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.

It's cheap because they pay poverty wages. I have zero sympathy for British consumers complaining about clothing prices or quality whilst totally ignoring the horrific impact your desire for cheap clothes has on workers abroad.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg67w73nxqxo

I bought a cashmere jumper from arket online (was not cheap). The quality was awful and looked really shabby and definitely not worth the price. It went straight back!

If you can go to a shop to touch the fabrics, I have found Folk to be hard wearing.

Cos is a 'foreign' brand

Right!? But there's no saying that more expensive brands aren't treating staff the same way...

Well, some of them make a selling point of the fact that they are ethical brands. So there’s that.

@HoogieFlip Fabworks in Dewsbury has a great range of good value fabrics and is a pleasure to visit (it's especially good for linens). Wool is my favourite dressmaking fabric and there's an amazing stall at Leeds Market which sells rolls of deadstock wool incredibly cheaply - every few months I travel a couple of hours to these two places and stock up.

@Offcom I started with the Simplicity S9132, which is a basic pyjama bottom, and made a few for adults and kids, using old soft flannelette sheets I'd found in charity shops. Then adapted them slightly to make wide legged linen trousers with big patch pockets. I've just graduated to the Style Arc Ethel trousers, which have front pleats and inset pockets, and have made a couple with wool which I'm happy with. I made a few Agustina Boxy Tops when I started, which is a free pdf. I follow YouTube tutorials as I can still find pattern instructions baffling! I also make patterns from my favourite clothes, recently a simple jumpsuit and a Seasalt A-line skirt - it's easier than I expected.

@FacePalmCustard thanks for the H&M recommendation. I still need to buy t-shirts and vests as I've not graduated sewing with stretchy fabrics. Hoping to make a sweatshirt next if I can find 100% cotton sweatshirt fabric.

Yeah... ethical brands... while in the business of selling products they know people don't truly need? 🤔

Like the increased usage of 'vegan' leather? So plastic, then!? What's ethical about this? Almost brands - even high-end - use it.

At least Shein are honest about what they are. Or, indeed, what they're not!

Maybe- but isn’t that late-stage capitalism for you? And, in fact all of us need some clothes to wear, and inevitably some of what we (as a society) but will have to be made new.

Completely with you on “vegan leather” (and vegan bacon, the use of polyesters in place of wool or silk, etc etc).

I admit I have not RTFT but it seems to me that OP either has a moth problem or a care label problem with her woolies.

I agree that the quality of clothing has deteriorated over the last few years, a lot. But holes and thinning are either sings of moths or of using wrong detergents (unless it’s cats of course :-))

A bit of my wardrobe is Brora, I have been buying from them for years and the quality is excellent. My oldest woolies look new. I pay a lot of attention to what many consider “detail” such as construction, quality of buttons and lining. In general I expect crap quality from companies that sell unlined wool garments or use cheap plastic buttons with otherwise nice natural materials.

My biggest disappointment quality-wise has been Sezane, this brand is so overhyped and overpriced for what it represents that I can’t believe people are so easily manipulated by FOMO marketing and influencers.

I also think it’s unreasonable to expect some things to cost little and then complain about quality. Cashmere has never been cheap to make and if a cashmere garment is relatively cheap (as in COS or M&S) then it means that someone along the value chain has paid the price: the animal, the underpaid worker, the environment or the end customer who buys a garment that bobbles and falls apart.

Just discovered Community Clothing Odds and Ends which I didn't know existed! For those on a budget. WOMEN'S ODDS & ENDS - Community Clothing

Completely agree that the quality of clothing has nosedived this past decade and especially so since covid. Agree with PP who have mentioned the human cost in the fashion supply chains and would also
like to add the animal cost and suffering too. People seem to have no care about the appalling animal welfare cost of cheap leather, wool and fur. It’s horrific.

Makes me afraid of what the quality is going to be like when my kids become adults. At the moment there is enough good quality second hand clothes available but when my kids are older and start shopping for themselves, the charity shops are going to be filled with polyester poor fitting clothes.

Been buying kids fleece PJ fromM&S the past few years. Nice thick quality with bit of stretch. Just received this year ones (bc eldest outgrown last year) and they are much thinner, no stretch. They won't last a season.
Polarn O pyret makes good clothes for kids and they accept used clothes and resell it online.

Reading this is quite interesting as someone has said they found Me and Em similar quality to H&M and I personally disagree. Have quite a bit from me and em and have found the quality very good.

Also Brora I think is very good quality - if. you get any holes in their cashmere if you take it into store they will get it repaired for you. I bought my mil a cashmere robe from Brora for her birthday - granted it was about 4 times as much as the white co equivalent but the quality is so much better. White Co cashmere is shockingly bad.

The MO of all brands seems to be develop a reputation for quality then sell out on that reputation.

It's a problem in food too.

It's hard not to become a dyed in the (organic British) wool communist as a result.

Crikey, this thread has come along just at the right time! There I was thinking I ought to start paying more for better quality clothes but 94% of you think I’d be wasting my money
Short of being naked, I’m not sure what we are supposed to do though?

I think the best thing is to do is learning to recognise the signs of quality. It’s not rocket science and the ways companies are cutting costs are easy to spot. Once all the signs of not-so-great quality are there we can make an informed decision whether the price is right for what we will be getting.

Another thing is being realistic. The costs of everything, including fuel and raw materials have been going up for years. In comparison, the costs of clothing at large fast fashion brands such as the H&M group stagnates. There must be some cost cutting in place to be able to sell the same garment for the similar price year by year, so expecting high quality, expensive materials for next to nothing is not realistic.

The quality of everything is declining because the cost of materials has vastly increased. The £75 nightwear that cost The White Company £10 to make now costs £30, so rather than tripling the price for the customer they buy cheaper material instead.

I went into my closest John Lewis looking for a wool coat, this kind of thing was all I could find. Polyester, creased, badly cut. John Lewis used to be good, but this might as well be Shein!!

@flowersintheatticus exactly that. I work in a similar industry. Costs have gone up vastly but consumers and retailers are still expecting value for money of course. Rather than increasing the price companies are reducing the quality to save on sourcing costs.

Itsbaloney - that's shoddy AF, but not surprising these days. Agree that could be Shein.

I’m not sure that value for money across the board is what people want though..sure, there has to be a balance but there are plenty of people willing to pay a bit extra for natural fibres. I think many companies just use high costs as an excuse to churn out ten ton of polyester crap because it will make THEM more money overall. Its a false economy as lots of people will just not buy it. These companies - including John Lewis, M&S etc are also contributing tons of plastic in landfill - so actually, they don’t give a shit about the environment either!

Would happily pay double just for some nice quality. I dont buy lots (only have 2 pairs of trousers), so when I buy I want stuff to last.
Used to buy 7 for Mankind jeans - £170 a go but used to be so nice and lasted years.
They now swapped to new jeans material call Bair. Apparently light to wear, which it is, but they last month or two and end ik with crotch hole. Still charge the same.

I haven’t heard of any of the shops you’ve mentioned. I get my clothes on eBay I can pick up clothes coast and marks which still have the tag on them for a steal! I’m not s designer clothes person but if I do see an item that I need and like I will pick it up but at much reduced prices on eBay. I shop on Amazon a lot too. I am a sucker for anytjjng reduced in marks and Spencer’s. U can’t afford to pay full price anymore there, they used to be a lot more affordable and accessible to low-middle income earners. Can’t justify £75 on a pasig of pyjamas let alone a coat! I think u do need to refocus and look at the shops with more realistic prices an stop wasting ur money!!!! Quality doesn’t have to have a high price tag and I’ve seen some very high priced items that are so dreary and plain and often have the most vulgar patterns a colouring for some reason! U can find hidden gems in these places too and eBay is full of great things! You can put the money towards a few extra days to your holiday or buying ur holiday clothes! Hope that’s given u some ideas.