Why is everything such shit quality!?

[gigipom]

even higher end brands.

I spent £150 on a dress from Massimo Dutti, which was machine washable 30 degrees. I hand washed cool to be extra safe and it shrunk.

my dresses from COS, Sezane all feel a bit naff after a few wears and have pulls in them. Knitwear bobbles so fast.

I went for a look around some shops today and I couldn’t believe how shit the quality was of everything. Everything is mixed with a synthetic fabric, but still charging an extortionate amount.

that and just the general styles coming in for autumn are 🤮 (looking at you, Zara).

I have returned the offending dress. It’s just sooo disappointing as I really loved it and made me feel great. Was gutted that I’d spent £150 thinking it would last and bring me joy for years to come.

Don't shoot me, but I have tried charity shops but it gives me the Ick. I can buy books but only after a good sniff. I just can't get past that. But also I don't like the jumble look (a bit like TK Maxx) - I like thinks to be displayed well.

Speaking of TK Maxx, you used to get genuine bargains, properly labels, now that is just a sea of shite with made up brands made of plastic fabrics.

Funny you should say that! I did a fashion degree and so know how to sew, but I hated that part of my course and swore I’d never do it again after graduation. But now I’m considering picking it back up for this very reason. At least I could by samples of fabrics before and test them properly (which is on obviously not happening properly in retail)

Agreed. All my M&S pants have ripped at the seams after less than 6 months. My M&S pants used to last me literally years (I’m pretty sure I still have some that are 10+ years old!)

I agree about the M&S knickers, and they are smaller too.

It's definitely the knickers that have got smaller... 😅

And the gussets are so narrow on some M&S knickers now

I bought some bras and matching knickers from M&S a couple of months ago. The bras were a set of three, navy, turquoise and white, and two sets of the matching bikini knickers.
Bras are nice and comfortable but the knickers are different sizes, the turquoise ones are smaller than the navy and the white are smaller still. There’s over an inch difference between the navy and the white on the waist and the gusset is tiny.
Both sets are the same so it’s not as if it’s a fluke.
Quality has gone down hill on so much stuff. I just want decent quality basic things.

Agreed. It's all such poor quality.

Me too! Quality basic things - I feel like you used to be able to rely on M&S for decent underwear.

I just bought intimissimi bras and while the actual quality feels nice, one of the bras came with no hooks..I just feel like everything is rushed and not taken care of!

same with a pair of leather sandals from Steve Madden. Had them lass then a month, the leather is already peeling off and massively stretched out. I’m sending them back.

And meanwhile the whole world is drowning in plastic 😢

THANK YOU OP! I have been feeling like I’m going mad as nobody else seems to be noticing but it’s so hard to find decent quality clothes these days. Even in higher end stores. I think some of it is due to a drive for more sustainable fashion (but I don’t really understand how eg. pure cotton is inherently bad for the planet?!). But I feel like there has been profiteering too disguised as this (just like with the supermarkets claiming the increased food prices are all purely inflation driven while they pocket massive profits).

so any tips for genuine quality?
I I’ll start: MaxMara (I buy secondhand)

I feel that a lot of brands trade on nostalgia and their past reputation what they used to be which is why consumers still go back despite the visible drop in quality.

@Nubnut Brora. I picked up a wool Brora cardigan in a charity shop and feel it’s good quality

M and S knickers are dreadful now. Used to love the Brazilian knickers. Last ones I bought barely lasted two months, awful quality and yet a big price hike.

Fascinating to know that people actually take stuff back which is crap. It hadn't occurred to me that you could do that!

I blame artificial fibres for shit quality (along with 'made in China'). I can't believe that (eg) Boden charge over £100 for polyester dresses. I didn't want it the first time round, never mind it being recycled. It's artificial shite. I also loathe viscose in any form.

My answer is only to buy cotton/linen/cashmere, mostly on Ebay and Vinted. Though I'm wearing a 100% cotton dress from the Boden sale at the moment, which I like.

A lot of it is lack of easily accessible better options. Even if you're fussier about fabrics and will only buy cotton for most items, there's little you can do about selecting items for being 'well made'. It's harder to tell. It's also harder to find, since in person you can look at the labels and online you can look at fabric composition, but it's harder to search for quality. Even if you buy things made to order from individual sellers on Etsy, so it's not fast fashion or brands, the quality of the sewing will vary.

In this time, you still need trousers, you still need tops, you still need jumpers, etc. You can see as a customer that things aren't that well made, perhaps, but you can't find where things would be well made, so a lot of it is simply choosing something that's 'all right' and tolerable (since even something that's better made might be worse by your lights due to the style/cut/colour), rather than 'wonderful'.

So true! The best of a bad bunch plain and simple!

@TillyHeadtilt I have been doing it for a long time. I’ve even gone so far as to print out the laws related to consumer goods so that when they trot out the lines about store policies etc then I can tell them ( which I have done) that store policies doesn’t trump the law.

Doesn’t- don’t

It’s not a cheap option, but I’ve been happy with dresses from small-batch independents who often use dead stock fabrics: Justine Tabak, Daydress, The Well Worn, Faith Rowan Leeves, Pink City Prints, Oli etc. I’m not an expert by any means and I’m sure many on this thread have far more exacting standards, but I’ve been happy with quality.
Agree with the quality of Brora knitwear.
On another note - I remember an article in Just Seventeen in 1985 or so headed ‘Why are clothes so expensive?’ An industry insider was quoted as saying ‘A skirt costing £25 cannot be a good skirt’ which stuck with me as I couldn’t have dreamed of spending £25 on a skirt in those days! But I think it’s very revealing of how the demand for cheap clothing has led to this race to the bottom where whole countries are now drowning in a swamp of discarded unwearable polyester.

Totally agree with Max Mara. I must admit I am not the best with secondhand shopping, but I do shop on the OUTNET and love MM.

The issue is that I just feel like you should have to pay £500 (yes that’s how much even a discounted Max Mara dress can cost!) for something that is ‘decent quality’. That just isn’t doable for me and most others. It’s actually a little sad.

Cotton is not great because of the levels of pesticides and water needed.

I’m having a huge clear out of my clothes, a lot bought pre 2018, some from mid 2000’s. I am amazed at the quality, fabrics all natural, weighty, well fitting, decent seams etc. It’s the same brands I still checkout, Reiss, LK Bennett, Whistles (though never buy now) Cos etc. It really highlighted how much the high street quality has deteriorated.