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!

@stickypoint phew, glad my geeky derail helped someone 😀I'm trying to avoid them until Black Friday temptations blow over but it's a struggle

Re affordable quality knitwear. I went to the Johnston's of Elgin sale today and got:

100% cashmere scarf - £25
100% cashmere stole large - £70
70% cashmere/30 silk jumper - £69 (reduced from £395 and extremely light and soft)
100% cashmere cardi - £95
100% merino wool jumper - £40 (reduced from £215)

None of these items was a second.
There was also a chunky cashmere scarf for £60 (reduced from £299) which I liked but didn't buy.
I think these prices are excellent for quality cashmere but appreciate that not everyone can visit their sale in person.

Sounds amazing

I once went to a pure sale ages ago and bought lovely cashmere cardigans that I am still wearing. One needs stitching under the armpit

No bobbling

@greengreengrass25 , only the cardi is for me. All the rest are 🎁

I think there is a shop in London but I assume you are North of the Borders😀

Sunspel are really good quality

Bugger the lot of you… especially you Highlandscoos … I have just gone onto Johnstone of Elgin website and found the most delicious chocolate brown cashmere cardi… can somebody tell me what sizing is like? I am a busty 14 so I thought large. Sitting here on a sun filled NZ evening it is odd looking at cashmere!

Quality on the high street has definitely gone down since 90s, I can see it when trying to replace something I’ve had for years with a similar item. It’s mainly in the fabric (greater % of synthetics, thinner material, shorter fibres), but also in the finish (loose threads, badly sewn seams, very small seam allowance). It’s deteriorated even in the past few years, I’ve seen it recently when buying an almost identical item from COS.

Prices are high, but not as high as they would have been had they kept up with inflation, so I guess all the innovation has gone into reducing costs by cutting quality.

It is of course great to be able to buy things more cheaply. But the result is that we buy more things and wear them for a shorter periods before throwing them away. I think many people would love to be able to buy fewer things that are of better quality, but the entire system (supply chains, advertising, loss of in-person shopping) seems designed to prevent this.

I would say that in addition to the shops mentioned above, Me and Em is still very good quality, although not cheap (but sales are good).

But the result is that we buy more things and wear them for a shorter periods before throwing them away.

@missmoon, do we though? On a personal level not so much. In my wardrobe I have clothes which are years old.

As a person in my 50s I can safely say it was in my teens and 20s that I used to get rid of stuff more readily. Not necessarily because it was worn out but because I was more concerned with keeping up to date with the most directional fashions. I had new shoes every year - more than one pair usually. As soon as I had money I would be dreaming of new outfits. In recent years this hunger for fashion has diminished. Don't get me wrong I love nice clothes and putting outfits together. However I have collected quite a few clothes and am less self conscious generally. Added to this I think people's perception of time passing changes with age. An item bought over a year ago can still feel pretty new now whereas in my teens that would be ancient history!😁

With regard to actually having to throw things out because they are literally falling to bits, it used to happen a lot when my DC were small - over a decade and a half ago. I think that was because they actually got more wear from me crawling about the floor. Also when I worked in an art suppliers and was used to moving and retrieving stock. The knees in trousers and jeans used to wear terribly! I walk a lot and am easily capable of wearing the soles of my shoes right through. Clark's wear well, some other brands less so. It's hard to tell when buying. I am wary of some composite soles, fashionable a few years ago as they have a tendency to deteriorate.

Yea the same for me

The clothes were lovely and good quality

But the result is that we buy more things and wear them for a shorter periods before throwing them away.

I try to get around this by looking on ebay and vinted for older things in all-natural fabrics, which being second-hand are cheaper to buy, but last well. Then that leaves me with some budget for splashing out on more expensive quality stuff (I'm talking £150 at Arket or Toast, rather than hundreds) once in a while.

I'll only buy cheaper new stuff (eg Primark or Uniqlo) if it's natural fabrics - and they do have some.

Thanks for more contributions, some excellent points here.

I have had some success at last!!
I managed to source the two items of knitwear and a pair of wool trousers that I need on Ebay. All arrived within the past 24 hours. I was slightly nervous but each and every item is perfect.
I have a beautiful, never worn Margaret Howell cardigan, even to touch it makes me smile. It fits perfectly and would have cost me 5 times more to purchase new. It is difficult to describe just how flawless it is!
I also have a grey funnel neck cashmere from Brora, again barely used and no flaws. Fits perfectly, as do my ex-Reiss trousers, 100% wool, and for a mere fraction of what they would all cost now!

It has shaken me a little, because at one time I might have shied away from used garments for the mainstay of my wardrobe. But I have honestly come to a point where I actually feel more nervous of buying new, now, than used.

In the past year most of my 'brand new' purchases have had faults, a drop in quality and a huge price hike. I may very well continue to source natural fabrics second hand, so long as they are in excellent condition. My two best coats were from Ebay, British made, never worn and with tags.

I was never a 'buy used' kind of person previously, although I never scoffed at decent hand-me-downs! So this is a big change for me. Why pay £140 for an inferior knit at John Lewis/Whistles when I can find much higher quality, and more environmentally friendly second hand? it is like re training my brain.

Glad you had some success OP!

I do buy some clothes new but also buy a lot of second hand things (usually almost new) that I could not justify buying otherwise.

Oh Tsukiko, the joy of a good ebay purchase! It's just the best.

I have a Joseph fine-knit jumper that I got for less than £20 on ebay, couldn't believe it. It's beautiful, the quality, the tiny details, the flattering shape. Every time I wear it I feel so over the moon about my bargain 😍

(Of course there are disappointing purchases sometimes too - but then you didn't spend much and can rebay it.)

I'd put a couple of hundred aside for new things - bear in mind I haven't updated for years, and I am aware that this is a luxury.

I now have a lot of money put aside, since my entire winter needs have been fulfilled via second hand. I can now spend the remaining money on materials for my work (art).

I see so many beautiful things at full price in online stores - a gorgeous wool/cashmere jumper at me&em, but I have so many well made items in my ebay wishlist i simply can't be arsed anymore. I have lost trust in new things, at the moment.

I don't think you have any need to explain or justify yourself op. I'm glad you're happy with your purchases.

Ah, Reisss, they used to be fab 10-15 years ago, quality fabrics and cuts. I still have one of their wool belted jackets 13 years on. Same with a lovely winter coat from 12 years ago - nice lining and 80 % wool. Now it just seems to be polyester upon polyester at over £100 per piece. Same with Whistles (polyester everywhere) and Jigsaw - mainly quality with Jigsaw. All of their Breton tops I have purchased in the last 10 years have gone to shit - seams undoing themselves and holes appearing after a few wears/washes. And very, very thin fabric.

And a few of recently purchased COS tops - their seams undid themselves after only a few washes/wears.

Yes it’s not a bad thing or a failing to not buy new, if you don’t want to. You’re doing the environment a favour to re-use good quality second-hand things, and it helps the seller too. Ideally the whole fashion industry will become as circular as possible, with fabrics and yarns being recycled so that even new things are not using raw materials. Or if they are, they’re as high quality as possible so they have a long life.

I often see something new that I love then just give it a few months, sometimes weeks and it will come up on eBay.

Ny teen Dd used to feel weird about second hand things and not want me to get them for her. Now she and her friends are so into vinted. Since she realised she can get amazing things cheaply, and sell old stuff for pocket money. It’s one of the best things the internet has brought us IMO - being able to buy and sell second hand so easily and find whatever you want.

Yet funnily enough more people buying second hand might be, at least partially, responsible for clothing brands producing lower quality items. Having to cut costs in order to compete with the second hand market. A lot of their customers in the current economic climate won't and can't pay high prices. They don't need to save up or manage on a tiny clothes rotation (my mother remembered having 1 spare set of clothes) because it is so easy to buy second hand (or new if they go to a high street store.) My mother remembers a jumper costing a week's wages.

I think 1 spare set of clothes is no better for the environment than having a few. The amount of washing involved has environmental cost too.

And I do think people underestimate the more mass market end of high street(M&S, Next) and supermarkets brands. I buy mainstream high street and supermarket brands and my clothes certainly don't wear as badly as @balkanscot has experienced with more expensive (high end high street?) brands.

I agree @heyhohello . The supermarket ones are particularly good for the price. Supermarket knitwear isn't great but M&S is very good. Not been in Next for years.

I think too it is important to remember a (more) 'luxury' brand often denotes a degree of exclusivity rather than quality. The high price point is there to maintain exclusivity and prices many people out of the market.

Those high end high street brands are in a tricky situation. They are not mass market but not so luxury that people are not bothered by cost. People are generally poorer and the competition from the second hand market fierce. I think they were relying on their reputations and brand loyalty little too highly because it won't be (hasn't been) long before people realise they are no better than mass market high street / supermarkets.

Or maybe they are trying to reduce the second hand market by ensuring the clothes won't last....