Clothes just seem so cheap and not worth the price at the moment. Where on earth to shop??

[Destrier]

Fabrics are thin, buttons fall off, seams come down, clothes lose their shape very quickly, yet everything is so overpriced (IMO). I don't mean expensive, necessarily, but overpriced for what it is.

I know I could sew seams/ buttons, but why should I have to?

I was shopping yesterday (soul sapping experience), and I expect things to be more expensive (current economic climate etc) yet I began to think that shope are using the climate to hike prices and lower quality. Walking around the shops, the clothes seemed poor quality on the hangers and I would hate a spark to go off in the shops for fear of starting a fire...

I would rather have fewer clothes, yet have better quality. the quality doesn't seem to be there at all without being ££££, yet all the £, ££ and £££ clothes seem to be equally poor quality.

Harrumph!!!

Might as well shop v carefully and selectively at the very cheapest and priciest end of the market? I do agree, sooo many synthetics and prices seem to go up every season.

Emo, that's what I'm doing mostly - either dirt, dirt cheap stuff (think Peacocks sale!) where it's not great quality but at least it's hardly cost anything, and if you choose judiciously you can get stuff that will do a year or so, or designer stuff from eBay or sites like BrandAlley or the My Wardrobe clearance sale. You can get 70-80% off if you're patient and that makes designer things really affordable; I have bought new Current/Elliot and James jeans for £35 a pair.

That middle ground where things are £40+ but still synthetic and thin is the biggest rip-off area, I think. At least if you're paying £5 in the sale you know what to expect.