I quit clothes shopping!

[PoppyBaxter]

Has anyone else given up on clothes shopping because of how god awful everything is in the shops?

I have 'fast fashion' items in my wardrobe from 15 years ago from shops like Warehouse, H&M and New Look, which I still wear because they were so thick and decently made.

I've tried on clothes from numerous shops over the last couple of years - both fast fashion and more expensive - trying to find a few nice bits worth wearing. Everything is utter shite. Fabric is so thin. There are loose threads. Buttons come off during the first wear. Everything is so oversized and shapeless with hideous tiers. I ordered an M&S cashmere jumper dress (£120) and when it arrived it looked like a crumbled old rag so I sent it back. I treated myself to a couple of cashmere jumpers from JL (£89 each) and they're severely bobbled after only 2 months. The thinnest, see-through, poorly fitting tshirt, with twisted seams is £45 from any half-decent brand.

I SO want a few new bits for my spring and summer wardrobe, but just can't find anything worth buying. I'm thinking about how I can mix up and restyle what I already own and making do. Anyone else?

Bobbling is to do with staple size. A staple are tiny bits of fibre that make up a yarn.

The bigger the staple the less bobbling. The cheaper the staple the smaller it is.

How do you know when you buy if the staple is generous?

Same, I went to a big shopping centre today to spend some money I’ve saved up to buy two or three new things. Was there for 5 hours, went in 12 shops or so.
What did I buy?
A salad and a coffee!

So many clothes shops sell poor quality and overpriced stuff.

I have been shopping in charity shops for the past 3 years and rarely buy anything from mainstream shops.

You only get long staples on high quality. Brora maybe?

Not on White Stuff or similar.

I'm not sure, but I don't think it would make much difference.

I mostly wear merino in winter and it goes in the washing machine.

I guess price. My knitwear is mainly Eribé and Palava. Eribé currently sells around £180 to £220 for wool, not cashmere and Palava is between £245 to £265 for wool. The Eribé cardigans had a very small amount of pilling which was easily removed with a clothes brush. Palava has no pilling.

My husband has several Harley of
Scotland jumpers made in Peterhead, northeast Scotland which are around £120 - no pilling.

Someone on the thread was complaining about a poor quality cashmere jumper which cost £89. Tbh, it's a waste of money buying cashmere at that price. If your budget is in that league you'd do better buying UK made merino or lambswool.

I've also got a few old (maybe 10-15 years ) Brora made in Scotland cashmere which has no pilling.

The JL cashmere was ok before as I have a cardigan from 5 years which was much better but recent ones are terrible

Even Pure is worse now but cardis from 10 years ago with no bobbling bought for £25 in a wonderful sale in Kensington that never returned

I sew up under the arms as they seem to go

I am literally in the same boat as you! Late thirties and two kids, TopShop and Warehouse were my failsafe go-tos. Topshop still exists via ASOS but the quality and design have gone down. I'm also in a fashion identity crisis as I have nl idea where people our age and of previously Arcadia group preferences are meant to shop! 😂

I have several pieces of "cheap" cashmere (quotes because it's not cheap for me! I have a very low income) and it lasts perfectly well for me, hasn't notably bobbled, etc. I do baby it and we only very gently hand wash wool in our house, though.

Oh gosh - I thought of this thread this afternoon!

I know I quite often recommend Zara here - but my God, my local branch is filled with the most atrocious, low quality tat at the moment. It’s surprising because it’s in a well to do city that I would have thought would welcome the ‘better’ Zara stock one finds online. I doubt there was a single item in the whole shop that cost more than £99.00. Paper thin trench coats, limp polyester ‘denim’ shirts that would probably need throwing away after one wash.

I’d gone to seek out the other colours of a top I bought there recently. So glad I didn’t buy any more online because what I found was deeply disappointing.

Ho hum. Really don’t know what to say. Zara definitely does sell a few nice things - but not here.

@BeetledBrow , the Zara near me looks like a jumble sale, and I'm in a nice town. If you rummage, you might find something.

Oh, ours is well kept. I’ve seen others that look as you describe! (But strangely have better stock.)

Quite honestly I generally buy only a couple of things there in a year- usually after meticulous online investigation.

The Regent Street one is usually messy too.

Our Zara is usually quite tidy and tends to have a good range - but need to go during in the week or before 11am at the weekend before the hordes get in.

Yup - as others have been saying, prices are too low now. There’s a Guardian article about boucle jackets, here:

https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/mar/11/best-chanel-style-jacket

with a Next jacket for £62. In 1987 or thereabouts I paid £50 for a very similar item from Next … Inflation apparently takes that to £179 today. But people are still insisting that they won’t (even if they can) pay more than £100 for even a tailored item. And some are surprised that £50 won’t actually buy you Chanel quality …

@WhatWouldTheDoctorDo , good point.

@BeetledBrow , thanks for the link. The Mango one is a straight No from me but the others are OK.

I recently saw a Next tweed jacket from the 1980s in a charity shop and thought it was designer at first. It weighed a ton. Unfortunately it was too big but I nearly bought it anyway, just to remind myself what their clothes used to be like. And yes I imagine it would have cost at least £50 at the time and that I'd have had to save up for it.

I'll keep on saying it - the 90s and noughties high street was terrific fun but we were not paying realistic prices and, if that's your reference point, then you will carry on being disappointed.

I bought a second hand Joseph cashmere jumper today, £70.

I have to say my new strategy is (mostly) preventing impulse purchases.

I've found a new shop this week, Curate and Rotate.

If anyone else has any suggestions for niche second hand clothes I'm all ears.