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...

About ten years ago (?) M&S had a Best of British line, specifically sourced from UK mills and factories. It was expensive but decent quality, and I just wish the styles had suited me better - I'd have bought more.

I think it all about fast fashion, they see primark and others doing so well, so they are doing the same thing, quick turn around quick cheap fashion but still charging high prices, it's our fault for making fast fashion so popular, I'm at a age 60, where I prefer something that will last. I never buy in primark, but do buy highstreet, thats getting harder with all the clothes shop closing down,

It's a shame that Gap didn't stick to its original principal of providing good quality basic clothing for the"gap" in the market, as that's what's really needed.

There are some nice things in M&S Autograph but you'd think the price premium would mean less man made fibres and better tailoring with lining and shaping, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I got a beautifully cut new Jaeger dress from the charity shop a few years ago, but I don't know what the quality of online Jaeger is like. As people have said, paying more doesn't seem to equate to better items.

Even Indigo and Per Una for trousers were decent

I agree we've lost touch with what constitutes a reasonable price but I don't think it's fair to blame it all on consumers. Point the finger at people like me by all means but, if you're on a low wage and have high housing costs you don't have much option but to buy cheap and cheerful. (Please don't recommend buying second hand - I do but it takes up masses of time and I couldn't manage it if I still had caring responsibilities.) So you end up stuck in a cycle of buying cheap shit that falls apart so you need more cheap shit to replace it.

My parents' (probably your grandparents') generation paid considerably more in real terms for their clothes than we do now but the stuff was much better made then (we had a local clothing industry) and fashion was slower. Plus they had the skills: invisible mending, darning and patching to make clothes last longer. And they were taught how to make their own. I think we've dropped the baton and let those skills pretty much die out.

@LauristonLane

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.

Completely agree. Bought a pair of JW socks recently, they have holes in after five wears and my sweatshirt bobbled on the first wash. My JW clothes from 10-15 years ago still look nice though.

Ditto for GAP, used to live in their cotton long sleeved t-shirts, they bobble after a couple of washes. I find Uniqlo t-shirts are good quality and wash well.

But I’m not trying to buy cheap shit. I’m not well off but I have saved to be able to afford the top end of the high street (Whistles, Hobbs, Reiss, LK Bennett, similar stuff sold in John Lewis), and it’s still shit. Polyester and badly made, on the whole. I can’t afford the next level up (Joseph, Margaret Howell). That’s what I’m complaining about.

I know this is 'style and beauty' but I'm finding the same with household furniture and accessories.
I have a feeling that it is all made in the same factory and just labelled up for a 'more expensive brand'. None of it is actual quality.

I don't mind spending good money for quality, I don't want to spend good money and find the item is the same item as a cheaper brand.

It's all dumbed down ...look at Habitat for instance once somewhere I would dream of shopping, now ...Argos.

I find that the hems and seams of brands I used to consider good quality have really gone downhill recently. I don't expect the hem to be coming undone after two or three washes but that's becoming the norm sadly.

It even extends to 'reputable' outdoor clothing. I work outside and have loved Craighopper leggings for years. They were warm, hard wearing and wicked rain beautifully.

I bought a new pair and immediately noticed the fabric was thinner. Gave them a try and they have bagged quickly, are less warm and less wicking. I tried again with another new pair hoping it was a one off- same poor quality.

They are expensive and for me that's fine if they are functional- but they no longer are.

I've bought a few things from Hush and agree the quality isn't great. The dresses haven't been too bad but the trackie bottoms I bought looked shit immediately and had big baggy knees in them after an hour or 2 of wearing. The jewellery was shocking too, the earrings snapped and the necklace looked like it had come out of a cracker!

This issue has driven me mad for years. So glad it isn’t just me.

I still have M&S pants from the year I got pregnant with DS10, but the ones I bought in 2016 were binned within 6 months for holes in seams/elastic unravelling. I still have Uniqlo merino cardigans from 2009 (god I’m a hoarder) but the ones I got in 2019 went threadbare and bobbly the same month, after careful wool washes only. Gah.

Seriously considering just knitting my own jumpers from now on, with proper wool. If only my sewing skills were up to the rest of it. It does cost more, but at least you’re not walking around in a semi-transparent “polyester sack” (the PP who said that is 100% accurate) - polyester and viscose are all that’s on offer these days.

I also agree that the top end of the high street isn't delivering any more, and that some of those so-called higher quality brands are heading for a big fall if they don't get their act together quickly - because what's the point of them now?
I don't think it's unfeasible that we could end up with the Margaret Howells and Josephs at one end, the Primarks and supermarkets at the other, and precious little in between.

Fast fashion is a scourge and we are being ripped off! (Hopefully the links below work). For this reason and ethical reasons I now only buy second hand. I wish I was skilled enough to make my own clothes! www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56630546
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56506859

That's the thing about natural fibres such as wool, cotton and linen, they are from natural sources, and those sources are often under threat. There has been a significant reduction in sheep farming in the UK and Europe, and it is more lucrative for lamb meat than wool for years clothing industry; so farmers would rather rear the livestock for food as opposed to for the clothing industry. Land is a premium and this is one of the subsequent effects of it.

I would love to find more linen in more shops with more style. Same with wool; these items shouldn't be impossible to find and then cost an arm and a leg.

I sweat in viscose and elastane and so have to avoid those fabrics. But because so many shops stock clothing with a viscose majority, I have to walk straight out.

Jaeger have been faithful, so let's hope that M& S don't mess around with the clothing model. That said and I find M&S quite dowdy at times and haven't bought any of their clothes in zonks.

White stuff et al are too frumpy. They model their target market on the out of shape, tasteless SAHM. And I mean no offence to anyone who likes them (I am on mat leave with a 2 mo), but that is just the impression I get from their shops and website.

I think White Stuff has always been fairly poor quality - I remember spending ££ on children's pyjamas in about 2008 and being so disappointed when they fell apart almost immediately. Similarly Fat Face ( dress immediately bobbled and pockets fell off), Joules ( fabrics bobbled and faded after one wash) Uniqlo (don't get me started) and definitely similar experiences with the fabled Boden. I also have a Jigsaw jumper that cost about £150 in the sale a year ago and is so pilled it's basically unwearably scruffy - I haven't even washed it yet, and I don't dare in case it entirely disintegrates. I also have loads of those Jigsaw lace-trimmed vests in all colours - the ones I bought 20 years ago are still going strong, but the ones I bought last year have already gone into holes. And totally agree about M&S.

I buy less and less 'stuff' as a result, and when I do I think I might as well buy from H&M and Primark as there's no discernible difference in quality.

Linen used to cost an arm and a leg though. I still remember my mum and my aunties talking about it in reverential tones. It was way out of their price range, as was cashmere and silk. It feels like a lot of luxury fabrics have become mainstream but lost something in the process.

I buy my linen from Lithuanian sellers via Etsy. Really good and not too frumpy.

Agreeing wholeheartedly. So many beautiful prints and designs but it’s made up in polyesters and dodgy fabrics I don’t know what they are. I just bought 3 GAP cotton tees for me, one is see through, one is ok, one shrunk the first time I washed it at 40 degrees and has been given to my skinny 14 year old.

Positives, I bought a silk shirt from NRBY a year ago which has worn really well (quick hand wash). Am saving up for a Justine Tabak dress (also need to lose weight). Neither are cheap brands but they are small and British and I am thinking about years of wear. I just want to wear good cotton, maybe a little linen or silk here or there. Pink City Prints and Aspiga have cotton dresses (tad frilly) but again not cheap. I also have some Brora tweed trousers that are so well made and will outlive me, v expensive initially but they were a good buy.

Sorry if this is garbled I am cooking!

I agree, and price doesn't seem to have much of a bearing on it imo. I actually weirdly find TU the best quality recently.

Am keenly awaiting the return of charity shops for lightly used but perfectly good clothes- less into landfill and money to the charities, win win especially with a teenage dd who likes to experiment with her look!

Is Landsend still good quality?

Agree that it’s the high end high street that’s losing the plot. Everyone expects Primark and the like to be cheap and made to a cost - but if I am spending £30 on a plain t shirt from Jigsaw it better be well made and long lasting!

I think Hobbs, Jigsaw etc will be the next casualties - not only has the market for office wear shrunk massively but who’s going to spend Jigsaw prices for Primark quality?

To be fair to M&S, they have some good quality pieces - their linen last year was good, and their Autograph range has some good fabrics.

Hmm am I the only one whose Jigsaw clothes have been pretty good? I have several of the silk/cotton turtle necks, few jersey dresses and a few cotton tops and they're all looking good.
NRBY - this is good to know, thanks. I like the look if their basics

I have a leather jacket from Jigsaw, over 20 years old. Still lovely.