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.

@Ginmonkeyagain pls can you tell me where you buy your jeans ? I would like a good
quality pair too. Currently looking at Huit denim.

As I've got older I've switched to having far less clothes but they are more expensive. I don't have a teenager daughter but I'm sure if I did I would occasionally splurge on the odd item, especially if it were good quality.

People spend money on all kinds of things that I wouldn't. Thats okay, we all value different things.

@PeonyBlush10 Yep Huit is the place I buy them. I tend to get the Peggy jeans.

Thanks @Ginmonkeyagain is the sizing fairly straightforward ? Nervous at ordering online.

It’s an odd thing, but the Style & Beauty board does seem to attract an element of competitive clothing martyrdom. Lots of OP’s claiming never to have bought a stitch of clothing in more than ten years - who are then outraged to discover they may need to pay more than £30 for stylish, water resistant leather shoes, for instance. Perhaps they all do it for a dare? I don’t know.

However, @PinsAndThrums, while I’ve often pondered on the anticipated relief if S&B could be divided into boards for those actually interested in evolving style and fashion on the one hand, and those only seeking utility on the other, I do think it would be strange if people with different spending inclinations couldn’t ‘mingle’ here. I have no problem browsing, falling in love with and waiting for the sale reduction on £300 blouses - but I’m quite regularly to be found directing posters with less than £50 for an interview outfit to:

https://www.smartworks.org.uk/

(Screen jumping about so can’t edit an unwanted apostrophe.)

@PeonyBlush10 Pretty much - go shorter on the leg as they give you an extra 2 inches.

You can always return for free if they don't fit.

It has been ever thus that some people have more money than others. And that people have different priorities. My mum would never have bought me a school bag or anything else that was frivolous. She’s got plenty of money but she just wouldn’t have seen the point. I remember as a child wondering how and why other children had such lovely things because I didn’t really know about shopping for things that you might like.

I can’t speak for @EllaPaella, but for many people, and certainly myself, we don’t have unlimited money so we’ll put a limit on what we feel is justifiable. So if £200 is half of your yearly budget, that seems affordable as you’ll still be able to get a few things you may ‘need’ rather than ‘want’, or perhaps feel it’s worth forgoing a couple of pub lunches for, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be blowing my whole ‘spends’ budget on one item and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I like nice quality items but I have my limits & I have been priced out of certain things eg I wouldn’t spend 2k on a bag now. It depends on individual priorities.

The paradox around this for me is that similar bags were "a thing" when dd attended a state secondary for two years. When she transferred to the independent sector at the start of Y9, it was not a thing. She wouldn't have asked because she didn't need to be seen to conspicuously consume, as well as the fact she knew she'd have been told no.

Longchamp bags were a thing when I was at school in the 90s. Makes me feel old 😆

Each to their own what they choose to spend money on my little luxuries are perfume, hair care and jewellery sometimes shoes/sandals.

I don’t like cheap clothes false economy and you get what you pay for but at same time I have and do wear supermarket clothing that has lasted me years.

School bags I tend to spend £20-£30 for my children never buy them cheap shoes either because again false economy.
while they are little they have a mix of clothing brands some supermarket some mini Boden, joules, baker and next.

I’m also not with you op. I prefer to buy something which is a quality item rather than some cheap crap that loses its shape and lasts a summer.

i have no idea what you mean by we all refuse to buy these things, price will fall. Quality items will always be expensive. If there is no market they won’t make them. And all we will have is cheap poorly made items. So I’m afraid that’s a no for me.

i've never been happier with my style since I started investing in a few quality pieces. it makes so much difference and I love them all. I have the money and it makes a big impact on my day-to-day quality of life. Sounds ridiculous but I've always felt like an ugly scruff.

edit: question deleted as already answered

I agree with you. And you can tell immediately the difference in quality, material and cut in a higher end item v a cheaper one from shein or the supermarket. It isn’t like you’re just paying the price for the fun of it and they are all the same. The difference is often immediately apparent. I am happy to pay the price for that.

If we all refused to pay for these things prices would have to fall.

If we all refuse to pay for these things thousands of people will be out of job, tax revenue lost, welfare bills increased.
I personally would never pay £125 for a school bag (my own post expensive one was less than this and I'm well in my late 50s), but I'm glad that some people can afford it.

The thing is 0p, wanting the price to fall means you want these things, you just don’t want to pay for gnem. Eveyone knows you can go and get a bag for a fiver. Everyone also knows it is highly unlikely they 5 pound bag will last any where as long, or even look as good. As the 125 pound one. And you can get them at every price point in between and above. It’s not like that’s the only option.

so it reads like as you can’t afford it. You want people to not buy the higher price items so the price drops and you can access them.

thats not how economy works. If the price drops so does quality and staff pay. The taxes companies pay. So you just end up with only low cost options available and the lower end quality to match

I think that buying investment pieces for/as a young person is generally a waste of money. They are still in the ‘experimental phase’ of fashion, tastes change like the wind, and they are still learning what suits them. However once I got towards my 30s, investment pieces were much more worthwhile. By then, I had established what worked for me and bought fewer, but higher quality pieces.

I find that having higher quality pieces in my wardrobe means that I am more satisfied overall with what I have, and less likely to shop.

I have bits (designer & high street) from my early 20s that I still love although some no longer fit me!

Same!

Yeah, that’s the other issue with buying investment pieces young! I was always a size 8 in my 20s, but have been a 10-12 since my early 30s. I don’t think I’ll ever be a size 8 again! Nor do I want to be.

To be fair though, I stopped buying cheap fast fashion very young (very early 20s) as I quickly realised that it was false economy and most of it looked shit on an adult figure. In my mid-late 20s I would buy second hand on eBay, long before Vinted ever existed! Feel like I’ve done my stint of that.

Not the price on its own, but I do sometimes think wtf I’m glad I’m not fashionable when I see how hideous some of the costly items are

I have some amazing Topshop Boutique pieces which are very similar to pieces I bought later from Raey/Matches. Same designer but big price difference!