Patrick Grant in Observer

[chucklevisions]

Apologies if this has been done already… but fair point very well (and entertainingly) made!

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/article/2024/may/18/is-this-what-people-wear-now-sewing-bee-host-criticises-ms-jumpers-and-socks

I agree with him about clothes being cheaper quality. I do not think it's confined to the likes of Primark, Temu etc I'm fed up looking at clothes that cost a lot of money but feel like they are the cheapest material -
'you get what you pay for' doesn't seem to work with clothes anymore.

Agree with his points about price. I remember a pair of high st trousers being £30 or so in the late 90s. So how on can some shops sell them for that much now? By massively reducing the quality and they are fit for the bin after one season

I love Community Clothing but their sizing doesn’t suit me, their round necks are really tight and their trousers are better for an hourglass I find.

I agree, @pantsalot. I've recently lost a lot of weight and am having to replace pretty much all of my wardrobe. The quality is dreadful - polyester, nylon in what should be pure wool knitwear, poor workmanship...

I don't want to buy fast fashion and I want to make ethical purchases and I'm happy to pay for quality but it's hard to find. Mostly I've been using Vinted and Ebay because I'm just not willing to spend £100 on a top that will be bobbly after a handful of washes.

It seems odd that the Observer article isn’t written with the acknowledgement that Patrick Grant founded and runs Community Clothing and so isn’t just speaking as the owner of a Savile Row tailors.

I wonder why they left that out. Poor research? It’s a pretty basic fact about him and strengthens his viewpoint.

I loved the article and like Patrick even more now. He's so right, quality has just taken a nose dive. I have Fat Face clothes that I bought 20 years ago that still look great and have another 20 years in them. I've one of their belts that I've worn almost every day since 2006, it looks like new.

Their latest clothes are mass produced crap that lasts less than a season in floppy, scratchy, artifical materials. The same can be said for M&S, Seasalt, White Stuff .

Knitwear in particular now seems to be spun from plastic candyfloss that sets your teeth on edge, fills you hair with static and looks like crap after the first wash.

I agree with Patrick about houses too. Crap materials, crowded together all to make money for some distant rich person who you probably wouldn't want in your sitting room. Also, the human cost of the loss of creativity, craft and employment in the UK is never mentioned.

It's as if today we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

I've bought an old house and live in charity shop and vintage clothes. I hope it all lasts as long as me.

I thought that was really odd too: either incredibly lazy work by the writer or it was originally a longer piece that covered Community Clothing but that got edited down. I'm going with the second guess as it ends abruptly.

The trouble is that, by leaving out CC but leaving in his Savile Row connections, the article gives a misleading impression of Grant, who I think is spot on in his observations and who more to the point, has put his money where his mouth is.

Yes, exactly that, @Floisme. The whole point is that he’s doing something about poor quality clothing. It made me wonder if the Observer had some nefarious agenda - though I can’t think of a good reason to diminish the argument of such a patently Good Egg.

He's my secret crush...😍

Yes!

I also wondered whether the writer had actually spoken to Grant as the quotes all seem to be lifted from his talk.

I don't think it's a bad piece but it could have been so much better.

Without the inclusion of his connection with CC it's frankly a terrible article. It gives completely the wrong impression of him and the point he is making.

The clothes on the Saville Row site are beautiful and unaffordable for most people. There are however manufacturers in the UK which make clothes which are beautiful and affordable such as CC or my favourite Palava or for knitwear Jamiesons of Shetland or Harley of Peterhead.

Mine too!

Socks these days are my ultimate bugbear. I can't seem to find any that feel 'right' anymore. They're all sort of plasticky and feel sweaty and dry at the same time.

I’m all too often to be found trawling men’s outfitters online to gaze in awe at silk socks in the most mesmerising hues. And then running into Cos on the way to an event for a cheap cotton mix pair in probably the wrong colour.

Haven’t tried the Community Clothing offerings yet. Though I gave someone one of their cashmere beanies a few years ago and they wear it pretty much every day.

I've met him and had my photo taken with him!

Disappointingly he was wearing socks with sandals...

I'd been to a talk he was giving, I thought he'd talk about GBSB but actually he talked about clothing, job loss, the environment, mass produced clothing, and community clothing. No mention of GBSB at all.

There was a much better interview with him in the TImes a couple of weeks ago. That journo went to Yorkshire to visit the CC factory. One of the points Grant made is that most manufacturers now skip the preshrinking of fabric to save money - so your clothes shrink when you wash them the first time. The journalist bought a pair of CC socks (was very clear to say they weren't a freebie) and they cost £6 - rant said that they were pre shrunk and that cost 60p. So a short cut another firm would take to wipe 10% off the cost but which presumably means that your socks stop fitting properly after a couple of washes.....

Also if you look at the prices CC charge they aren't extortionate in comparison with the likes of M&S Joules etc so it can be done properly.

He's lovely, and I read an article in the Times about him. Looked at CC website, and although the quality may be good, they are rather boring in style. Underwhelming tbh.

This is not a new thing for Patrick to speak about, he has his own sustainable clothing company, is a big advocate of make do and mend, and the "buy good buy once" idea rather than fast fashion. He is not wrong.

The Guardian won't like Patrick because he's a posh boy. From a posh Edinburgh family, private school, boarding in England.

Has anyone read his new book ‘Less’ I think it’s called?

I think that apart from advocating buying quality long lasting things, he puts forward the idea that having lots and lots of clothes (for example) makes us less happy than having fewer.

Very good points made about the lack of mention of CC. He is indeed putting his money where his mouth is on clothing quality as well as creating jobs.

I love PG - agree that article is v sloppy to leave out the very big point that he is part of a movement to bring quality clothing at more affordable prices back.

Since following him & Aja Barber I’ve stopped buying new (except undies & socks) and try to buy better and fewer.

I’ve found charity shops running very dry on quality stuff at the mo though & a lot of plastic shite being offered for not much less than new, so having to relook at buying new but finding affordable quality is hard!

But this describes most of The Guardian writing staff and a large number of their readership, just swap Edinburgh for anywhere really.

Regardless, he seems like a decent bloke.

I love him. And had simply assumed he was gay and then was delighted to discover that he prefers ladies AND played rugby for Scotland. Given that I am a (mid fifties somewhat portly) lady and look like I may too have played rugby for Scotland, I decided that meant I’m in with a chance if ever fate allows.

@Notjoinedup Fabulous. My favourite post on MN today. I'll look forward to seeing you and Patrick posing for your wedding photos in Hello.