Seriously, where are all the mid-range clothes at?

[Raisedbed]

Looking to boost my autumn/winter wardrobe a bit with some smart casual knitwear. Need natural fibres, so high % of wool and cotton. No acrylic SHEIN shite, and no £300 Jigsaw jumpers either.

Does what I'm looking for exist for around £50-£60 an item? I'd like it to last, and have found some nice bits in & Other Stories and French Connection before, but they're a bit bland and colourless I find. I love bright block colours and classic slim fit stuff, so find the trendier shops pretty hopeless.

Uniqlo.

I bought a grey lambswool jumper from Community Clothing 2 years ago. Without a doubt it's worth two or three of any other jumpers from the places mentioned. It's really warm, really soft, a lovely fit, virtually no bobbling. It just makes all my other jumpers feel cheap, especially an expensive Jigsaw blended one which bobbled from the first 5 minutes and feels plastic.

Other Stories had some good 100% wool knitwear last winter, it's quite thick and has stood up well to washing. I can't see it on their website but they do have wool/cotton, wool/cashmere and wool/alpaca.

Benetton still sell knitwear as well in loads of colours just like the 1980s.

Sainsbury’s has quite a few of Damson Madder inspired clothes at the moment. Also recommend keeping an eye on the Selfridges sale. I’ve bought lovely Maje and Reformation dresses this year for £50.

Uniqlo, lambswool collection

But there’s no reason for it to be. We have plenty of sheep.

Processing wool is easier than processing most fibres. It isn’t really bleached. It just needs combing, cleaning and carding. Then spinning. It wasn’t expensive 30 years ago. Why is it suddenly so expensive now? It’s one of the easier fibres to deal with. And men still get cheapish wool jumpers.

Far less processing than viscose and its sister bamboo. Much much less processing than cotton. And again, men can get cheapish cotton jumpers.

It’s a feminist issue. Just like pockets.

I know what you mean OP, I struggle too and I am mid40s. Seasalt, Fatface, White Stuff, Boden and Joules are all of the same ilk and just seem so frumpy and mumsy. I can't see me wearing that stuff until I am about 60 😬

Oliver Bonas has some nice colours and fabrics but it's always so oversized and sacklike. Really wish the trend for these smocky midi dresses would bog off!

I've turned to get some basic pieces from Next and don't dismiss M&S as they have some nice stuff in at the moment.

Joe Browns and George at Asda are my go to every time!

Yes I think all the decent M&S stuff is often online. No idea why?!

Off topic, but I don't understand how people can stand to wear wool. If even a tiny edge of it touches me I feel like I want to tear off my own skin. Just me? 😅

I hate it too, even worse if it's slightly damp Urgh I can feel it on my fingers now!

I have recently discovered Vresh. They are a small Austrian company. Uses natural fabrics, and the skirt and jumper I ordered were lovely . They were Tencel and Cotton as summer range. Both £50-100 range. I think I will get some basic t shirts also. They are plain colours, no prints or highly fashionable items, but decent wardrobe essentials

I don’t get the love for bamboo or Tencel. It’s just viscose.

But the OP wants to pay £50/60 per item - so most of Community Clothing is well outside her budget. Their plainest jumpers are £78, but the more exciting things, like this, for instance:

https://communityclothing.co.uk/collections/womens-jumpers-knitwear/products/womens-lambswool-roll-neck-red

are twice her budget.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Tencel Lyocell is from wood fibres

But both forms of tencel are great for summer. And easy to travel
www.tencel.com/fibers

Same. I absolutely hate it and I hate that you can’t just bung it in the wash with everything else too. So much faff.

I know where it’s from!!!

But it is made in the same way as viscose. And bamboo. Wood pulp and then chemicals are added to it to enable it to be wet spun.

They are all made in the same way. Theycortect tecnical term for them is regenerated fibres. They have a natural base, but have chemicals added to them to enable manufacture.

Silk, linen ( bast fibres) cotton, wool and hair fibres are the only real natural fibres in that they don’t have chemicals added to them. They might have chemicals added as part of the processing, but they don’t need added chemical to form a fibre.

And bamboo is weak, as are all regenerated fibres. Tencel is a bit stronger.

You could look at Celtic&co. Will be right at the top of your price range, but stuff does get discounted, although rarely in the smallest size (grrr). You won't get bright colours and a loose or slouchy fit seems to be typical, but it's a different aesthetic from the likes of Woolovers and Bruar.

I really rate Community Clothing - it is a bit outside OPs budget - but the quality is superb.

For slightly cheaper option (been a while since I’ve bought anything so can’t say about the quality) - United Colours of Benetton? Do colourful pure wool jumpers.

This is the problem OP. You want quality but you don’t want to pay for it. You’re highly unlikely to get a stylish good quality wool jumper for £60. You either need to pay more, with the view of buying high quality and making it last for years, or buy the cheap shite which won’t fit as well or be the same quality fabric.

The reason that clothing quality has declined so much in recent is that people don’t want to to pay for quality items.

I briefly got excited when someone mentioned a brand I haven't considered, but Benetton jumpers look very thin on the website and don't seem any different in shape from the Woolovers plain colours (it can be a mistake to judge an item based on the age of the model and what she's wearing it with). Might be OK if you want merino and aren't looking for warmth.

I saw wool jumpers in Zara yesterday for 59 I think and cashmeres at considerably more. I bought a cashmere in John Lewis the other day 109 but well worth it. I also bought two cashmere mixes from Primark of all places .

What are people buying from community clothing? I had a browse earlier as it’s a fantastic concept but was very uninspired

They're a certain look but Lucy & Yak fit the materials wanted.

I agree on how the quality looks on Benetton - and also have found uniqlo very thin in the past.

I am not sure, however, that there really is brand that does colourful, pure wool, knitwear of high quality (long lasting, minimal bobbling, warm) for £50-£60.

Sadly, of course, many of the more expensive brands aren’t good quality either - particularly the speed with which they become densely bobbled.

I am not sure its a cost issue. I don't seem to see the same issue in menswear.