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.

Even things like Merino ( itchy bugger ) and cotton can be problematic as they aren't necessarily better than polyester for the planet . Merino can be produced in a way that's very painful for the sheep and cotton is incredibly water intensive.

I've still got jumpers from Bay trading and pilot. Neither if which were expensive shops. His a few shirts from primark which must be pushing 15 or so years now too. Dh is a bit obsessed wroth the idea that brands = quality, but I really don't think that's true of women's clothes.

Pretty much all retailers have cheapened their products - it’s so disappointing. Where have natural fabrics gone? There are no details to the designs, no special stitching, details, embellishments. The cut of clothes is so basic - there’s nothing fitted or ruched, for example. No fabric with a self pattern, no nice linings in coats or jackets. Brands that used to be good quality like Whistles and All Saints for example - are a shadow of what they used to be. I’ve been mad and sad about it for ages and recently decided to disengage and step away from ‘fashion’ - I still have a jacket I bought from the original All Saints store in Brighton 30 years ago - it’s been re-lined twice and I still love it and know I’ll never find anything like it again probably. I buy second hand now for natural fabrics and quality designs and have zero polyester in my wardrobe, I hate it and what it will do to the environment. I hate how it feels and looks.

I mourn the clothes of the 80’s & 90’s and early 00’s but I can’t see fashion ever moving backwards to those days.

I’ve broken up with fashion & the high street after years of it bringing me a lot of joy. But I refuse to buy shoddy, plastic garments with little to inspire me. I’m done!

Landsend is probably the best cashmere jumpers I have ever purchased. M&S is definitely not as good. Muji is also good. I got some great boots that has lasted me several years now and their coats are well stitched and good quality material. Anthropology is also one of the better brands using good material.

#EachFallenRobin I'm impressed! Would you be prepared to share sources of fabric, please? And, which brands of patterns you find good and true-to-size?

I bought some stuff from me&em a few weeks ago. Not great. Shirk washed badly following all their instructions. Have now unsubscribed. Similar quality to h&m.

Ive always made some clothes myself but in recent years the cost of a pattern ( unless you plan to use it again), the fabric, the interfacing, the zip, even buttons and threads, are astronomical.

And yet everyone still expects ready made clothes to cost thruppence and be made of spun gold.

Cannot tell you the number of threads that consist of an OP - size 14 or 18 or more - wanting an important (interview / wedding guest / staff party) and beautifully made dress, for up to £50. (New!)

Everything in shops is either rubbish fabric or crazy style. I gave up now and live in fear of the day where my 6 jumpers, 1 pair of jeans and 1 leggings give up and die.

The cut of clothes is so basic - there’s nothing fitted or ruched, for example.

For you, @Itsbaloney -

Horror Vacui

Though even here, garments are not as beautifully made as they were five years ago. The cotton blouses and dresses used to be breathtaking; this season’s velvet seems quite cursory and throwaway by comparison.

It's not hard to find good dressmaking supplies these days. All the patterns in the world on The Fold Line website. I like Closet Core, and The Assembly Line but all designers have different styles. The classic Vogue/Simplicity etc are still available. Lots of free patterns around for basic t shirts.

Good fabrics: Guthrie and Ghani, Minerva, Merchant Mills, Fabworks, Lamazi, sew me sunshine, Dalston Mill, loads more including the "pound a metre" places and eBay/Etsy. I usually get fabric samples first for a £1 or so, and also measure carefully for patterns and adjust to fit.

I don't think dressmaking is expected to be cheaper than supermarket clothes, unless you get a fabric bargain. But if you invest a little in the equipment and a few classes/books you can make almost anything.

Merino is NOT itchy, and how is it "produced in a way that's very painful for the sheep"? I don't care if they are not better than polyester for the planet - although that is debatable, at least they break down eventually - but they are much better for comfort.

I agree with all of this. I'm not well off at all but have always preferred one investment piece over ten fast fashion items, thinking I'm getting years of wear out of it. That may have been the case twenty years ago but it certainly isn't now.
I don't want to part with cash for anything at the moment but I'll need to relent at some point as my current stash is running low. No idea where to shop.

I have just bought a Community Clothing jumper after seeing them recommended here many times. I do like the look of them at least.

I agree there's been a steep decline in quality of clothing but I've had merino tops for several years now, including a couple from Findra which you mention, and they're in shape and have no holes.

You do seem to have a moth problem.

I’m not really seeing shouting or ‘middle class handwringing’? Just people making the point, for years now, that many clothes are produced by people living and working in absolutely dire conditions. This has never been exclusive to more affordable clothing.

I also really dislike seeing clothing that working people can afford repeatedly sneered at as ‘tat’. It also makes no sense to sneer at the ‘asymmetric 600 pound prairie dress from Denmark’ suggestions. Cost is always relative and that will seem as affordable to some as your choices seem to you; both well out of the price range of many people whose work is essential to our society.

Maybe worth pointing out that every £600 asymmetrical dress will either be worn to death by the original buyer, passed on to someone else, or will find its way to a pre-owned site to be re-sold at a price well within the scope of working people. (Whatever that means.)

I know but the point I was making is that in the past it has been cheaper to make clothes - I made all of my children’s clothes 40 years ago as I couldn’t afford shop prices.

I have found my people! I’ve been frustrated for some time now at the quality - or lack thereof - of so-called high end brands. They are completely trading on their name and past glories. At those prices I don’t expect hems that fall apart, fabrics you can see through (Toast, I am looking at you) and things that look like a rag after they’ve been washed and worn for a season.

TBH I buy quite a bit from H&M. If you’re discerning with the fabrics they wash and wear quite well, I’ve got long sleeved cotton tops that are worn all year round that have lasted a good couple of years. But other than that I use Vinted for brands I know my sizing in, or charity shops (although the latter seem to be full of bobbly Primark stuff at near-retail price).

Agree. Have to say, I was always a bit sneery at Shein... until I bought some stuff from them, the quality of which is frankly excellent.
For example, a bright green beach co-ord that I definitely thought would 'colour run' in the wash. Not even a tiny bit of green on the colour catcher.
Also dresses come out of the wash EXACTLY how they go in.
IMO pricier doesn't always mean better.

I hesitate to recommend Land's End for fear of being laughed at, but some of their basic stuff- tshirts, puffers, swimsuits- has worn really well for me. In any case, I don't really see the difference between one black cotton tshirt and another.

I have 3 Max Mara Coats, which were about £800 each 10 years ago. Hardly worn as bought when working in office and then had 3 kids and no longer fits now. Quality is just amazing, soft to touch etc. Same with Givenchy dress. I will need to list it somewhere and people can get bargain. Even stuff I donated from that era c 15 years ago, the high st quality was amazing. Reiss, Topshop etc were just good fabric. There is nothing I want to buy these days. Everything is blah, no shape etc.

Honestly OP, you are not wrong!

I've succombed to buying stuff, from shops I wouldn't touch, years ago, because I, genuinely, don't see a quality difference against more expensive brands.

I need to make my own, really, but I'm terrible at sewing

Community Clothing is quietly taking over my wardrobe with excellent quality garments. Most recent delight is Bretons which are a gorgeous heavy cotton. I love that my jeans label says Made in Blackburn. Ds swears by their sports socks which last and last.

@Peonies007 you could consider selling your stuff via

Reluxe

or

Vestiaire

(I haven’t sold any clothes myself and have only bought from the latter - but they’re both well established and recommended.)

Thanks. I did sell some bags on Vestaire. It was fairly smooth transaction.