Oh wise S & B gurus.....teach me about quality clothing

[Whoknowswhocares]

I have a wardrobe FULL of cheap, crappy clothes. Plus I have lost about a stone and am still wearing the same size I used to, so the fit is awful.
Ideally I want to replace the lot with a capsule of nice quality clothes that actually fit and suit my life style (sahm of teens with dog and outdoorsy, sporty lifestyle). Occasional nights out.
But as I have always opted for cheap, I have realised I don't actually know what constitutes 'good quality'. What to look for in fabrics, how much lycra is too much, what brands last well without sagging and falling apart.. .......etc etc
I need pretty much everything but cannot afford high end. So, mid range? Is it too much to ask that there be some hidden gems in the more basic cheapstores?
First on list is jeans which don't sag after an hour or have its of Lycra poking throu after one wash. Grrrrrrr!
good quality T shirts in a fabric which is thick enough to skim my big boobs but still arrive at my torso. That are still the same shape after the first wash!
Cardi/jumper to go over the above.
Sorry for the epic post! Your collective wisdom would be much appreciated

Congratulations on the weight loss!
On the top/t-shirt front, I bought some Esprit t-shirts 2 years ago that wash well, hold their shape and are comfotable to wear.
This year I bought 2 Breton style tops online from Jack Wills, both of which wash well and do not distort (twisty seams after first was, for example).
I have more or less stopped wearing jeans, but find that a 3% "stretch" component gives flexibility without bagginess. I wear a lot of Brax FeelGood trousers, but usually try and get them in the sales, if I can.
Hope that is of some help.

There aren't really any particular brands as quality varies so much, but this is what I do:

Always check the fibre content. I hate plastics (polyester and acrylic).
Viscose: model, lyocell, tencel ok in my opinion but tends to bobble. My first choice is natural fibre: cotton, linen, leather, wool, silk. A bit of elastane or Lycra ok for keeping shape but not too much or they'll bag quickly and can often look shiny.

I've developed quite a good 'hand feel' now so can usually tell fibre content but I still check labels.

Then look at seams, hems, quality of buttons, pattern matching. Hems that are falling down or seams coming apart because they're mean with the allowance. Shoes with visible glue.

And then I come home with nothing

It's all about the cut for me. Cheap brands skimp on the fabric, so sleeves aren't quite long enough, tops don't reach the tops of trousers, you get the picture.

I'm a massive fan of internet shopping and have no shame in ordering 10+ items at a time (check how much they will charge you for delivery & first!!) and will normally find 2or3 items i am happy with. A few shops like that and you will quickly get a feel for which brands fit and use good quality fabrics. Alternatively John Lewis has all the brands in one place.

Depends on your style, but I've just tried Mint Velvet and thought the quality was really good, Jigsaw are good for tops and t shirts that are a little bit different (and nice and long!). Just have to watch out for all those 'hand wash only' labels, although to be honest that all goes in my washing machine on a cold wash, except anything viscose.

Outdoorsy stuff; Joules, Barbour, Jeans - haven't found an answer to that one and i refuse to spend stupid money on brand names

TK MAXX worth a try for good quality jeans at a decent price if you have the time to try loads of them on. Levi's are the best combination of fit and durability for me. GAP isn't too bad IMO for your lifestyle (never ever buy full price in GAP, the "real" price is -30% with one of their vouchers). Boden are notoriously good quality, but they aren't cheap - worth looking out for second hand though if you're in that sort of area.

Maybe you should take a look at certain brands?

Suggest the following:
The White Company ( sign up and you usually get a 20% off code each season)- new stuff is just coming in now. Nice knitwear but £££ so wait for discounts.
Boden ( wait for 20% off offers)
Jigsaw ( look at sale part of their website)
Hobbs
Uniqlo ( great cheap jeans etc and merino + cashmere in winter.)
M&S Autograph
John Lewis - own brand cashmere is nice quality, but online they stock everything- Mango, French Connection, Warehouse, etc.

Boden - really impressed with vests, tops and trousers.
White Stuff - nice tops.
Mint Velvet

Actually your OP wasn't long enough!

Great advice above as always, but perhaps you might want to start with YOU. How do you want to look? Arty, classic, boho, neat, amazing...

And how much time do you have? Do you prefer in store or online? You may want to start with observation. If you haven't been spending much time in "higher end" shops now would be a good time to visit some. You don't have to buy anything - just take the time to see how the clothes differ from cheaper things.

There's an argument that "mid range" stuff is a waste of time. It's possible, and fun, to buy basics from places like M&S, and then haunt the high end sales for important things. But it could be quite time consuming.

From your lifestyle description I would recommend:
Joules
Boden
Fat Face
White Stuff
TK Maxx also worth a look

All above have v.good sales with £££ off, so don't be out off if what you like is a bit pricey. Almost everything will be discounted at some point with a promo code all sale. Sign up to newsletters online to receive promo codes and first to hear sale news.

I covet Tops/dresses from Baujken (via Isabella Oliver website-it's the non maternity section of the brand). Loved their stuff when pregnant, got a couple if their tops and their classic wrap dress, and they are fab-t-shirts nice and thick, long enough to reach your bum and all in gorgeous jersey fabric. Really great basics.

Fat Face have a good sale on now too

I have GAP jeans that are ten years old and are great.I am tall so the long and lean are brilliant for me.

The lower end high st can be good quality but I have found that it's trial and error. For example I'm a great fan of Dorothy Perkins jersey basics but have found some of their viscose tees to misshapen. H&m can also be very good but again can be hit and miss.

Jeans wise I stick to gap as they fit me and I'm too lazy to try any others but as I have small dc they tend to get washed every couple of wears so don't get chance to get too baggy.

I used to love gap knitwear but do find the quality lacking over the last couple of years as they have got holes in. I do love their trousers though

Oasis have good cardigans which wash well (their basic crew neck ones) and going out tops.

I try to buy good quality accessories so leather shoes, handbags (radley are very good quality). Saying that I have going out shoes from new look which are fine if you're not planning on wearing them much.

Forgot to say also go and get properly fitted if you haven't already. A good bra makes clothes look so much better. Somewhere like John Lewis or Bravissimo. Don't go near M and S as they are appalling fitters.

OP lots of great advice. billstickers is so right about natural fibres. Don't touch any knitwear with acrylic in it if you want it to last, it will bobble ( difficult to find knitwear without it though). Stick to cotton,merino wool .

I agree with QueenC that Gap is excellent for jeans, but buy them snug. I think a lot of women ( ESP those who aren't happy with heir bodies) tend to buy clothes that are too big with the result of making them look bigger.
I also rate their t shirts and cotton jumpers.

I'm a fan of uniqlo. Good basics and some great style IMO.
I have bought some dry clean only pieces that wash just fine in a delicates wash including some beautiful cashmere jumpers. They do bring out new pieces on the website through out the season. you can get free delivery codes, but returns aren't free on line-

Wow, thanks everyone, lots of great advice.
I think I'm going to break the habit of a lifetime and NOT rush out to fix this problem in a big panic. Maybe slow and steady is the way to go....
.
First job is to go through everything in the wardrobe and salvage what I can to start me off. Then chuck the rest. I have attempted this mammoth task countless times and always chicken out. What if I get bigger again? What if I decide I need something I've chucked out. or decide hiding in baggy, frumpy clothes is preferable to spending scary amounts on just a few new clothes? or want the safety net of a wardrobe full of 'stuff' even though I don't wear it?
Then trawl the shops for some lovely things to fill the (many) gaps in some of the new recommended brands to find my style and price comfort level.
Or should I go and buy the lovely stuff first, replacing lots of crappy items with a couple of things each time until its switched over?

Or "C": don't touch your wardrobe till you've been on a (few) preliminary non-shopping trip(s) just to get an idea of what's "you".

At which point you'll probably find that some of your own clothes are not quite as crappy as you thought and can easily be integrated into your new fabulous scheme...

Hmmmm, interesting somethingyesterday
You may be on to something there, I often look round the shops and decide what I have is better quality tbh. Bit of a size issue with lots of stuff though, due to the weight loss
I have tried altering things before with no success whatsoever and tailoring costs would not be worth it for the type of clothes.
Could work for certain tops etc though, thanks!

I find that doing a mood board is a great way to work out what your look is. Get a cork board with pins. Then buy some fashion style mags and go through and tear out and pin up things your really really like. You might look through other mags like Woman and home, Instyle, Vogue, Country living ( they have some fashion in sometimes). Once you have done this you can then see pretty much what your style is.
Also then work out your body shape so you get the right cut of clothing for your body and colours. Try and work out what colours you like and what suit you. Go on websites and have a good look round and have a pin interest board online to put your ideas on. Don't forget scarves and bags. White Stuff online, Boden, Jigsaw, Noa Noa. etc. Also don't forget to look on ebay for bargins. New or second hand. Wonderful way to get an expensive stylish bespoke wardrobe without spending much money at all. But most of all....take your time and have fun. Come back on there and post and tell us more like body shape, height, size, hair colour etc. and then show us the things you like and we can give a yay or nay session.......ooooooooo!!!!!! What fun

The problem with looking at the fabric is that there are good and bad qualities of cotton, silk, cashmere and so on. You can get good silk - and terrible silk. Terrible cotton and good cotton. And so on.

You can buy expensive brands - but the quality (fabric, workmanship, cut and so on) can still be off. And you can find cheaper brands where everything just seems to be very good.

The trick is to learn about these things. Learn to tell the difference between pleather and leather there's a shocking amount of people that can't tell the difference The difference between good cotton and bad cotton, good silk and bad silk. Good workmanship and bad workmanship.

Don't forget to get a colour palette together - this really helped me when I did this.
Choose 2-3 neutrals and then 2-3 colours to add in. This will help you get more wear out of your wardrobe.
I have these: navy, white, grey with hot pink, royal blue, purple and red.

Very true, Vibbe but how do I learn? Trial and error is going to get expensive!

Colour wise I suit 'spring' colours best, so will go with navy and cream as base colours plus probably black or brown for winter with coral, turquoise warm purple and green to liven it up
I'm a size 8-10 now and 5'5". 30ff boobs with short torso so find it tricky to get clothes which make me look my size and not like a brick. Flat stomach but disproportionately big thighs due to sport. If it fits on the waist, it generally makes the thighs look huge!
Style wise I prefer a natural, fairly sporty, casual look but done in a classic way rather than hoodies etc
The situation is more dire than I thought though! I've tried on (my only)2 pairs of shorts this morning and can pull them both off with the buttons done up. they are jeans style and don't even have Lycra, never mind elastic!! I must have been walking round asleep not to notice how baggy they've become Have hoicked the least bad pair up with a belt for now

I'm not sure what size you are, but if you are petite, the fit in gap and m&s are awful. (I'm surprised so many love their jeans).

Decided in desperation to nip into town for some shorts today to tide me over the hot spell will probably rain now I've done that
Bought 2 pairs from Red Herring and a Peter Storm plain navy pair for hiking/dog walks. Not exactly luxury brands but a step up from the Primark cheapies I would have bought before
Can't quite believe the difference in the shape I look tbh! Am seriously embarrassed I've been going out in public in clothes that swamp me so badly
Still, onwards and upwards I guess. Will now be trawling the board for inspiration on the rest of my new wardrobe. Thanks guys!

OP I know I risk being ruthlessly derided but - purely in the interests of scientific research - please, please go and visit two or three of the most hideously expensive shops you can get to. TRY SOME THINGS ON. (Nice things...).

Be amazed.

Report back.

I agree. Try loads of stuff on - it's the only way.

The Ghost sale is great at the moment if you can get to a branch - will be a revelation on your all new body.