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Original poster

Throwaway fashion- does anyone buy cheap clothes just to wear a few times?

41 replies

Madaboutthrows · 19/10/2014 21:14

...because no matter what something costs I have never thought of clothes in this manner. I buy to use more than just once. I obviously don't expect cheap stuff to last a long time but I expect it to last a good while. Anyone else feel the same?

OP posts:
OneLittleLady · 19/10/2014 21:17

I don't buy just to throw stuff out either. Even my cheapest of the cheap clothes from say Primark last ages because I take care of them. I love clothes, fashion and new trends but I am never 'trendy' IYSWIM? I buy because I love it, not to throw it out after one season because someone's deemed it's now out of fashion

TeaAddict235 · 19/10/2014 21:20

I don't, but I think that teenagers, students and young people who are meant to be quite trendy are always blamed for buying often and without reason or thought.

I have friends and family from Germany who purposly buy throw away stuff (clothes, bags and shoes that won't last long) when they come here as it's that much cheaper than clothes back there.

Hopefully · 19/10/2014 21:25

I used to have a friend who would buy a new Primark top every single bloody week to go out on a Friday night. I think she used to just bin them, never saw them in the laundry or worn again (we were housemates).

stubbornstains · 19/10/2014 21:26

I don't know; there certainly used to be a trend in magazines (yes, you Guardian Weekend, for shame) to suggest that it was great to buy clothes in Topshop as their low price meant that they were practically disposable....Hmm

I mean, Topshop ffs! It's a rare day that I can afford to buy anything in there- even in the sale! Could never work out if this was really a Thing, or just urban journo affectation...

TeaAddict235 · 19/10/2014 21:29

totally agree stubbornstains about Topshop being pricey even in the sales. There is an outlet store in Slough that I've visited, but there they send all of the previous season, kooky or damaged items, all of which are at normal prices.

Original poster
Madaboutthrows · 19/10/2014 21:31

I remember the days when Topshop often had the dregs of the sale on BOGOF. I remember buying t shirts for a fiver in the sale etc. it's so expensive, in comparison, now, that I would not think of Topshop as throwaway fashion

OP posts:
stubbornstains · 19/10/2014 21:32

Slough, you say? Not at all far from the Stains ancestral mansion.....there's an incentive to schlep up to visit the folks if ever I heard one...Grin

BikeRunSki · 19/10/2014 21:34

A friend of mine goes this, for her and her dc. I hate it! She just throws stuff away, she has no grasp that there is no "away".

tippytappywriter · 19/10/2014 21:39

I wear everything till it falls apart.

Original poster
Madaboutthrows · 19/10/2014 21:40

...and even if you bought something once to wear you could always donate it to a charity shop or women's shelter rather than consigning it to landfill.

OP posts:
TeaAddict235 · 19/10/2014 21:42

yeah, I go to slough for the outlet M&S. The Topshop is on the main pedestrianised parade at the entrance to one of the indoor shopping malls

TeaAddict235 · 19/10/2014 21:44

sorry OP to hijack

SaucyMare · 19/10/2014 21:44

I got upset recently a pair of trousers had holes in the knee. Realised i had bought them in the previous house so they were 15+ years old.

Lucky i gave a big loft, who needs insulation just store clothes you are bored with.

chanie44 · 20/10/2014 06:26

Back in my student days, I would sometimes buy cheap clothes which I knew I'd only wear a couple of times before getting rid of it.

I was young and had plenty of disposable income. I think I may have been slightly ahead of my time, as this was just before places like primark became fashionable stores. It was only after I'd stopped that the term 'throwaway fashion' came about.

BelindaAllWorkedOut · 20/10/2014 07:05

No, never. I love clothes, and buy to wear for a while. It's an expensive approach, in time and money, to dispose of them quickly.

Spidergirl77 · 20/10/2014 07:14

I buy some clothes that only last one season mainly basics, primark vests, tights, t shirts for layering. then I have quality clothes that go over them.

I did buy a shirt from primark a few weeks ago and it has washed badly and reminded me cheap clothes are just that cheap and don't look good for long.

RockMummy · 20/10/2014 08:05

I only buy clothes I love so don't want to throw them away after one wear. Neither do I want them to fall apart so I rarely buy Primark. I do like Peacocks which is OK if you take care of the clothes.

ElephantsNeverForgive · 20/10/2014 08:17

No, neither do the DDs.
I'm too delighted to find something that fits, DD1 is fussy and DD2 tends to choose pretty wisely for a 13y. Generally she wears out her cheap pocket money stuff and chooses her branded birthday bits carefully.

leedy · 20/10/2014 09:18

No - I do probably have too many clothes (or at least too many for a house that doesn't have an American-style walk in wardrobe) but I only buy quality stuff that I like. I've had some things for years, anything I do tire of gets eBayed/passed on to sister/charity shopped. Tights often get chucked out but does anyone have tights that last for years?

Vintagebeads · 20/10/2014 09:26

I also think of teenagers when I think of throwaway fashion.

But I have a friend who buys so much cheap stuff..she is always having a clear out and I rarely see her in the same stuff.
I buy cheap stuff but its down to money not throw away.

Greenstone · 20/10/2014 09:37

Normally, no. Have become really tight about my clothes - I tend to spend a bit more on them and have started looking after them properly. They're probably all made in the same factories as Primark stuff, but I guess if I spend more money on them I just 'like' them more so I wear them more and make them last.
However I did recently do a 'leggings, nighties and shirts' run in Primark recently for my upcoming postpartum/breastfeeding period (am 37 weeks...). It's likely that I will indeed be throwing all of that stuff away once I'm done with it in however many months.

peasandlove · 20/10/2014 09:47

I used to by rubbish from primark. Not to throw away as such but just as an excuse to buy new clothes for cheap. Now I prefer to buy more expensive things that I love and will keep for a long time, and it's actually costing me less. Also those cheap clothes from new look etc never really fit me very well and they just look cheap

Valsoldknickers · 20/10/2014 10:52

No, I buy normal (Oasis, Zara, MV etc) and take care of what I've purchased so I expect it to last. I buy what I know suits me and therefore don't need to be bang on trend constantly.

My DSis buys cheap throwaway stuff but I bet I get more value out of my clothes if you take the 'cost per wear' approach into consideration!

SuperFlyHigh · 20/10/2014 11:37

when I worked near Baker Street I'd go with a Primark obsessed colleague and buy tons of stuff there (earning more than I do now) - most of it ended up on Ebay (but making a profit).

I'm a bit like Valsoldknickers I buy normal things and take care of them. I am upscaling gradually to Cos, Massimo Dutti, &OtherStories and rediscovered Zara (after ages they were rubbish, for me).

SuperFlyHigh · 20/10/2014 11:40

I tell you what I do buy from Primark:-

Sweater dresses (cheap as chips can wear for work/outside work)
pyjamas
tights
cosy socks (those snuggle ones)

Picked up a pair of black sheer printed with red buses tights for 50p which will be a gift for a foreign (Korean) but she loves the UK tourist stuff the other week and great stuff (see cosy socks etc) for another friend's Xmas pressie.

the occasional top/jumper but only throwaway stuff.

and anything else I think eg my brother may like.