Is there any quality left?

[Tsukiko]

I have been searching for a couple of new jumpers and trousers for 3 months and not having any joy because I don't much like current shapes and also due to quality concerns.
I have always avoided buying cheap turnover fashion items, so used to purchase from the middle ground, but in recent years I notice the quality of these items has also plummeted, whilst the pricetags keep increasing.

I am willing to buy one or two higher priced items if I can guarantee quality, but such stores are not within my area or would take a heck of a lot of time to visit.

Is there any truly good cashmere out there now? I used to trust John Lewis, Poetry, etc but something has definitely changed. Wool trousers are all crazy trend shapes with clown legs or voluminous crotches, and I can't find anything suitable.

It is the wool I am bothered about most. The mid range (£200-£300) bracket such as White Co, Reiss and Whistles are not what they used to be, regardless the cost.

I kind of want to give up, just buy utilitarian stuff from Carrier Company but I know such masculine shapes don't suit me. I wish they did.

Any advice or tips regarding where to look would be fantastic. There's so much choice out there now but so much crap. Buying clothes used to be really simple. Even when you get used to a brand now it will do a sudden lurch and the sizing and quality will fly off!

I only buy jumpers from Margaret Howell. I don’t want to take a risk with anything else. They’re 100% worth the price to me - I’m done with poor quality clothes.

I was about to say it might be best to take your chances with the Margaret Howell sale, @Tsukiko!

To be honest I find there’s almost too much great quality around right now - but you have to be nimble and quick if you don’t want to spend a limitless fortune. And it does help if you actually enjoy and embrace new shapes and proportions.

Anyway … You might find it worthwhile to browse:

https://shop.colenimo.com/collections/trousers

https://riseandfall.co/

for more or less ‘classic’ shapes. Obviously places like:

MaxMara
Raey @ Matches Fashion

have consistently good quality, at a price, but generally much reduced in the sales. The only thing is their styles might seem too fashion driven for you.

The Outnet is a bit hit and miss - you do need a bit of patience or knowledge of exactly what you’re looking for.

Is rise and fall any good?

Sadly I found the riseandfall website almost unusable, although I did notice a lot of trending balloon sleeved knitwear for women - wonder why it's never aimed at men...

I honestly think at this point we are all being negged and gaslit by these brands. I would need to really develop trust over time to throw hundreds on a cardigan. Marketing is strong!
Make it about lifestyle aspirations/emotions and aim for the climate jugular! Same old same old shit - except they all contribute to the destruction of the planet with endless returns, with well chosen influencers collecting confused middle aged women like the pied piper and it's spend spend spend, throw out the old and bring in the new. Using slightly higher quality as an excuse to collect more stuff and toss the rest at charity, which inevitably ends up in a Chilean trash mountain .........I'm looking at you, Toast, the queen of the faux-artisanal lifestyle trend.
Greenwashing plain and simple. Works well on women over 40. Ask me how I know

Now that's comfortably off my chest, I do admit to liking a bit of Margaret Howell. Will have a snoot at second hand.

I have no idea what you’re on about, @Tsukiko!

I experience no negging or gaslighting from the places I buy clothes from. Old or new, they only get my custom while they’re doing their best work - it’s easy enough to move on to new sources. I almost never have to return anything. (Maybe once or twice a year, despite the best efforts of all parties, I order the wrong size. I have no experience of multiple ordering and returning.)

I don’t specifically follow any influencers. I assume I pick up influences all over the place. I definitely don’t feel confused over my wardrobe!

My clothes are only thrown out when they fall apart after (usually) years of use.

I don’t shop at Toast (any more) because I don’t like the clothes - but I have no objection to brands weaving an enticing narrative around their products if the products actually live up to expectations.

I’m sorry you’re finding this such an unsatisfactory battleground! For myself, even when everything else in life is chaos, clothes are the one area where I can feel entirely confident in my choices.

Quality? Is your stuff actually falling apart? Really? I know lots of people bang on about this. Seems to be a popular trope. It's really not my experience though. My stuff lasts literally years. I shop on the high street.

Tbh I think this is modern culture's version of 'The Princess and the Pea'... So cultured and used to finer things, woe is me, how can I bear it, a polyester mix actually touched my skin! I'm ill from it!!!! Ill I tell you!

Not cashmere - but I have been extremely pleased with the two jumpers I bought recently from Navygrey (The Weekend and The Relaxed).

Have been wearing them virtually on full time rotation and they are a joy to wear.

I’ve never bought from them, @Doesanyoneknowwhattheyaredoing, so couldn’t say. They were mentioned in a newspaper so I had a look. I can see they’re aiming for ‘quality’ … I’m not attracted to that sort of overtly combative marketing strategy, and the colours seem slightly off to me (so I’d rather pay the full or sale price of the competitors they claim) but I guess their ethos might appeal to people who aren’t me.

(Though not the OP, who is keeping warm through venting …)

Agree about navygrey- lovely soft wool, not cashmere but I can wear next to the skin. Maybe cashmere is tricky.

Have you looked at Sezane?

I have lots of lovely quality clothes that I’m really happy with - but I don’t generally shop on the high street. Smaller brands and more specialist brands tend to be better IMO.

For knitwear:

https://www.genevievesweeney.com/

https://www.lenversfashion.com/

https://babaa.es/

https://amiamalia.com/

https://navygrey.co/

https://www.theknottyones.com/

Theres a good mix in those brands of classic and modern.

Oh and https://www.and-daughter.com/

Same old same old shit - except they all contribute to the destruction of the planet with endless returns, with well chosen influencers collecting confused middle aged women like the pied piper and it's spend spend spend, throw out the old and bring in the new.

@Tsukiko, it is simple because it's a prime market. Middle aged women generally have more spending power. When you are younger / have less spending power you wouldn't even contemplate it. Added to this are the fears of not looking so good with ageing, so the possession of beautiful luxurious clothes is a form of comfort blanket as they are something which looks good. Personally, I go strong on the health and fitness. With this it has been my experience that I then worry less about my clothes because I feel good in more things, more styles. There is a lessened need to distract with clothes.

And the greenwashing? Just provides an excuse to spend spend spend. Which, ironically, is the opposite of sustainability.

Ha! Just looked at that 'and-daughter' website. 'Forever sweater'???? Really? I think people are kidding themselves that this is aspirational. People tire of things, they get stained people gain weight, lose weight. Styles, no matter how apparently classic they are change, our colouring changes. We change. Our needs change. So getting new clothes occasionally to fit those needs is fine.

My god, @heyhohello - you woke up this morning and decided the most entertaining way to spend a couple of minutes would be to insult an entire section of womanhood?

Go you.

Personally find no problem in maintaining a good level of health and fitness (and, having grown into my self, look better than I did in my 20s) and enjoying wearing beautiful clothes. I certainly don’t ‘worry’ about getting dressed.

Key problem is you have a high street budget but don't like current fashion which is what the high street sells. Solutions are secondhand or DIY. But those aren't going to necessarily meet your quality standards. So you'll ether have to raise your budget by a lot (just think how much food has gone up by and clothes have a much longer supply chain so the effect multiplies) and buy much much less or just sit this fashion cycle out and buy nothing.
Since you seem to have environmental concerns too do you honestly really NEED 'a couple' of new trousers and jumpers or just fancy them?

Polyestet makes me itchy. So does wool. I can only wear cotton and silk😔it’s not much fun being a princess.

Rails do a nice jersey or two.

I’ve recently bought some cashmere and merino jumpers from dine’n’dance (via zalando 😅).

nice colour range and solid quality. The ones I had previously bought two (?) years ago still look fresh.

It sounds like there are at least two things going on op:

1. A drop in quality, which I agree is real and possibly more noticeable in the mid range.
2. You feel out of synch with current fashions. I'm going to go a step further and ask whether this feeling might be colouring everything you see? E.g. I've not bought from Riseandfall, but, the odd balloon sleeve aside, it looks pretty mainstream to me.

Anyway to attempt to answer your op, my tips quite likely won't be new to you but I trust them both for quality and for steering clear of the more fly-by-night trends:

Community Clothing - functional everyday wear in natural fabrics. I've recently bought their combat trousers which I really like, and their work trousers which are a modest wide leg. I've not tried their knitwear but I've heard good things.

John Smedley knitwear - only ever bought it second hand but it seems to last forever. Pretty classic. I size up or look for menswear because I prefer a looser fit.

I have two Celtic and Co jumpers that I bought about five years ago that I'm still very happy with, although I don't know whether they've maintained that quality.

I've given up buying new cashmere. If anyone were to ever treat me to one of the traditional, Scottish brands then that would be very lovely, otherwise my view is, forget it. It was a luxury product and regretfully, I think it might have been better all round if it had stayed that way.

But, if the OP finds Carrier Company utilitarian, is it likely she’d find Community Clothing any improvement?

(I admire both, but generally find myself distracted by more frivolous looking offerings elsewhere.)

Probably not SomethingMustBeScaringThemAway but it's all I've got!

The thing is that polyester often looks shiny and horrible, acrylic jumpers bobble more than wool. You don't get as sweaty when you wear natural fibres.

I mostly shop in charity shops so see that the difference in cheaper clothes that have been worn compared to more expensive clothes made with natural fibres is very obvious. They look a lot more tired. A two year old Asda jumper looks rubbish compared to a 20+ year old St Michaels wool jumper.

I'm with you @heyhohello
I've never spent as much as even £100 on one item and I have clothes decades old. New ones don't seem to be any different. I'm entirely unsure what people mean by 'quality' that isn't addressed by the high street - M&S, White Stuff, Debenhams etc.