Price of clothes

[Suburbanqueen]

Is anyone else surprised by the money some Mumsnetters spend on an item of clothing as if it were a mere bagatelle?
I would never have dreamed of paying the ridiculous prices for things discussed on here sometimes. ( Even when I had money).
An example.....£125 for a bag for a teenage girl to use for school. If we all refused to pay for these things prices would have to fall.

Millions of people have no issue with money and are happy to spend it on what they want.

I mean over all clothes have never been cheaper. You don't have to spend £125 on a bag. May be those who do feel it is worth it.

I buy jeans that cost £270 a pair. They are made to order in the UK and from really good quality organic denim. They last years. My money, my choice.

If you can afford something, buy it

If you can't seek a cheaper option

Envy is a terrible thing

Clothing is really cheap now and it really shouldn't be. I remember buying tops.in the 80s for.£30 and now that would seem an average price. The prices have gone down but that's because of.cheap fast fashion. 125 for a bag seems relative imo.

I’d rather spend more on a well made, long lasting, quality item, made of sustainable materials, in a factory that treats its workers decently, and not shipped halfway round the world. I can afford to.

Agree with @CrocusesFlowering
It’s not me by the way but if people have money for them …
I also suspect that those who use £20 school bag for years are not posting on the threads about expensive rucksacks. So it’s a bit of one sided story .

Is it time for my story about saving up in the 80s for a nice but perfectly ordinary wool jumper in John Lewis? I was in a decently paying job at the time but, if I wanted to buy clothes that weren't second hand or rejects from a factory shop, I had to save up.

The jumper cost £40 which, according to Google, would be £155-160 today. Is that a bagatelle too?

It’s true that if people refused to pay those prices, they wouldn’t sell them or sell them at that price. But people are free to spend their money as they choose and they have obviously decided that they wish to do so.

The demand for ever cheaper items is arguably a bigger problem. I do not see how it is possible for some clothes or items to be made responsibly, at some of the very low prices they are sold. I always suspect exploitative labour practices and short cuts on environmental responsibility for some things to be offered for so little.

Quality is also an issue. I’d rather buy fewer and pay more for better quality items than pay less for rubbish.

I have never liked cheap quality clothes, even when I had no choice but to buy them. Now that I do have a choice it’s a great pleasure to wear good quality, lasting clothes and I don’t mind the prices.

I agree...people are free to spend what they want wherever they want. I accept 'cost per wear ' etc. However, fashion is fickle. Trends come and go. I buy quality items second hand for many reasons. I can buy items in varying colours and seasons. I am supporting good causes...mostly .... buying in charity shops and this country runs on charity. That may be right or wrong depending on your view. Buying British doesn't always equate to fair treatment of employees
Majority are probably on minimum wage. I don't support shipping in crap from China at all. 2nd hand doesn't have to mean looking cheap or worn out either. People with no style and/or taste will always be thus if they're wearing a jumper from Shein or if they're wearing some other jumper from a highly priced supplier.

Fashion might be fickle, but my taste isn’t.

I don’t buy new things because they’re fashionable, or throw out old things because they’re not. I have and wear items that are 20 years old quite regularly. I’m happy to spend £800 on a handbag and £300 on a laptop bag because it’s the only bag I’ll buy for decades.

And where do you think second hand items will come from if no one buys them new in the first place…

I think some of the clothing suggested are ridiculous prices that the majority of people can’t afford, if you assume M&S as ‘average’ and Me&Em for a special occasion. Most people can’t afford £350+ as a dress for a wedding as is often suggested (unless they are the bride!)

I agree though that we are used to paying prices far cheaper than the cost of the garment would be if workers were paid a decent wage. Therefore if you can afford to buy from brands with more ethical policies then I think it’s right to do so. But equally I hate the way that better off people on here slate others for buying from eg Shein as they have no idea of the financial struggles others have and they really aren’t all buying them in as hauls to wear once and chuck. And I must admit that in terms of durability, I’ve had stuff from Primark or Asda which has outlived more expensive clothing.

Another side to this is that as a teenager in the 80s I used to buy clothing from some of the cheaper market-style shops - and similar shops today are still selling comparable clothing at the same prices as in the 80s!

ETA - having just reread your post, I think I’m saying the same thing you were!

How about this idea OP.
Go to a store where the bags are being sold and telling the customers that they can find bags cheaper than those.
I’m sure they would value your advice.
😉😁.

Being able to buy decent quality second hand clothes on Vinted and the like relies on some people buying them brand new in the first place. I could never justify or afford to spend more than £200 on an item of clothing but I would save up for an item up to that value if I felt it was something that I’d wear again and again and the quality was good.

You can dress so cheaply nowadays, especially if you soon get tired of whatever fashion you are going for, and there is nothing wrong with that.
But quality clothing with class lasts for decades.
Last Christmas I wore a black sequined jacket my OH bought for me the first Christmas we were married; he scrimped and saved to buy it...it was expensive, and that was over 50 years ago, so definitely worth the initial cost.

I buy all my clothes from vinted. I can’t remember the last time I bought anything new. It means I can afford to buy much better quality as it’s second hand. I’ve never had so many clothes and I’m a right povver.

ETA - having just reread your post, I think I’m saying the same thing you were!
I thought that too

I must confess my Longchamp is a fake - cost £20 but the point is that if your income is a couple of million, and there's plenty of people for whom its thereabouts, then £120 for a kids bag is nothing. Someone is buying £50,000 Hermes bags or they wouldn't make them.

And where do you think second hand items will come from if no one buys them new in the first place…
Very good point. I'm grateful to everyone who buys fabulous, expensive clothes and then discards them before they're worn out. I wouldn't have half as good a wardrobe without you.

It's probably inevitable that a Style and Beauty board will disproportionately attract women who not only place above average value on having and wearing nice clothes, but have the money to indulge their hobby.

One of the other segments which also seems to be over-represented is women who have a non-standard body shape or a non-standard sartorial requirement: because MN has a large number of users there's a good chance of finding other women who're familiar with your issue. I think these threads are often MN at its best.

If everyone specifies a rough budget there's no need for the women spending £300 on a blouse to mingle with women trying to find an interview outfit for less than £50. Thinly veiled judgements about women with more or less money or different priorities are never constructive.

Spoken like a true robot.😅

I only tend to buy something like a bag for school now Uni at Christmas so it was a higher end one as part of a present. But didn’t buy all year or lots of presents

Apologies if this has already been answered, i'm responding as i'm reading..but if you are happy to save up / budget for a £200 item, what's preventing you from doing the same for a £300 or a £500 item if it's something you really want / love?

I love clothes and buying them and Vinted has ruined it for me in a way as I absolutely cannot bear to buy anything full price!
Plus even though Vinted ruined the app with the dodgy sizing, theyve now introduced an image search so you can take a picture of an item then find the exact item you are looking at or a close replica really easily...