Why is the quality of everything so shit?

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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 can say that a wool and cotton dress from Cos around 6 years ago is still my favourite and looks like new. I machine wash in a net bag for delicates and air dry. Amazing quality. I have a couple more dresses from there which I don't wear as often, but still look new. I remember sweating at paying full price, as £80-100 for a day dress is usually above my budget. But my goodness they were worth every penny.
Plus, I've hung onto a couple of work wear items from John Lewis designer collections (Ouiset is one) from 25 years ago which are still beautiful to wear.
A Carroll wool dress I bought in the sales in Paris is also a classic keeper.

Because everything these days is made in the cheapest way, with the cheapest quality materials in the cheapest place (usually China/Bangladesh etc).

I agree. I have quite a lot of t shirts from White Stuff bought several years ago. They are cut really well , colours don’t fade and the material is good quality cotton. Suddenly they have all developed holes and are falling apart. So I looked at the current range. Awful quality, badly cut. Oddly shaped. Everywhere else is the same.
I also bought a lid of socks as all my socks are falling apart. Again I've had them years and years.
Within one or two washes many of them have developed holes or come apart at the seams.
I think the answer is to buy German made clothes or something. Everything in this country is shit quality and far too expensive. None of it lasts any length of time and the attention to detail is awful.

M&S knickers - the quality of fabric is awful compared to years ago.
The White Company used to do lovely cotton jersey dresses then used viscose - awful.

Coz are still usually great

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Some of the early Boden was beautifully made. I have some skirts that are finished with bound seams and what not.

Haven't bought any recently so don't know what's happening there.

I have some very old Boden jersey dresses (bought c 2001). The quality of the jersey is great, really substantial and they have worn really well. The current Boden jersey dresses are a much, much flimsier fabric and not finished nearly as well. I’ve stopped buying from them as they are now no better than a basic High Street brand even though they charge more. And don’t get me started on the actual quality of the stitching and the short cuts they take to avoid any “unnecessary “ cost which might actually improve the look

I’ve not bought anything from Cos. Will take a look.

I get my pyjamas from Toast, expensive but worth it and last years.
COS is still generally good quality
I have Margaret Howell tshirts which are amazing quality and are made to last and trousers from her cheaper MHL range but still expensive
Izzy Lane &Daughter for knitwear.
APC for shirts
Toteme or Mother for jeans

I have two dresses I bought in Warehouse almost 20 years ago, both 100% silk and really well made. They were probably around £50-60 each as I can't imagine I'd have been able to pay more than that. I don't even know where I'd find that sort of quality clothing now but I'm sure I couldn't afford it anyway.

@LadyEloise yes to disappointing M&S knickers. Ones I've bought recently just fall apart after a few washes, yet ones I bought years ago are still going strong but my bottom is too big for them now.

Hush pjs are really terrible for bad washing; from baby soft to cardboard in about a month. And with added murky marks where the gold embellishing wears off. The harem pants have noticeably nosedived in fabric quality too. I noticed Tu at Sainsburys have done a few star print 'Hush inspired' t's recently, and they're actually nicer to wear.

I'm not a fast fashion buyer, but while I like the quality of the Toast/Margaret Howell type ranges, I can't carry off that aesthetic. I just want M&S to go back to producing slightly more expensive, durable quality, unthreatening basics but it doesn't seem as if that's on the cards.

And YY to M&S pants. After an exclusive 30+ year relationship, M&S Lingerie and I have now finally broken up. The final straw was - well, it wasn't a final straw, it was more like several painful underwires in the armpit, to which the Customer Service team said a heartfelt, 'Meh.'

@SaintReatham and @LadyEloise where do you get your knickers from now? I've fallen out of love with M&S but don't know what the alternative should be.

French high street brands are where it’s at - silk shirts from Gerard Darel / Zapa, claudie Pierlot, sezanne, Sandro etc etc - all really good quality and all so good sales (esp zapa) oh and comptoir des cotonniers for t shirts. Of course brexit has made shopping from them far more complicated and I think comptoir isn’t even accepting Uk orders at the moment. But all are well worth the euros.

Completely agree with all of this! So sad to see the quality getting worse year after year. Haven't bought much during the last year as I'm not a fan of online clothes shopping but did treat myself to a couple of wool cardis from White Stuff - they are both shrunken and bobbled after the first careful wash. Totally unwearable

Recently had to buy school uniform for DD from M&S - not cheap and the quality is genuinely shocking! So it's endemic except as some posters have said for men's clothing where you can find quality cotton and it is generally better made.

I really hope if nothing else positive happens as a result of the pandemic, we'll start rejecting low quality fast fashion and things will change!

rookiemere I've bitten the bullet and started paying a bit more for bras: Prima Donna for best, Panache for every day. The pants question is a good one: I've got a longstanding M&S matching set mentality, but it pains me to pay £25+ for a pair of knickers, so I buy in the sales and non-match with black Sloggis.

I'm so disappointed with M&S. Like, not just 'tsk, shame' but proper primary school head teacher, 'I know you're better than this'.

I have found that my 100% cotton jersey or viscose things from Hush are really good quality and last ages, but knitwear is a disaster. I have never seen things bobble so fast!

I general I always look for natural fabrics and if I find something good I stock up. Eg urban outfitters stuff is not always good quality but their modal soft bras are fab so I bought a few. Also shop on eBay a lot as you get the older, better quality stuff. Also men’s things are often cheaper on eBay. I can sew so I buy men’s lovely cashmere or lambs wool jumpers on eBay and adjust them to fit.

Sometimes you can get lovely lasting quality by paying more - I have an orla Kiely dress and toast dresses that were worth the money. But it’s so annoying when that doesn’t happen. I fell in love with a floaty yellow skirt at plumo - it was expensive but I splashed out - it came and was just thin, badly finished muslin and too short. I sent it back and bought some cotton voile fabric for a few quid and made my own better quality version.

I totally agree. My office is freezing due to windows/doors being open for covid reasons. I realised most of my jumpers made of man made fabrics were not warm enough so I decided to get some new wool ones. It’s actually really hard to get hold of good quality wool jumpers and the price is very high. I got a couple from Celtic and Co which are lovely and very warm and wash well but we’re about £115 each which is out of reach for a lot of people.

For knickers I get uniqlo cotton shorts-style ones and they seem to last well so far.

The H&M group can be good for knitwear if you are careful to avoid the synthetic fabrics - H&M premium range, arket, cos, other stories. Expensive but can also be found on eBay.

I agree. So much is poor quality now, and not just the cheap stuff.

As for PJs can I recommend Their Nibs? It’s a small company but their pjs are such good value. I have three pairs which can all stand a regular wash and dry.
www.theirnibs.com/

I was talking about this with my DS - mainly about the Jack Wills brand. Really thick, quality flannel shirts from 10 years ago are still gorgeous and in use, the one bought this Christmas is already in worse condition and was never the quality fabric of the older one.
( we blamed the 'Mike Ashley' effect).
Hate waste, hate poor quality and hate paying lots for rubbish.

This is one reason why I don't buy new, unless I really have to. Why waste money on this stuff, when it's available secondhand for a fraction of the price?

Can I ask for advice on Oliver Bonas style but better quality?
Their clothes suit me and I love the designs and colours but a knit dress I've worn once and washed on delicate is already bobbled.

Just thinking quality wise I've got a couple of lovely smart cardiganny things from a Danish make through a website called Perfectly Basics which I think is Dutch. It does take a leap of faith to pay £100+ for an item you'd pay £45 for on the high street, but the difference in quality and longevity is amazing, they wash up so well.
Keep looking to see if they ever have them in the sale, but as they are more classic than fashion, that's not happened.