on there too and am extremely careful to ensure items are clean.

I’m pleased to see the checks on delivery/pick up on there, no nonsense re buyers/sellers it on saying stuff hasn’t been delivered/returned these days.

In Primark yesterday and it’s definitely a bit more expensive, but I bought some reduced items very cheaply and now fit their shoes!

I've put on weight and am now a size 16 so I sold what no longer fits and bought a whole new wardrobe mainly through Vinted. Some things didn't work and will sell them on but on the whole the best way to buy clothes now.

Vinted is my friend now but it does mean I stick to brands and shapes I know work for me which is a bit boring!