The price of clothing!

cremedelacardi · 2022-07-27T09:10:55+00:00

Oh my god! It's suddenly so high! A Fatface cardigan I bought 6 months ago has gone from about £45 to £56. Boden tops I wanted to get - nice but nothing amazing are £75. Clarks school shoes for kids are now around £50 I used to buy lots of stuff every month but are these prices I won't be able to.

CountryCousin · 27/07/2022 10:48

But why do you need so many clothes? (Obviously children grow …)

It’s true things are noticeably more expensive. There are certain brands whose sales I look out for - but now even the sale prices are forbidding and I don’t enjoy the amount of soul searching required before I buy a shirt or a pair of trousers. The worst of it is that even where brands pass on the extra costs to buyers, one feels their hearts aren’t really in it any more - there’s a really cursory look to clothes designed during or at the end of the lockdown periods. Sludgy colours, fabric just thrown together …

And, of course, there’s no carefree ordering from European sites any more, which is immensely frustrating.

TheOGCCL · 27/07/2022 15:56

A lot of clothing is also very badly made which I assume is to keep the price down, but it's still then a bit more than I'm willing to pay so feels like there's a lot of waste. Retailers know we expect rock bottom prices so are doing their best but I agree their hearts don't seem in it and it's now impossible to come up with reasonable quality at a low price point.

I'm kind of hoping this leads to a correction in the market where we buy less clothing but of higher quality. That is a major shift since actual quality often means spending a lot more. We need to be looking at the fabric and the sewing etc. We have become to used to treating clothes as disposable and don't appreciate them enough.

I can see why kids and teenagers and people with fluctuating weight do it but the rest of us don't need new things every five minutes. Telling myself this as much as anyone.

jesusmaryjosephandtheweedonkey · 27/07/2022 16:07

Buy less but buy better.
Classic pieces that don't date .

Tanfastic · 27/07/2022 16:18

I can't believe how much clothing has gone up either which is why I buy most of mine now from Vinted.

Phrenologistsfinger · 27/07/2022 16:46

I mainly buy second hand for environmental reasons, apart from underwear etc. Not an issue.

CountryCousin · 27/07/2022 17:14

I’m a long-standing member of the buy less but better club - so I don’t generally encounter poor quality clothing. But it’s plain to see even brands that value craftsmanship and individuality have been struggling recently.

uncomfortablydumb53 · 01/08/2022 13:50

I buy all my tops second hand as I think older fabric is far better than todays
The very fact that they're preowned but still good enough to sell speaks for itself
I can afford to buy brands which are out of budget brand new
Environmental reasons

JudgeRindersMinder · 01/08/2022 13:52

TheOGCCL · 27/07/2022 15:56

A lot of clothing is also very badly made which I assume is to keep the price down, but it's still then a bit more than I'm willing to pay so feels like there's a lot of waste. Retailers know we expect rock bottom prices so are doing their best but I agree their hearts don't seem in it and it's now impossible to come up with reasonable quality at a low price point.

I'm kind of hoping this leads to a correction in the market where we buy less clothing but of higher quality. That is a major shift since actual quality often means spending a lot more. We need to be looking at the fabric and the sewing etc. We have become to used to treating clothes as disposable and don't appreciate them enough.

I can see why kids and teenagers and people with fluctuating weight do it but the rest of us don't need new things every five minutes. Telling myself this as much as anyone.

I totally agree with you. Clothing has been artificially cheap for about the last 30 years. Fast fashion has been a hideous thing in the U.K.
I’m much happier to spend more on fewer pieces than have a wardrobe bulging with rubbish

IheartJKRowling · 01/08/2022 14:52

I sell vintage clothing and the quality of high street brands like M&S and Wallis from 30/40 years ago is superb compared to what's on sale now.

I recently sold an M&S strappy summer dress my Mum bought in 1974 for a wedding but never wore. It was nearly 50 years old and perfect, it had been made in the UK to an extremely high standard and I simply hand washed it and it looked like it was made yesterday.

The only things I buy new are my underwear and shoes, everything else is either vintage or quality high end labels from Ebay, Vinted, Depop, Facebook etc. I buy less but better quality clothing for a fraction of the price I would pay if it were new.

GenExer · 01/08/2022 16:24

Based upon everything else going up I'm not surprised but I haven't brought anything new for years as I used eBay, Vinted or charity shops.

This summer I tried Courtney Carver's Project 3:33 (where you select 33 items you own to wear over 3 months) it helped me recognise what I really enjoy wearing and what helps me feel good. I can donate or sell the rest.

After years of decluttering shoes, clothes, accessories, books, etc, etc, then accumulating more crap, I finally realised that to stop the cycle I had to stop shopping - I became self-employed and this also helped my spending mindset.
I don't need clothing right now but when I do I won't buy anything new - apart from undies.

Shopping was a leisure activity for me but leaving it behind has opened up other ways for me to spend my time. I'm enjoying it and feeling a contentment I haven't experienced for years.
I'm finally happy with what I have.