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!

@Wotwotwotwotwot, and polyester often doesn't look shiny. Wool can be really itchy and cashmere bobbles too. Plus the moths can get it. Some of my best most long lasting jumpers and what my MIL knitted in synthetic 'Aran wool'. They wash well and are really warm. Really I judge each piece on its merits and don't discard synthetics. There's a reason technical workout gear is synthetic so 'sweaty' is a moot point more about the particular techniques used in manufacturing. Plus the wool, cotton and cashmere industry is not without its faults. So, as I say, I judge each piece on its merits and have not made many clothing mistakes.

I love Crush Cashmere & find the quality much better than the likes of Wrap & Poetry. However I buy new from eBay, Vinted or Tk Maxx. I've never understood the appeal of Toast & it's ilk. Plus I can't wear wool as it's too itchy.
I can still find well made clothes on the high street. But they are getting harder to find & I'm buying less & less.

But possibly the St Michaels has been sitting unworn in a cupboard for decades while the Asda might have been worn&washed hundreds of times before making it to the charity shop?

@SomethingMustBeScaringThemAway, and I enjoy beautiful clothes too. And I find them on the high street or second hand or from my existing wardrobe.

But I'm not going to kid myself that there is a really sustainable way to buy clothes I don't need. Even if they will last years most clothes do anyway. But after a few years I will get sick of it or styles genuinely change or I do. That is simply the nature of fashion. It is the opposite of sustainable.

Luxury clothes are usually no more sustainable than cheaper versions. Luxury brands have actually burned surplus stock in order to maintain exclusivity or simply make shorter runs to the same end. And it is this exclusivity which promotes buying (whilst you can).

What needs to be sustainable is our buying habits. And the cloth industries of even natural materials are not beyond reproach.

And tbh I find all this 'quality' trope a bit distasteful. 'Fast fashion' is too often used as a stick to beat people with for being too poor to afford seriously expensive luxury goods.

If an Asda sparkly jumper makes someone feel good this Christmas then I'm happy for them and won't be berating them for buying a cheap jumper.

I Totally agree.

I think you know exactly what I was disagreeing with, @heyhohello.

But if denigrating other women is what makes you feel good … 🤷🏽‍♀️

@SomethingMustBeScaringThemAway, if you are talking about me voicing my experience of having an increased focus on health and fitness being that I feel more confident in my clothes, any clothes, I don't see what there is to apologise for. It is simply the truth. That has been my experience. It is there and too plain to see to ignore. And it is something most people can improve. Even when I was undergoing cancer treatment I could see that and made a vow to do what I could in terms of looking after myself in this way.

If not @SomethingMustBeScaringThemAway you will need to spell it out for me. 🤷‍♀️

I actually agree with people on the quality thing though! And I'm a cheapskate. I bought jumpers from New Look last winter. They look shit now. All thin and tatty. I got dresses in the summer and again they just look 'tired', worn and thin. Clothes are designed to be disposal because then we would buy more and spend more. They look good in a photo with a filter on the gram and look shit in real life.

If someone can recommend the unicorn that is petite, plus sized, well made and something remotely fashionable clothing, I'd be interested. Oh and I'm allergic to wool. So no wool. 🙄

@Xmaspenguin not saying it is impossible that cheap clothes fall apart but I find I can often tell this when I see them new (in the flesh). If I think they will fall apart and it's important they last I don't buy them,

But I still can find plenty on the high street. I think from reading your post it sounds like you have a problem with finding a good fit. I sometimes do (I am pretty slim now now, haven't always been, but middle aged and don't want teenage fashions) and agree it is frustrating.

I love Arket and Cos for quality, 100% wool or cashmere jumpers. Not cheap but reasonable for what they are. Usually well below £200.

Also ebay and vinted are great, because you get older stuff that is often better quality, and of course cheaper. Old m&s lambswool, brands like hawkshead, finisterre, pringle, hobbs etc. can all be really good and all natural fibres (and you can search by material). As they are cheap, I will sometimes buy a big men's jumper and alter it to fit and suit me. (Sometimes using one of my nice arket ones as a pattern.)

Agree with much of what @Floisme has written.

With regards to Riseandfall, while I can't comment on their clothing, their bedding is absolutely fantastic. I cannot recommend their Crisp & Cool Organic 400 thread count range enough.

Babaa
charlknits
FOlk
Letricoteur

I spent my childhood trying to wear out my hand-me-down St Michael jumpers in the hope that my mum might buy me something more fashionable. Nothing I did worked. They were bomb proof.

@Floisme, should have passed them onto my Grandad for boil washing in their twin tub machine! He'd have sorted it! Your dolls would have been kept very warm indeed!😉

Ha! That reminds me, I once accidentally washed a Margaret Howell linen shirt on 90 degrees and it was absolutely fine. So, for modern day quality, that gets my vote.

Mind you, she seems to have chosen to raise prices rather then lower quality so even second hand, it's getting out of my league.

@Floisme , I find there's usually a sweet spot in terms of paying more for quality.

If it's indestructible nature exceeds amount of times anyone would want to wear it it can become a burden to whoever possesses it. It ends up being passed on and shared about so everyone can be amazed at the indestructibility of said item. Yet in truth it is only ever reluctantly worn because it's style has sadly become something that looks like it belongs to the past. Cue very functional and classic but somewhat drably cut clothing but also highly directional and fashionable clothing which will look dated after a year or so.

I can't wear anything with even a speck of wool in it. I can't afford to spend lots of money on clothes but nor do I go in for fast fashion. I have jumpers this year from H&M, Tu, M&S, Next and New Look that are all at least 3 years old and have been washed many times. Every year they come out and look good, colours and shapes that suit me and I'm still a bit fussy even at 71.

Thank you everyone!
I was a bit incensed last night due to reading an article about clothing waste and outsourcing. Apologies for the rant

I would love to compile a list of British manufactured companies, such as Johnston's of Elgin, Justine Tabak, etc. I know Brora and Toast do next to no manufacture in the UK now.

I have googled for links but most results only list a handful of stores, and I am sure I've heard there are a lot more.

Strangely enough I recently located a barely used cashmere cardigan from MH for £40. Very pleased. It is a once in a blue moon thing isn't it? My best tweed coat was new with tags for £80 and retailed at over £300!

For those who asked if my clothes were falling apart - no.
I have very few, and they are decent. Due to only wanting a certain kind of item I have fallen behind and actually need to add to my wardrobe, so am short on a few knits.
I have been struggling to find anything that I would trust, but have had some success on ebay over the years. The mainstream market, and that includes the so-called 'middle aged favourites at high price points' have come to depress me.
(I am middle aged).

I don't agree with everything you say, heyhohello e.g. I think the drop in quality on the high street is very real and as for beautiful clothes being a comfort blanket for ageing women - well I'm going to assume we're talking at cross purposes.

But I do agree with you that there's a sweet spot in terms of price and quality. However I think that sweet spot keeps moving, which is what leaves people discombobulated.

And I also agree with you about giving people a hard time (and I'm not talking about this thread) for buying the cheap end of fast fashion. We don't know anyone's income or circumstances. I'm a big second hand buyer so I know how much time it takes and it always makes me uncomfortable, e.g. when I see mums with a couple of kids under 5 being advised to use charity shops. But I think that's probably for another thread.

Tsukiko my second hand Margaret Howell finds give me great pleasure but I fear they might be coming to an end. I recently walked away from a £100 (second hand) jumper that I'm sure would have been £60 tops a couple of years ago.

I find Vinted useful for buying clothes that were once expensive.
I wear Gant 100% wool jumpers, cashmere from John Lewis and past Boden pieces for very good prices.

Probably not all that relevant but I bought a cornish smock from Labour & Wait. It was several times as expensive as my newlyn one, but we're talking a huge difference in quality. Definitely worth the extra for an everyday workwear item.