Where do you buy your good quality clothing?

[NutellaEllaElla]

I mean non-fast fashion, substantial materials etc.

I'll start:
Hobbs
Reiss
Joules
Fat Face
Tommy Hilfiger
Mint Velvet
Phase Eight
White stuff

Poetry and wrap London in the sales but I have had two full price things from Wrap as I didn't want to miss out.

I also am relearning how to knit as the jumpers designs I like are often in acrylic or else in Shetland wool ( allergic) so I can control the fibre. Making clothing/ knitting isn't necessarily cheaper but you get full control! Toast knitwear is fab but I am often allergic. I don't think it's expensive for the quality and it's often hand knitted. I wish I could afford Navy Grey

@NutellaEllaElla

I should've guessed this thread was going to be bad for my bank account I love love loved Sezane and have put an enormous order in which I will have to return plenty of but you get free delivery on orders over £200....

I buy from Sezane too but I'm not 100% convinced they are a sustainable brand though they are trying. There's a lot of complaint about their used of recycled polyester and other man made fabrics but sometimes they are a more environmentally friendly option. If you like their stuff go on the sezane international marketplace Facebook group. We buy and sell on there

Sorry Pursuing I've just read my post again and I sound very grumpy and ungrateful! I'll check out those ideas - thank you. I'm a Community Clothing fan and I've come across Old Town and Corniche but not heard of the others.

@BigWoollyJumpers, try BAM for T shirts. Not cotton, but bamboo, feels like cotton jersey but smoother. No cheap, but my original ones are about 5 years old and looking good.

Yes ... I see what you mean, Floisme. (I do slightly miss the fun of trying on impossibly expensive frocks in the Celine shop of my local Selfridges.)

But I find I still enjoy the thrill of the chase, and sometimes prefer the anonymity online. As well as the global market aspect.

I suspect if ever things get back to 'normal' I may only frequent concrete shops if I'm having something tailor-made.

Seasalt, but you run the risk of looking like a toddler if you’re not careful.

I’ve just returned 2 Breton tops to Seasalt. They shrank like mad!

I used to be a huge fan of online shopping Pursuing I really was. But now I mostly just feel like I'm being scammed. All the fun has been sucked out of it. Maybe I'll feel differently when shops reopen and there's an alternative again, but I'm also quite fearful of what 'real' shops will be left when this is over, because I don't think the retail carnage has really started yet.

I don't think I ever got the enjoyment out of clothes shopping that some of you obviously have. I do enjoy the fact that if I want a top, I can filter tops which is nice and streamlined. Some places though, there is just too much choice (ASOS) and it's completely overwhelming and sucks the life out of you.

Fabric is expensive to buy.

It can be, but as a longtime sewer there are ways and means. I sometimes splash out on something beautiful, and I love a browse at my favourite online shops like Merchant & Mills and Cloth House, but you can also get quite a lot of cheaper bolt end, vintage and remnant fabrics at ebay (eg a vintage silk or cotton sari could be £10-20 and gives you 5m of fabric, and there's a huge range of prints), also etsy, and a lot of online fabric shops have remaindered stock that's cheaper - fabworks is one.

I will also buy old clothes, bedding or curtains on ebay to get a fabric I love, and re-use it. For example you could spend £25 a metre on new linen fabric, or buy an old linen duvet cover off ebay for £20 and get several yards. Sometimes I dye it. (obviously it needs to be the right weight etc so a duvet fabric would work for a floaty dress, less so for sturdy trousers.)

For long-lasting good quality clothes, I like Cos (though I see some PPs have had problems), Toast, Hush (not their knitwear or polyester, but viscose dresses and jersey items have lasted years and years), Arket, American Vintage, and Isabel Marant when feeling super flush. Also shop on ebay a lot for these - it's not only cheaper, but older stuff tends to be better quality and less likely to be polyester.

The best-quality, longest lasting clothes of all IME are surprisingly Superdry. Indestructible, incredibly well made. Not for everyone of course but if you look carefully they often have a few nice things that are not logo-plastered.

Quick delivery from Sezane! Mixed results though. I'm keeping 3 and returning 4. I ordered tops in black and off white with lovely adornments. They are beautiful designs but I wasn't impressed with the material. The white tops are so see through you can see my belly button, the label and my (nude) bra at the back. So disappointing! The black are the same fabric but suffer less with being see through. I'm keeping 2 in black and one in white where I will just live with the slightly see through nature as it's such a beautiful top. And they're all hand wash (we need an eye roll emoji).

Nutella just interrupting to say thanks for that thread link. I've dropped in and out of sewing threads on S&B but I'd never looked on any of the other boards!

I'm always looking to recruit to the MN sewing club. Entirely selfish reasons only.

@NutellaEllaElla

Does anyone have any places they look more specifically for footwear? I'm looking for sandals to wear with dresses for future events. The John Lewis website has some but they're very expensive. LK Bennet sandals for £200.I don't need fancy designers but non plastic for a reasonable price would be good.

I buy from Boden, Lk Bennett, Hobbs, Dune and LK Bennett but only in the sales or almost new from eBay etc. I have got some amazing bargains! Russell and Bromley sandals for £45 RRP £195 for example

wow this surprised me , always thought Toast were suitably ethical!
directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/toast

I buy virtually all my clothes from charity shops and since lockdown on EBay. I definitely prefer shopping IRL, mostly for the thrill of the hunt. (Plus am a bit of a shopaholic and I only want classic natural fibres ie cotton/linen/silk/wool/mohair/camel/cashmere - it’s maddening how many brands only use natural fibres blended with synthetics - so it’s nice to be able to touch the fabrics and double-check the fabric content label). I’m a big Margaret Howell fan (depending on the style) and I also like some vintage - not because I want to look like I’m in some 60s-70s time warp but for the quality of the fabrics.

Had a look at La Fetiche, some of the pieces are glorious. Have also come across Studio Nicholson IRL, I really liked it, ditto Community Clothing.
Slight problem is that at 58 and spending increasing amounts of time in the depths in the Devon countryside gardening and walking my dog I sadly have more need for overalls than delicious clothes! Still, for the moments when I climb out of the mud I enjoy good quality so will be researching.

@Enko

So I am unwell today (covid vaccine and trust me to get the side effects) so I spend some time going through all the suggested brands putting them into Good on you website if you are interested they explain here how they base their ratings to see if it is sustainably sourced. Their ratings are

We Avoid / Not good enough / Its a start / Good / Great

This is what I came up with

We Avoid
All Saints
Jaeger
Joules
Reiss

Not Good enough
Boden
Celtic & Co
Fatface
Hobbs
Hush
Jigsaw
John Lewis
LK Bennett
Mint Velvet
Olive Clothing
Phase Eight
Sweaty Betty
Toast
White Stuff
The White company
Whistles
Sezane ( though Curiously conscious rates this higher I would argue at last an It’s a start if not good)

It’s a start
Arket
Banana Republic
Cos
& other Stories
Tommy Hilfiger

Good
Baukjen
Marks & Spencer (this one surprised me)

Great
Aspiga
Scamp & Dude
Thought
Peopletree @Notlostjustexploring I may have placed an order

Not on “good on you” so web searched

Unable to find
Patra silk - (too many suggestions for me to know what one it is)
Kin- Can't find on its on but John Lewis is a Not good enough
Caroline Charles – their own website says sustainable but I can't find outsider comments

Good
Me & Em -
Palone -
Sahara London
Modern Rarity

Great
Blackhorse Lane Ateliers
Mudra Collection-
Huit -
Poetry –
Christopher Raeburn
Katherine Hamnett

This Website suggested 25 sustainable clothing companies and some of them look interesting

Thanks for this. I want to find somewhere with the ethics of people tree and the aesthetics of All Saints!

By Malene birger
Whistles
Gerard darel
Massimo Dutti
Jigsaw

Also M&S. I generally can’t fault their quality

Neither can I.

I'm not the first person to mention it I know, but everything I have from AllSaints has lasted really well.

Excellent article in the FT The future of fashion is old clothes on designers recycling / repurposing fabric and clothes.

(Apols if link inaccessible. Try googling the article.)

Also Alyson Walsh bog today has 10 sustainable brands here

Thanks for the Alyson Walsh link @Sooverthemill - I love Alyson and that’s a very useful list.

Alyson Walsh bog