Why is the quality of everything so shit?

[Notcontent]

So tired of this. For example, recently bought sine flannel pyjamas from Hush. They arrived and looked lovely and cosy - great, these will last me for years, I thought... I look after my clothes - wash at low temperature, low spin and air dry. I have washed these 3 or 4 times and the fabric has become really rough and slightly bobbled - they look like I have washed and tumble dried them about 100 times.... Same with a jumper I bought in uniqlo.

This did not happen with clothes I bought 20 years ago. I know it’s the quality of the fabric. Grrr...

I am going to third Kettlewell Colours as mentioned by a couple of pps. A small British company with most manufacturing done in Portugal, I think. Not very cheap (roughly £30 - £45 for tshirts/tops) but not outrageously expensive; good well-made basics in a wide range of colours (although maybe not wildly exciting).

Another thank you to DiveBar for the buymeonce link! It looks wonderful... some of the kitchenware looks very tempting.

Another thank you to DiveBar for the buymeonce link! It looks wonderful... some of the kitchenware looks very tempting

Oh I’m glad someone found it useful. I like the look of the PJs by Piglet and there is a jean manufacturer from London that looks interesting.

Divebar, disappointingly for a S&B thread, I was more taken with the pans. Hiding my head in shame, but I have been looking for pans with handles that are oven safe for months.

When I was pregnant with DC1, I bought M&S underwear that disintegrated! My first time buying anything from them as well. Went on to buy tesco underwear which are still going strong. When pregnant with DC2, i bought more tesco underwear.

Oh, and for primark. I still have plenty of clothes from them that have lasted ages, especially their winter socks.

Preloved and vintage cashmere.

www.thecashmerecabinilkley.com/Shop

www.nearlynewcashmere.co.uk

I have to say M&S cashmere is good .....you can pick it up preloved on eBay. ( I’m not a fan of M&S otherwise )

Yes I've had a fair bit of success with pre loved M&S cashmere, esp from their Autograph range

Oh thinking back to the late 80’s/ early 90’s. The quality of brands like Next, M&S, Laura Ashley,Principles etc was so much better than today.
Who remembers brands like Country Casuals, Mexx, Breckinridge, Apriori, Liz Claiborne, Viyella, Ouiset, Jacques Vert.
All usually located within the bigger stores.
Not saying I shopped in all of them but the choice was there, plus the quality was so much better.
And of course what I used to call the posh shops! Small independent stores that stocked a variety of labels especially continental ones like Mamut Moden.
I was brought up in a small market town in N Wales and there were at least 5 posh shops mostly selling mother of the bride type outfits. People would travel miles to shop and then obviously spend money in the cafes, restaurants etc.
Those were the days! Where did it all go wrong??

Where did it all go wrong??
I've never worked in the industry and I'm very interested in what posters with inside knowledge have to say about this but, as a lifelong punter, I'd highlight 3 things:

Systemic changes in the industry (which have been discussed). I didn't notice an immediate drop in quality when manufacturing moved overseas - in fact you could argue the early noughties were a golden age for the British high street - but, along with ever more convoluted supply chains, it must make it much harder to maintain quality and to hold your suppliers accountable.

The rise of online shopping - so much trickier to gauge quality and fit. You're less likely to shop around before parting with your money, and then when it arrives you're (Ok I'm) more likely to think 'That'll do' when really it doesn't do at all.

The 2008 financial crash. I think we're still feeling the shock waves 13 years on.

I don’t know what changed but for me it was about 2007

I remember buying a cotton skirt from Next after dd was born in 2007. And that was the last time l saw a cotton skirt in Next. Next shifted downmarket and all the rest followed.

The growth of supermarket clothes and Matalan around the same time caused a race to the bottom.

Principles went under and they tended to have good quality clothing. So yes l would agree it was around the same time of 2008.

Various cotton harvests failed ( but have since recovered) so cotton became more expensive for a time, and this is when polyester really took off.

However, it seems that once shops realised they could sell shit polyester they stopped even trying to use cotton. The cotton harvests recovered but retainers kept polyester because it was cheaper.

I also think it’s a British thing. Both H and M and Zara use natural fabrics for blouses and dresses. Where else in the U.K. can you find this? ( apart from White stuff which is a very marmite brand, and uses really thin fabrics)

I used to love the original Principles and was gutted when it went and Republic was ok too

I remember buying a lovely orange jacket from Next in 1993. So we’ll cut. I wish I had kept it.

Yep. Abercrombie and Fitch hoodies are are absolutely joke lately.
They bobble after one wash, terrible flimsy quality.
Same for GAP.
They use to do thick warm cosy hoodies. Now all are think and flimsy, bobbling after few washes.
M&S knickers- holes in few months.
Next socks- holes after few months too.
Shocking quality.
I bough same style knickers and socks in Primark- they all lasted longer than M&S and Nexts.

Oh I love my free socks from BAM, but now I've moved, I'm no longer getting them. But for me they've lasted for ages, and ages, the best socks I've got. In fact I was just about to buy some, has anyone got a discount code?!?

I agree with everything on this thread. I'm a stickler for natural fabrics, but even dead certs in the past have deteriorated in quality when replaced. When I can, I try to buy cotton Ts etc in the US (am missing my annual shopping trips after this last year!), as I find the weight of cotton used in US stores much better than I can find here (even from the same brand - I'm sure Victoria's Secret cotton pants in the US are better than the ones sold here).

But Cos serves me well here, the clothes wash and wear brilliantly, and are so well cut. I'd like to try Arket, but no local stores and I prefer to see things when first embarking (happier to re-order online, but get fed up of ordering and sending 99% back). I find & Other Stories funny - I want to love it, but find most of the fabrics rubbish (previous silk shirts have been good though - I've bought used from eBay).

I don't buy many clothes these days, so happier to spend a bit more, but only if I know it's going to be decent. Nothing worse than paying quite a bit of money for something that's no better than Primark.

What a fascinating read this has been and very sad too. I'd happily pay hundreds for good clothes IF the quality was there but sadly and all too often it's not now.

What @Iamthewombat said about 'polyester misery' was spot on.

Does anyone know of any good quality fabric websites? When I google it gives me sari fabric mainly.

@TheBullfinch

Regarding fabric have a look at Merchant & Mills who also have lovely patterns . I also like Japanese print fabric available through Etsy.

Thanks @Divebar2021, will do.

There are discounts seasonally in very high quality brands. Just forget the high street brands. DD is a fairly high earner and buys Joseph. Never at full price. Ditto Max Mara. She likes Claudie Pierlot and other similar harder to find brands. Ganni are good. Brora have maintained stendards.

The shops have had to reduce quality to keep prices low. Matalan and the throw away society have caused this. Very low prices are the norm and people won’t pay £50 for a dress. Years ago, Laura Ashley wasn’t cheap! Neither was the much loved Biba in the 60s and 70s. People bought less but bought better.

MandS does great cashmere. Sadly not a single pair of pure wool trousers. I would pay £90 for these (same as a cashmere pullover from them) but clearly no one else will. So everywhere is reduced to cheap rubbish.

So save up. Buy better. Only buy in the sales. Never buy full price! Ever.

TheBullfinch I'm a novice sewer but the fabric websites I know are Merchant and Mills, The Clothhouse, Fabworks and the New Craft House.

I sent off for a Diane con Furstenberg dress from the OUTNET recently. Not cheap at £200+ , but 60% off and pure silk and for a special occasion in a hot country ( if it actually comes off)

It is a kaftan style so has a seam up the front. The pattern is a geometric repeat - which was mis- matched across the front seam. It was so glaring an issue I didn’t even try it on.

This in a dress originally costing nearly £600.

(And I ordered two different sizes to try and both were the same - so not a rogue item)

@Mumsnut surely the mismatched seam was why it’s on the outnet?

£600 for a mismatched pattern! Cheeky grabbing bastards. That’s why you pay those prices!

Because it's either made in the Far East or Leicester sweat shops for as cheaply as possible and sold on for a fat profit. Landfill is choking on it.

If you want good quality schmutter, you have to pay for it.