I found a vintage M&S skirt in the charity shop and OMFG the quality!

[WhatTheWatersShowedMe]

This is kind of a stupid brag thread but also a bit of nostalgia.

It's an absolutely gorgeous black velvet M&S skirt. 1940s/ 50s style, mid-calf length, four-gore, satin waistband, heavy cotton velvet, made in the UK, with the St Michael's tag in it (as opposed to Per Una and the other shite they have these days). Generous seam allowance should you need to take it out. No idea how old it is, but it's in mint condition. Four (4!) bloody quid!

Obviously, I snapped it up as it's perfect and great for all sorts of occasions. But it made me realise just how bad the quality of M&S clothing is now. And also how sizing has changed- this skirt was a size 16/44, and fits perfectly. I usually wear things between size 10-14 depending on the shop.

Has anyone else found something amazing in a charity shop recently? I used to get loads but it's getting harder to find the quality stuff amongst the fast fashion.

My relative was a seamstress who designed the samples for M&S in the 70s and 80s. they would be modelled, and if approved would go on to be mass produced. I can confirm they were much better quality back then.

It’s the same with pretty much all shops. Things have changed. Back then there wasn’t so much choice and people bought things to wear and wear. Fast fashion is a relatively new concept and has destroyed a lot of shops in terms of their quality.

I have some old stuff of theirs, been wearing for years. Don't even bother looking at M&S any more, for basics, undies, work wear etc we find that sainsburys clothing is better and cheaper. They lost their way a long time ago.

Well to be fair they all have to compete with the likes of Primark who churn out cheap clothes made from cheap fabrics that so many people want to buy.

That said I always find absolute gems in M&S so will continue buying from them because I want them to stick around.

I also love their bras, they are a great fit for me with excellent lift and separate going on.

@WhatTheWatersShowedMe. I absolutely agree. I was rooting through some of my old clothes in the loft last week and found my most favourite dress ever from M&S and couldn’t believe how well made it is. It is fully lined with a side zip and properly stitched sequins (sounds random) and if I had an occasion other than the school run I can just about cram myself into it.

fabric quality lowered a lot at most of the places. some clothes are like putting on a plastic bag.

I've got two vintage coats from M&S and I can confirm everything in the OP.

The coats are from the late 70s or very early 80s and have decades of life in them yet.

Although the original wearer had the same problem with very long sleeves even though both coats are labelled 'petite' and cuff details have been lost after they were both adjusted

Some things never change......

I have a few beautiful tweed/wool boucle mini skirts from M&S that belonged to my DM. They are absolutely fantastic in their construction and fit, and pure new wool so warm but not itchy. I barely buy any clothing new now, vintage clothes are just so so superior in every way, and often a fraction of the price of high street tat nowadays.

Got a basic black slash-neck top, m&s/St Michael's, in the charity shop - agree the quality is fantastic. Makes you realise how shite the stuff you buy now is.

some of their more expensive clothes are well made surely? I suppose they are trying to compete with Sainsbury and Primark prices

I bought a lined black wool skirt from there in 1991. It was kind of pencil shaped and just under knee length. I got rid of it when I lost lots of weight and I can't tell you how many times I've tried and failed to replace it. Quality has fallen everywhere I've looked. I couldn't find a pair of lined linen or wool black trousers anywhere last time I looked.

Even Next was decent years ago.
Silk shirts , leather bags etc
Sadly I didn't appreciate the days of good quality affordable clothes would come to an end and I donated most of it .
I fondly remember a M&S wool blazer with gold buttons , gorgeous, about 1995 ish . Gave it away when they went out of fashion , I'd wear it now

Charity shops are a wonderful way of recycling clothes, and I spend lots of time in them (too much DP says).
I agree totally with the reduction in quality over the years, but as Ineedtoknowit said the relentless drive for fashions 'this seasons must have item of clothing' has meant a reduction in price and quality. The need to preserve the earths resources will surely impact on that. We have to stop consuming so much, and go back to a 'buy it to last' situation. That sounds very difficult.
I still buy some undies from M&S, mainly bras but also camis and slips.

I've taken back from my mum, a big white shirt that I must have bought from top shop in the early 90s. I threw it away when i was living at home and she rescued it from the charity shop pile. It is excellent quality cotton, great seam allowance, good long allowances etc.

And it's mine again. I remember buying it with my paper round money! Yet it's still better quality then anything I'd buy today.

agree, like fast food, it is fast fashions. spend a bit more for quality.

I remember that from being a kid. All made in the UK by long-standing suppliers who employed highly skilled people in what were considered “jobs for life” at the time.

Thing is a garment there in the late eighties/early nineties cost much the same as it does now, maybe a bit more. Easily £20-40 for a standard garment like a skirt/top, more like over £100 for a winter coat.

If you look at the value of other things at the time, well...My mum’s house then was worth about £30k. Now it would be worth about £120-150k- that’s 4-5 times.

My first p/t job as a teenager paid about £2ph- it was a pretty well paid one as a waitress in a good hotel with a lot of lucrative corporate clientele, lots of jobs in shops for teenagers at the time paid £1.20 to £1.50 an hour. Min wage now for 16-18 year olds is £4.05ph. So that’s 2-3 times.

Given that wages haven’t kept pace with inflation and housing has outstripped it, let’s say as a rule of thumb, an M&S garment would costs 3-4x as much now as it did then if they’d kept the same factories.

Hiut, the jeans manufacturer, took on an old M&S denim factory in Wales. Their cheapest jeans are £150, goes about to about £200 (that’s women’s, bit dearer for men’s). There might be a bit of brand premium in there for fashion cachet that M&S definitely wouldn’t have had, even back in the day. And they probably don’t have the economies of scale M&S had back then.

And let’s say one of the better pairs of M&S jeans now costs £35 (cheapest starts about £15, goes up to about £50). If you multiply that by 3-4 times you get £105-£140.

So I think if M&S stuff was still made to the same standard, it would easily cost 4 times current prices, maybe more like 5.

I’d still prefer that tbh. And I wish it would go back to that.

My aunt had a lovely plain grey cardigan on which would go with anything, no pilling/mishapen waist band/baggy elbows - I asked where she'd got it - "M & S of couse", so I said I'd pop in and get one "Oh, no" she said "I bought it the winter Mike was born". Mike was 35 by then . Back to the drawing board

I don't think M&S has ever reproduced the quality it had during 80s. I think that like many retailers they bombed in the late 80s, especially in their home decor. They then struggled suffered during the recession in the late 80s. In that time they totally lost touch with their consumer and they've never regained it.

I say this as I started work in 1988 in London. I went to the then brand new M&S in Chesunt and totally kitted myself out. I had a complete working wardrobe of suits and separates. Even their shoes were on a par with Ravel at this time. Back then they sold skirts and trousers in many lengths the suits had a wider audience. They sold shift dresses as well that matched each suit. Their blouses were the right length, and their rain macs were stunning quality as well.

Then the recession of the late 80s hit, and they struggled. A huge failure was when in the early 90s they changed their underwear sizing to cut production costs and started using inferior quality fabric. You could no longer by size 8,10,12 knickers individually. You had to be either an 8 to 10 or a 12 to 14. They simply didn't have the common sense to do a 10 to 12 size. Overnight one of their bread and butter lines, the iconic M&S knickers lost its target market. The size 10 to 12 size knicker wearing woman.

Consumers voted with their gussets and walked, and they went out that door just as the supermarkets were waking upto putting clothes into supermarkets. Amazingly their knickers were the sizes customers wanted as and their bras were a fraction of the price of M&S. Even better, they matched each other!! Another consumer trend that M&S failed to anticipate, only putting into action with grisly over priced items in unflattering styles.

Workwear changed during this time as well, dress down days were introduced in workplaces. M&S lost out on this trend to Gap who nailed the men's chino and shirt Male preppy look instantly. M&S did not anticipate or react to the trend in anyway. They stayed true to a demographic that now longer had the funds to shop in their store.

That's been the story of M&S ever since, poor quality, late to spot consumer trends and over priced.

I'm finding it harder and harder to find clothes that I like in high street shops. I'm getting more finnicky about quality and sustainability, and can't afford the pricier shops with better quality fabrics and cuts. I'm trying to make my own or buy second hand from now on. It's a fucker to find the perfect jeans though.

I have an M & S summer dress I still wear that I bought 25 years ago. Doesn't even look worn.

I'm a charity shop volunteer and I totally agree. Things from brands like Richards Shops and Principles - which aren't THAT old - are way better quality. 1970s/80s vintage even more so.

This is such an interesting thread, thank you OP.

It just goes to show the way fast fashion is influencing manufacturing.

I coveted a skirt from Next in the late 80’s, but it was £36.99 so I never bought it as I was in my first job out of college and it was expensive!

I don’t know what that equates to money wise, but you can bet that next wouldn’t charge anything close to it for an own label skirt.

Fabric is now cheap, there’s never spare fabric to allow for adjustment and the stitching is often poor quality. Nothing is made to last.

I used to make my own clothes every now and then before I had kids and I've just started doing it again in earnest.

I've found when I make my own, I spend the equivalent of the amount I'd pay from a mid-range retailer for a similar item (eg around £30 for a knee-length, sleeveless dress from Topshop/ H&M's better quality sections) and coming out with something made of much nicer quality fabric that fits much better. Does anyone else make their own stuff.

Charity shops can be amazing- the best ones I've found are small chain or independent ones in posh (but not trendy) towns- they tend to be full of nice quality things like proper tweed skirts and real leather shoes.

A massive pet hate of mine at the moment is online retailers listing products as leather when it's that shit PU stuff. Usually it's not until the end of the item description that you mind out it's plastic.

I find this with coats these days the quality is shit I bought a biker type jacket with fur around the neck line for £115 from top shop I think about two years ago. The coat lasted about 3 months before the zip went, the buttons popped off where the fur collar is, the belt became all long and stretchy it was a pile of shit and hasn't been worn since.

Yet when I go to my nans house she has these beautiful smart camel jackets, nice trench coats all different types and they feel heavy and just luxurious I don't think you can buy that anywhere now