Like a saddo I checked Hobbs' website at that time (spring 2011) using the internet archive, and yes, of course there was polyester, but the number of pure wool suits was much higher. The prices were slightly higher compared to today taking inflation into account, but not massively. I don't have as much against polyester as some posters, and it definitely has its place, but it's just not true that natural fabrics are as easy to find as they were in decades past. Not just that, but it's the glorifying of "contains wool"/"cotton blend" etc. etc. which is faintly insulting, as though it's a massive luxury to pay more for something not as good as you could have got from the same shop a few years ago.
I don't think anyone's saying they expect top quality from lower end brands - just that quality has declined across the board, apart from very high-end places. I can see this in my own wardrobe - I have things from cheap shops that were bought years ago and have been worn and washed loads of times and are still in good condition, whereas newer things from the same shops have deteriorated faster in terms of both washing poorly and sloppy construction, like buttons not being sewn on firmly or hems coming down.
A couple of examples - last summer I bought 2 dresses, a dress for a party from Warehouse and a work dress from Oasis, both companies from whom I've bought loads over the years and have many older garments in good condition. Both dresses were at the more expensive end of what those shops were offering. The Warehouse dress looked great on the website - brightly coloured chiffon given shape by a belt. In real life, the fabric didn't hang as well, the hems and stitching were rubbish, and the "belt" was just made from the dress fabric with no interfacing, so it creased and folded over itself - totally unfit for purpose and spoiling the look of the dress. The buckle felt like it was going to break at any minute, the belt holes were badly edged, and there was no way of securing the loose end so I had to hide a safety pin in it. The Oasis work dress again looked nice online - a nice pattern and a sturdy-looking fabric. In real life, the fabric was terrible - too stretchy, not sturdy at all, and you could tell it would get raggedy and fuzzy from washing. I handwashed it and it still got raggedy and fuzzy, so I soon didn't feel I could wear it to work.
I wasn't expecting either of these to be future heirlooms, just nice-looking dresses that would fulfil their function.
Sorry, this is really long, but I think it's odd to deny what so many people are saying about the decline in quality. We're not imagining it. It's also fine not to like the current widely available fashion trends, and not to be happy about having to spend loads of money to get something decent, in interesting colours, in nice fabrics, and so on, when that wasn't the case relatively recently.