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...

Agreed. Everything I've bought in the last year, not much, has been very poor.

Yep, I agree. But consumerism has meant that nothing is made to last these days - not just clothes - so we will buy more!

I’m wearing a Boden cotton knit cardi I bought in a charity shop maybe 5 years ago. It’s quite a dated colour/style (not that I care) so probably about 10/15 years old. It’s barely faded, has kept its shape, it’s not all stretched around the bottom and round the wrists (I find cotton knits are terrible for this), no holes or frayed hems. And as it’s a “chuck it on” second-hand buy, I don’t treat it in any special way. I wish new ones were like this!

agreed.
TBH it makes me favour the likes of Primark, New Look and H&M wherever possible, as when I have gone up a price point for Jigsaw, Boden, French Connection I haven't noticed a difference in quality (although I still wear a couple of decade-old French Connection tops from the olden days of better quality for your money).

I am not super interested in fashion, and would MUCH rather buy a £30 tshirt that lasts than three £10 ones that fall to pieces, but right now the choice seems to be a £10 one that falls to pieces or a £30 one that does the same .

M&S men’s cotton jumpers and wool jumpers are great quality, thick and washable - they seem to wear much better than women’s and come in an endless range of colours. I get all my jumpers from there now. The women’s are mostly acrylic.

Made in China perhaps?

I agree that the quality of everything has massively decreased. And I understand that you can't pay the same amount for years and years and get the same quality.
But I'd be happy to pay more if it was worth what you paid.
White Company, Mint Velvet, Jigsaw all used to be the more expensive end of high street fashion but you got what you paid for.
I've just bought a top from White Company and I could honestly have bought it from my local market.
There is no differentiation any more from Primark or H&M to the more expensive brands

I’ve been very pleased with jumpers and cardigans from here; choice of Shetland wool, lambs wool or merino. Good range of colours and priced at about £65. They wear very well and the Shetland jumper has been very cosy next to an open window.
www.countrycollection.co.uk/products/022/shetland-sweater

www.countrycollection.co.uk/products/509/lambswool-sweater-ladies

www.countrycollection.co.uk/products/6hf/merino-wool-short-cardigan

I remember I used to get m and s men’s cotton jumpers to wear for school when I was a teenager which was a while ago...) as even then they were the best.

That perfectly basics website looks really good, I might give it a try, assuming Brexit hasn’t wrecked it

I switched to buying mostly second hand because of this and so far it's worked pretty well (or at least it would in normal times). But it won't be a solution forever because I can't imagine today's high street clothing being anywhere but in landfill 10 years from now.

Online shopping makes it even easier for retailers to fob us off with shit. I've gone from loving it to finding it frustrating to actively disliking it.

I'm going back to making my own. I'm not brilliant at it plus it's slow and not even cheap - but that in itself reminds me how underpriced our clothes are. It's also strangely satisfying.

Too much crap about now, even previously good products, change the manufacturer, and still punt it the same way despite the fact it's shite now. Clothes are worst, one makers size is true to life, others not so, but you are landed with something unusable if you get it wrong. Much of what you buy now is poor, fucks me off when you pay more for the same item, but smaller, much smaller in size.

The knit wear is shocking, my John Lewis newish cashmere cardigan bobbled yet my Costco one from 10 years ago is fine. Pure is good from 3/4 years ago.

Sometimes John Lewis own make, their long sleeved tops aren't too bad. Some White stuff

Boden I still have older tops but not sure about now.

Fatface ok

I have a red tartan dressing gown from M and S, purchased for me by DM for Christmas 1997. Washed every fortnight or thereabouts and is in brilliant condition.

It's driving me mad as well, I thought I was just getting grumpy.. hush clothes all thin with threads and static.

Sweaty Betty my go-to quality that lasts, it's all going back as the jumpers are thinner, dress is practically see through.. but the price is the same if not more.

I've lost my way with buying now so just going to grab fashion items from ASOS and contribute to the problem of cheap fashion , because I'm paying high prices and getting the same shite.

Reading all of these, I’m quite glad I’ve never been able to afford the ‘better’ clothes.
All mine have always been high street or supermarket (in more recent decades).
I’m currently wearing a Tesco top which I love and is at least 12 years old, some M&S jeans that I bought with a voucher I got for my 50th (I’m 58) that I still consider my new jeans, and a Primark hoody that I got from a charity shop for £1. These all look great and I am off out with my daughter for a walk feeling a million dollars.
Have never paid as much as £30 for a jumper, in the 80s or now!

I don't buy Cos etc; I don't consider those lower end as they're very expensive for most of us!
I've got a couple of Primark bits from at least a decade ago that I still wear. They're cotton and they've washed very nicely.
I agree with the M&S knicker quality falling. They're terrible now, yet I have some from literally decades ago that are still going! I find Tu at Sainsbury's better quality (that goes for a lot of clothing actually).

OP, I've been thinking about this exact same thing. I've changed shape and style recently and I'm keen to invest in good stuff - but it seems good stuff barely exists anymore.

No kidding, I still have 2 pairs of socks from H&M from 1998, bought on a family trip to Stockholm when my feet got cold. They're only just starting to go. Most stuff used to be much better made.

Also never buying anything from Hush. Their joggers looked miserable and tatty after a few (cold) washes. And at £49 they're not cheap!

Agree also that COS is some of the best of the high street

Totally agree. Hush is always terrible though. I have bought three or four things over the years and every single one has been terrible quality, literally falling apart after a couple of washes. I don’t know how they get away with it, but I’m never buying there again. It’s a shame really, as the designs are nice, but it isn’t worth it.

There’s no difference in quality now between the top and bottom of the high street, which does make me wonder what the point is.

Knickers: I like the Uniqlo airism seamless ones and their high rise ones with soft lace round the legs and waist, both of which are comfy, wash brilliantly well and are invisible or almost so under tight trousers. Otherwise I like wearing cotton granny pants, which I get from Tesco’s in multipacks and find they wear and wash well, much better than M&S, whom I also abandoned for this purpose a few years back.

@Floisme

I switched to buying mostly second hand because of this and so far it's worked pretty well (or at least it would in normal times). But it won't be a solution forever because I can't imagine today's high street clothing being anywhere but in landfill 10 years from now.

Online shopping makes it even easier for retailers to fob us off with shit. I've gone from loving it to finding it frustrating to actively disliking it.

I'm going back to making my own. I'm not brilliant at it plus it's slow and not even cheap - but that in itself reminds me how underpriced our clothes are. It's also strangely satisfying.

Me too! I used to sew years ago but went off it because it was expensive. I’ve started again over lockdown, I don’t mind the expense now if it means I can have better quality fabrics and better made clothes. It’s a very satisfying feeling when it works out well

Yes, I may do the same at some point- used to sew - PRIMA patterns are useful. It's the fit that is difficult

I've found Uniqlo pretty forgiving tbh. I wear and wash their things pretty frequently and they seem to be lasting well.

I've just today had to darn a hole in on of their merino sweaters, but, tbh, I've mistreated that poor thing . Wash it a lot and occasionally forget to take it out of the washer / drier and tumble dry it, which you'd think would desteoy pure wool instantly, but it hasn't, which is nothing short of a miracle. I also wear their cotton long sleeve tees quite a lot, and they are holding up well.

[quote rookiemere]**@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.[/quote]
Where do you buy ‘matching set’ knickers that have backs in? Knickers don’t have backs in these days!

Oo, I just remembered that I bought some excellent mock neck t-sshirts from Muji a while back and they've washed well! I have a messy toddler do my clothes go through a lot of washing. I also got trousers from JL own brand which have lasted well. But now I really inspect the seams, stitching and density of fabric before buying. There are lots of good YouTube tutorials for this

The quality of everything is so shit because consumers drive the price down then won't pay what something is worth to make.
So manufacturers outsource to cheap slave labor countries where even children work in factories with zero H&S.
Just so someone in the west can buy a new dress for a fiver.
If those closes were made here the same dress would be at least 10 times the cost.