To think high quality clothes are not actually high quality?

[LadyDimpletonFrisby]

Been noticing a huge drop in quality over the years as I am sure many MNers are aware. It isn't just the high street though. In fact, considering some of the more expensive mistakes I have made, I might as well have gone to poundland.

So, in the last few years I have purchased some reputedly good stuff from the likes of Brora, Toast, Oska, Finisterre and various other ethical or well made brands. On the high street end I have bought knitwear from COS, John Lewis and NavyGrey. Most of these are strongly recommended online as an alternative to landfill tat.

Well, 2 of my Finisterre wool knits have formed holes, one a the neck and two on the back. My COS merino has also formed holes and has become thinner and badly fitting over a few months. My Toast stuff has bobbled to the point where it looks shabby as opposed to chic, no matter how carefully I wash by hand and dry appropriately. I follow instructions carefully and look after my clothes, and don't tend to pull them out of shape, etc.

I then tried Seasalt, but the tops were getting thinner and cheaper looking, whilst the prices remained the same. I have also noticed massive drops in quality when replacing an item that I love - Sweaty Betty took a drop in the space of one year with wildly different fabric thickness within a short time for the same item.
Even luxury nightwear has sunk, as a £75 set of pyjamas from White Company was noticeably thinner and badly finished compared to a year previous. I had purchased the new one as a gift for a family member and was able to see how awful they were next to my own - the price had also shot up to nearly £90 in this time too.

I am considering just quitting really, focusing on practical stuff as I am outdoors a lot, and just hoping things improve eventually. I can't see it though. I have tried the second hand route and for the most part, it isn't a perfect solution as many of the items are either smelly or visibly worn out on arrival.

Depending on what you looking for obviously, there are still smaller manufacturers here in the U.K. making quality clothing but it comes at a price however no more than many of the loved brands on S&B eg Cos. Scotland seems to have a few excellent brand. That said I've bought 2 good pieces recently, one Hobbs, one Monsoon but you have to wade through the tat to find them

I do this for my basics. Just made better with tougher fabric.
Ive returned countless things lately because they shrink. Especially my husbands T-shirts. 100% cotton washed slower and lower than recommended and a good 3 inches shorter when dried.

But I am the one buying from those British, small brands, and they're no better, sadly. I suppose that is my point.

I'd also point out i haven't had an issue with seasalt, and they are not that expensive (£70 for a dress isn't premium)

My three year old Finisterre sweatshirt is holding up well, though my terribly expensive (overpriced!) Toast jumpsuit went baggy after a few wears. I'm finding Plumo still high quality though I can only afford one item a year from them!

My solution has been to teach myself dressmaking this year. Good 'deadstock' fabric isn't hard to source and, although the clothes I'm making are still quite simple, I now have some beautiful wool trousers, a few boxy linen tops and wide leg cropped trousers, denim/canvas skirts, soft cotton pyjamas - all made on a basic sewing machine. Lots of mistakes along the way but making my own clothes is hugely satisfying.

Luckily for me, the dip in quality has coincided with me WFH and things going much more casual after the pandemic. So I barely need any new clothes.

i'm sure there are lots of factors at play here - most notably the much higher turnover of styles so more frequent production schedules and smaller runs of items, which is less cost efficient. Having to produce a greater range of sizes is also less efficient- they can jigsaw together the pattern pieces for an 8 & a 16 to minimise waste but when you get up to larger sizes that just isn't possible, and having a greater size range means more unsold stock in various sizes, so again less efficient. Margins are lower, consumers expect low prices for a vast range of styles and sizes so manufacturers will have to cut back on ethics and quality. I love the Style & Beauty board but if is shocking how little discussion of human rights in the supply chains there is. Forced labour in cotton picking is a huge global problem - M&S at least boycott Chinese cotton as the Chinese government use mass slave labour from Muslim groups in their cotton production.

It's all made in the same places - I always remember a conversation with a Brand that was growing very rapidly -they'd sell a t-shirt for 20 - 25 and they all cost them £2-3 and his throw away line was what we don't understand is the larger the logo the more we can charge - they all cost the same to produce

And I only buy second hand wool jumpers, figuring that if they've held up well enough to be washed and worn a good few times, then donated to a charity shop, they're decent quality.

While I think it's always been true that brand or price doesn't equal quality it has definitely got worse in recent years. I have a next dress that's about 30 years old that's lasted because it's well made. I wouldn't be confident that I could be wearing todays purchases in three decades time.

One thing I have learned is to really look at labels. Does cashmere mean 100% cashmere, a blend of cashmere and wool or 10% cashmere and 90% viscose & mystery yarn?

gGenerally everything is recycled polyester. Which I find really sweaty and itchy on my skin.

Holes in new wool sweaters will be from moths, especially in weird places like on the back. Until you get rid of the moths you’ll continue to have holes in anything wool/cashmere you bring in.

I totally agree. Same applies to food and furniture. Drop in quality, increase in price.

My simple solution is to consume less. We rarely eat out now (even though for us cost isn't a problem: we just don't find anything worth what we have to pay. I spend less buying top quality food and cooking it at home). The children have fewer clothes which they wear until they fall apart or outgrow...and then we donate. DH and I buy fewer clothes and continue to wear things regardless of fashion (we were never fashionable so nothing looks awful!). I've also found a couple of reliable and good quality Made in China, internet-only clothing websites which are reasonably priced.

I just wonder who all these people are who buy expensive AND fashionable clothes each year. You really have to have quite considerable disposable income to manage this. Or different priorities, I suppose.

Even Trinny is wearing an identical Zara tshirt every day! ( Not the same shirt daily). Wearing the same T-shirt every day is the real secret to success (msn.com)
I am looking for a similar uniform I won't get bored of.

I make my own clothes too and have been for a while - the mistakes get fewer and fewer as you go! I started it as I couldn't find clothes I liked that fit me in the shops (big boobs on an average/small frame is rarely catered for in ready to wear, high or low end!)

But I do shop for some things I can't be bothered to make (underwear!) and always have a good browse of everything for inspiration and ideas - and have definitely noticed the huge drop in quality across the board in the past few years. I used to supplement my handmades with shop-bought clothes but hardly ever do any more, as it's clear that it won't be worth the money, even if it's cheap. The only place I would still buy is H&M for basics, because the quality is still good for the price point. It always was among the sturdiest of high street clothing and I've got stuff from there that's lasted well. But it's not high end! Which just isn't worth the money any more.

Clothes sewing is daunting, but for anyone who can manage the basics on a sewing machine it's more accessible than you'd expect, and definitely the surest route to good quality these days...

I volunteered with some Ukrainian refugees for a while and one bought me a present from Ukraine. It was just a standard black t shirt but the quality was incredible compared to the crap in all our shops, I can't even describe it. It was then I realised the cheap and nasty stuff we put up with, even the organic cotton ones are still no where near as a good as the stuff that's been made to last in the first place. And this is from a country at war and they're still making and selling better clothes than what we have access to in a richer country.

I only ever buy old things from Vinted or charity now. I have some great coats and knits - older Boden and old Jaegar which are holding up better than modern. That said my favorite dress is a 30 year old polyester shift from Marks..... I suspect it's indestructable!

I've got quite a lot of Scottish-made knitwear from Harley and Eribe. I'm not nice to it - wear it for rough housework and gardening and sitting with my elbows on the table for hours. The quality is wonderful - it looks as good as new after more than 2 years in some cases. I don't wash it too often and use Clothes Doctor when I do. I've also got a couple of quite thick cashmere sweaters for everyday wear from LandsEnd sale. Again, the quality is excellent. I wear them hard but they come up smiling. I do have a cashmere comb though.
I also just bought a couple of brushed cotton shirts and some culottes from Muji in Bologna. They weren't expensive but they seem very good quality. I shall destruction test them. I haven't really got any issue with Toast either.
Being old, I remember when Jaeger was a benchmark for quality.
Reiss and the like are disappointing, but that's not really why you choose them, is it?

You need to source from countries that still manufacture not just clothing, but fabric as well. French clothes tend to be well made, especially at the higher end.

Completely agree. Decent quality clothing is rare these days. Saying that, Maje, Sandro and Elisabetta Franchi seem to be very well made with nice fabric. I buy lots from Vestiaire.

Yeah I just bought some new flannel pyjamas from Hush. Had some lovely sets from them about 10 years ago and the last pair just finally wore through the bum. I had been putting it off because I knew the new ones wouldn't be as nice. But oh my goodness, the fabric quality has nosedived! You couldn't believe it was the same shop, honestly. 10 years of washing and wearing and my old ones are still thicker and cosier.

I shall be patching the bum!

...I do still rate Margaret Howell and Joseph for fabrics. But obviously they cost loads and loads. There's nothing at all high street that I know of that is decent, so, yeah, may as well go to Primark. I'm now basically shopping in Primark and Joseph...

I don't get holes in my Toast jumpers, though! Not sure what's going on there with you. But yes I have worn holes in my cords and now they don't sell the lovely barrel leg cut they once did so I've to go back on the hunt. I was thinking of Palava if anyone has those. Any good?

regarding merino knitwear, I have had good luck and many years wear out of Mountain Warehouse and other outdoor brands. Not fashion items and probably not appropriate for a non-outdoorsy job interview, but it did surprise me. Most of the UK brands who put a lot of artisanal type marketing into their campaigns and advertising have been the worst, sadly.

I have a donegal jumper from Toast, it is a lovely knit and colour, but after a few months of wearing it only occasionally, the wool has somehow 'spread' like elastic and now fits me like a sock. This wasn't the original design as was a straight fit, but it certainly isn't something that I am doing to cause it. It is chunky, scratchy, but very, very thin when you inspect the construction. I was almost £200.

I have skin in the game here as I have a business selling secondhand clothes. The quality of the older pieces is far and away superior to even higher end modern stuff. Brands like Planet, Jaeger, even the older Marks and Spencer, the quality is just fantastic. At this time of year you notice it in the Velvet and the knits in particular. The velvet is either 100% cotton or a silk blend, rather than the polyester sold nowadays, and the wool and cashmere is just better made. For modern pieces, I really do rate Toast, but their prices have risen a lot in recent years. Others have recommended places that make to order and again, the quality there is great, but you’ll pay through the nose for it.

The issue with second hand in some areas is that most shops are simply reselling high street tat.
And what happens in the future when most of the older, excellent stuff has been sold on. New items being recycled will be dreadful at some point..

Online we have much broader options, but many of my purchases (and I take care with details in listings) do arrive looking worn and tired in a bad way, even if their original quality was good.
And whilst many people trot out the 'smoke free/pet free' home spiel, it doesn't cover some of the other, more mysterious smells that I have not been able to wash out.
It's great in general, but would not work for my entire clothing needs, and I don't even have many.

I agree we have to buy less, but I also doubt that it is the middle class alone who are doing most of the constant purchasing (bar the occasional insta influencer), although the middle class are the ones who do the talking, hand wringing and the worrying about it all. If the messaging can't reach every social bracket in the UK, we are goosed. I think that currently the lower end of the high street have more purchasing power, 3 aisles in Asda and 4 in local poundland hosting plastic halloween throwaway stuff. We are all going to have a different approach and how we, as social groups, spend our money has a lot to do with it, and no one, not even I, want that conversation