Have you noticed how expensive clothes are now?

[higgyhog]

I don't have a bad income but recently everything from Council Tax to pension contributions has increased a lot. Browsing the shops for some summer clothes now and I'm thinking there have been massive price rises since last year. I used to buy Whistles and jigsaw, they are unaffordable now. I splashed out on some Mohedra clogs ( the green ones, they are lovely) and two T shirts at Toast last week, and that was £179! I used to buy two or three pairs of sandals each year but I think the old ones are going to have to last a bit longer. Has anyone else noticed that the things they like to buy are now unaffordable?

I know what you mean, OP, I have decided to step away from really cheap fashion and try and have a smaller wardrobe of nice things (less waste, can sell it on, better looking, hopefully more ethical) and it's like you move from the cheapest you realise the middle of the market is just gone!

My sales shopping skills are going through the roof.

Id agree with too expensive or too cheap and Ive really noticed how things wear out with washing quickly.

I agree regarding clothes being too cheap and poor quality or really hard if not impossible to afford. I’m now buyIng far fewer items but ones I really like and that will (hopefully) last. I love that Toast T shirt. You can’t move for cheap T shirts but finding one that is right in every way can be tricky.

I agree. Years ago when I actually had less disposable income than I do now I would buy things from Reiss and Whistles for special occasions or if I just particularly liked them. Now I consider those shops unaffordable. The prices are so high.

We had to go to the big city for a trip to C&A Djangor3725. It was a proper day out 'big shop'.

I noticed the Toast tee shirt was made in Portugal therefore that would explain partly the higher cost. If it had been made in China it would have been a lot cheaper.

Btw I liked the tee shirt especially the colour.

JCrew is a favourite of mine; the quality of their clothing is pretty good. Yes, it's a bit pricey but they last and are worth the money. There's usually a 20 - 30% code knocking around and they frequently have sales. I rarely pay full price for their clothes.

Wearing out quickly - see, I would expect clothing to last 5-7 years. Whereas I have some items from Boden and from M&S that get holes in, fade or wear thin in a couple of years. But perhaps my expectations are quite high?

Hundredmilesanhour is there anywhere that lists uocomg sample sales? I used to go lots but my impression is that lots of retailers now get rid of old stock through BrandAlley and the like

I think part of the outrage here about the amount you’re paying for clothes is that people have lost perspective on how much clothes should actually cost - low prices means a race to the bottom in terms of quality and the longer shops get away with this, the more poor quality garments will perpetuate. It’s interesting now that I’ve started making some of my clothes and seeing the price of certain fabrics - which doesn’t take into account the time, electric etc spent making it. Most clothes are just too cheap.

The M&S tee shirts are really poor quality.
I quite like Cos for plain tee shirts around the £20 mark.

I bought 2 T shirts from Toast about five years ago. I did weep at the price I can tell you but I wanted specific colours and necklines that I couldn't see anywhere else, and I didn't want any lycra. I won't pretend I'm skint but I have to save up to buy Toast. Anyway they're still going strong and I reckon they'll be good for another 5 years at the very least. If I could be sure the quality was still as good, I'd do it again.

I've seen the Cos ones and the quality looks pretty good but the colours aren't right and the necklines are too high.

And yes, as Nyon says, I think we've completely lost touch with how much clothes actually cost.

Your sandals are 3 years old?? Mine are 21 years old and still going strong. Were they not, I'd look on eBay. Yes clothing is getting more expensive but shopping in high end retailers and buying expensive items you are asking to empty your wallet.

There appears to be some competition on this thread of the "I bought my knickers in 1972. How dare you wish for something new at a relatively reasonable price until at least 2047" ilk.

Remus
I agree - it isn’t that there aren’t any cheap clothes out there; it’s that the next step up from the £15 Primark dress isn’t £30 anymore, it’s £50. And that’s a huge jump. And it used to be a bit better fabric and now it’s exactly the same fabric as the cheapest stuff. And then the next bracket after that is £75 for things of the quality that the £30 dress used to be.

I agree OP. I don't buy clothes in your price range but mud-range, prices are going up and with it quality is getting worse.

Basically, Topshop now looks like Primark; & Other Stories is the old Topshop; and anything above that costs over £100.

I got a m & s jumper as s Christmas gift. £50 and a big hole in it already. I used to love Topshop etc but am not prepared to pay £40+ for a polyester top. Primark & eBay for me. The supermarket clothes are getting really expensive & ugly, especially Sainsbury.

I love TOAST but always eBay as couldn't afford to buy new. Another one whose salary hasn't increased much over the years as an FE lecturer. In the main, great quality and quirky.

High street shops are definitely more expensive but not such great quality.

Yes - I was given an M&S wool sweater for Christmas. Handwashed it and it shrank and has gone all bobbly straight away. Rubbish.

Well this is all really bad news for me. For various reasons (a bereavement mostly) I haven’t been clothes shopping for a very long time. Just today I thought I need to buy quite a few things now and I think I can face some clothes shopping ( which I don’t really enjoy anyway). Then I see this thread !! Bugger.

Oh well needs must.

Yeh there's a touch of 'I can feed a family of 6 on a chicken for a week' going on with some posts.

I don't get to Cos very often but I was there the other week and thought their quality pretty much blew away everything else on the high street. (Don't get me started on their 'only cool people understand us' website.) Then I went on to & Other Stories - same company, not a huge difference in prices - and I thought the quality was like shit. So they can do it if they want to.

I bought two M&S cashmere jumpers last year and they are only fit for slobbing in the house now (and shrank on first wash). Really poor quality.

I tend to forget about Cos, very individual, very nice.

The pound has, obviously, dropped massively, so anywhere importing goods and paying in euro has had to up prices (case in point, Portuguese Toast t shirt mentioned in this thread). Some countries like Portugal have had rises in their minimum wage so cost prices have gone up. There are so many factors.

I do agree the mid high st has suffered. A breton top can be had for £35 in Boden or Joules or Whistles, or £5 in Primark. Nobody is buying the £18 one from Warehouse because it feels like more money for something close to Primark quality.