Quality of clothes which everyone kept on recommending but actually turned out to be a piece of c***???

[balkanscot]

After my initial enthusiasm about Hush (read loads of great recommendation here on Mumsnet and beyond) I bought a few pieces. Turned out that almost 4 months down the line the black leggings & harem trousers are tearing at the seams. Leggings were a bit meh after a few washes (colour started to fade, felt they were going a bit bobbly, too, blah, blah). I am washing them inside out, at 40 degrees or less, non-bio washing powder, etc.

Similar experience with ME and EM - man, oh, man, how enthusiastic I was (read lots of glowing reviews about quality, etc.) when I purchased 3 pairs of stripy Breton tops (ruched ones) - within a year I had to chuck one of them in the bin as it developed a number of small holes down the side seam - at first I thought it had been damaged by moths but it hadn't. Now my second top is about to develop a few small holes down the seam side, too!!!

Now Hush and ME and EM are not at the cheap end of the spectrum and that's why it is f me right off! I really expected them to last a bit longer than 4 months/1 year.

I am f off and giving myself my first ever because I need to calm down! What happened to quality items that would last for years and years - had a Jigsaw Breton top which sadly died after 7 years of constant wear/tear/washing. Have had a pair of cream Versace Sport jeans which are still as good as new 15 years down the line. I am talking about this kind of quality, 5+ years without the garment going down the pan.

Has anyone experienced similar - enthusiastic about the purchase, only to find out that the purchase turned out to have been pretty rubbish?

Rant over.

Having worked for a time in a charity shop sorting out masses of clothes;I came to the conclusion that at the end of the day,there was remarkably little difference between high end clothing and high street brands in their quality after they've been worn, I believe that if you do want clothes to wear well you really need to invest a lot of time in washing them ultra carefully eg using wool cycle, not bunging them in the machine in a normal wash.

That's interesting Bluetang. I've recently started washing my cheap clothes as carefully as my high end things: delicate or wool cycle and inside pillow cases.

Boden cashmere is not great. It has bobbled and I too have a hole along the neck seam. Pure Collection is much better.

White Stuff gets knackered really quickly. It really is cheap and cheerful stuff.

Jigsaw t shirts were my t shirt of choice as I like the colours but are done after a season. Toast Pima cotton are much better quality.

I've got two ribbed silk Agnes B tops that I bought more than 20 years ago - no holes, no bobbling, no fading (one is black).

I saw your title and came in to say HUSH .

Sometimes the wool cycle doesn't get rid of sweat smells etc for me.

The manufacturers need to improve the quality. Things did used to be so much better quality imo.

Me too Mandy. MN does rave about it though

Nothing special about it at all. Harem pants are OK style but I was disappointed with the fabric.

Boden & Me&Em for me. I think I've only returned stuff from other brands because it didn't fit or the style didnt suit my shape. Have given up with adult Boden - mini Boden has always been fine but returned too much mens & womens Boden due to either poor fabric, poor construction, colour not matching website or catalogue, size not matching website measurements or completely the wrong item sent. Me&Em knitwear awful quality - cardigan fastenings unravelled on first wear & sweaters lost their shape completely on the 2nd wash. Me&Em trousers good though.

The other place that I really think has gone downhill is Baukjen - I have the most amazing pair of their black Ponte skinny trousers for about 5 years that are a beautiful, thick material and have washed brilliantly - they are a staple of my winter wardrobe.

So a couple of years back I bought a pair in olive thinking they would be equally as fantastic. Not at all - thin, nasty material that goes out of shape in about 30 seconds and started going into holes along the inner seams within a couple of wears. Awful, and I haven't even looked at their stuff since.

I agree, hush - have had to send so many returns (costly) and had to pick and choose carefully. Currently wearing hush tipped jumper that after 1 wear has lost all shape and while marketed as 'fine knit' I would call it flimsy

However I did pick up two lovely dresses from their sale.

Love me and em, have one of their dresses in two colours, bought one year after the other, second one (most recent buy) has lost shape and seams come away :(

I now tend to buy from smaller labels and check the quality of the material for items that cost more , brands don't matter , it s checking the material quality, seams and sewing and how the garment is put together.

Crew clothing jumpers - all bobbled after first wash. Sleeves have become baggy. Waste of money. I'll stick to New Look from now on.

A lot of high street stuff is tat. Clothes that last the distance for me are Fat Face, Next, Sainsbury's Tu and, surprisingly, New Look (their leggings are cheap but don't fade or bobble!). I also can't be disappointed and sad if they fall to bits, because I haven't invested in pricey stuff. I did have a Primark dress which was 12 years old when I got rid of it. It was still going strong but I got too fat for it!

H&M is not that good for quality.

It's such hit and miss. Sorry to hear that Me & Em has gone down, I've got a lot of their clothes (although don't think I've bought much in the last couple of years, as they're less bargainous in the sales now that so many people are aware of them!).

Clothing quality is my big thing - I tend to buy classics (if I'm buying something particularly trendy, I go cheap on the whole), so happy to pay a bit extra for something that will last.

If all of these bands are rubbish, where do we go?!?

I have some American vintage t shirts, they were recommended on here, they ve bobbled and gone completely out of shape, I have h and m t shirts, despite stain treatments, tumble drying, washing Etc I can't seem to kill it s definatly a hit and miss and about checking quality!

Baukjen - a pair of trousers have consistently shrunk 2cm every time I (hand) washed them and are now too tight and short and unwearable.

Floisme, that's OK, I like reading other people's thoughts on clothing, :) so came across Hush and ME and EM and thought, hm, I'll give it a go. I love the overall appearance of ME and EM, lovely, luxe understated pieces but have been really disappointed. Wanted to buy a dress or two in their sale but one of them was mostly polyester, so no way, José! Am still eyeing up a few bits & bobs, whether I'll feel confident to buy them is another matter.

Read enough negative comments about Hush knitwear, so didn't bother with that. But reviewers on their website have given such glowing comments on their harem trousers. And being a virgin in terms of loungewear, I thought, why not? The only Hush item (apart from harem trousers and black leggings I bought the coated midi skirt which I am really pleased with so far).

Dizzybintess - that's so bad, considering VW isn't cheap! :( I have a black Anglomania dress (snagged it in the sale) when which I hardly ever wear (I am in the middle of the pre-school years with DS, so not a lot of opportunity to do so).

Whistles used to be fab about 15-20 years ago - I have fond memories of a black velvet single-breasted jacket, cost £100 20 years ago but worth every penny as I wore it to death (excellent quality). These days I feel distinctively MEH about their clothes, as pp said, polyester central at not-so-cheap prices. Bleurgh. Not sure how the quality holds up though.

I have a lovely Topshop (!) summer dress (100% cotton, WITH sleeves) - Laura Lees - which I bought in 2006 and is still going strong. I really wish clothes would last for at least 5 years. Preferably much more. I remember my mum weating pieces that were decades old and still excellent with no sign of wear/tear.

I was just browsing the Me and Em sale when I remembered this thread!

A few years ago, my plan was to gradually increase my proportion of high end buys. I had this fantasy that, by the time I reached old age, I would have a wardrobe of beautiful, covetable clothes. Well I've rowed right back from that. At the moment, I buy mostly cheap and cheerful and, if I want something to last, I buy two of them.

I'm not particularly happy about that as I don't like the ethics of disposable fashion but I'm buggered if I'm paying high end prices for made-in-China polyester.

(Apart from Whistles where I still have a blind spot - but only in the sales.)

Hush for me too. I bought their waterfall cardigan and the fabric is horrible and scratchy.
Petit Bateau are on my list too. I bought a vest top and dress from them. Beautiful soft cotton but they stretched out of shape with the first wash. Especially annoying as the sizes were very generous to begin with.