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.

Moonlighting I wouldn’t spend hundreds on something for a single wear. I don’t buy much, I spend a lot of time considering what I will buy, be it Vinted, high street or something more expensive. The more I spend on something the more I expect to wear it.

I’m often astonished at what people will pay for first class flights, or coffee machines, or nail art. Because I really don’t care about those things. I do care about clothes - so I’m happy to pay what a thing is worth to me.

I'll be very unpopular but I agree with you. Especially, when these clothes are bought for kids.

I don’t think it makes you unpopular, it seems to be the prevailing view! I wouldn’t spend that much on my kids either, they are young and I want them to be able to play and get dirty. But I do look for decent materials and try to buy from more ethical companies. That’s obviously pretty difficult to do all the time. I don’t judge others for how they spend their money and I would venture a lot of people here spend the same amount of money on clothes or more in a year than I do. I purchase a few nice things each year, and rewear my clothes all the time.

I also don’t think it makes anyone unpopular, everyone has to spend to their tastes and budget, and I’m not sure anyone is really invested if someone buys at the lower end.

I can understand spending large for an everyday piece like a coat or bag or jeans that you’ll get multiple wears out of. An expensive school bag might seem excessive but they do get bashed and worn a lot - you want something sturdy and robust, but one that still looks nice.

But I largely agree with you op.

I’m amazed that MN seems to adore brands like Toast and Poetry which have mostly dull unflattering clothes in ordinary fabrics. Toast regularly has viscose made-in-China dresses retailing at £250+ which is bonkers to me.

Worst are the fashionistas who really have money to burn and always signpost to hideous carnival clothes from some exclusive online boutique at £500+ I regularly wonder who these women are, and where they would wear such outlandish garments.

Maybe they have rich-people stepford wife parties where they all dress up, rather than us ordinary mortals who earn average salaries and live in ordinary streets and work in ordinary workplaces where people just wear Next and M&S.

I’m truly sorry you feel excluded from the rich people stepford wife parties, @Screamingabdabz. You should be right there, at every one, excoriating those execrable fashionistas who have the temerity to come onto a Style and Beauty board and talk about expensive clothes. Burning at the stake is too good for them. The fuckers.

Worst are the fashionistas who really have money to burn and always signpost to hideous carnival clothes from some exclusive online boutique at £500+ I regularly wonder who these women are, and where they would wear such outlandish garments

This board would be more exciting if we had more of the above.

😂

how dare they be different to you.

I can look at M&S and Next any time and frequently do so as there aren't many other shops left on my high street. But one of the reasons I still use this board is the links to interesting clothes by brands I didn't know about. It doesn't matter that I can't afford them - I still like to look, or to take inspiration, or to make a note of the brand and look out for them second hand.

I’d venture the people who spend more on clothes are the opposite of Stepford wives- I earn a high salary for a job I’ve trained for many many years for and don’t feel ashamed of that. It is a luxury to be able to afford expensive clothes, and I recognise that. It’s also a luxury to be able to choose ethically made clothes from good fabrics which will last. I can’t afford clothes from The Row or Dior but I don’t judge people who choose to spend their hard earned money on things I can’t afford. I love seeing interesting new brands linked even if they aren’t to my taste.

The brand I don't understand is Toast. I get it's supposed to be ethical but I simply don't understand the appeal of clothes that don't flatter. They rarely even look good on the models.

I have some items from.Toast and they are beautiful and flattering. On me anyway

Roses I don’t particularly like Toast generally- but I also am not focused on dressing in “flattering” clothes. I’m more interested in an interesting shape and drape. I find dress for your shape/colour season quite restrictive. Maybe people who love toast feel the same.

To be fair I’m not sure I think it can be argued toast can be interesting shape and drape either.

They tend to the sustainability and relaxed sort of middle class arty boho look, where people are more interested in their clothes lasting a long time. Howver I agree it’s usually not used in the same breath as flattering either.

Personally I find Toast dresses quite performative, as in ‘look at me rejecting the male gaze.’ Not to mention plain ugly. I don’t see the appeal at all.

I'm tight and stuck in the 90s. Anything over 30 quid for a single item of clothing seems obscene.

Fashion trainers should be about 40 quid.
Running shoes 130
Shoes up to 30 if real leather
Coat- not bought a new one for years
Jeans- 30quid or less. Ideally in a sale.
Handbag- 30 quid.

It's actually surprising how good you can look with a wardrobe full of bargains.

Molluscsong I think the fact is that clothes should not be that cheap. The cost of materials and labour alone to make a piece of clothing should be significantly more than this. We’ve all got too used to clothing being very cheap but it should be a lot more expensive. The quality of clothes has gone down significantly and if I see a pair of shoes for £30 I really wonder if the workers making them are getting anything close to a living wage.

I agree, which is interesting as I find most women don’t actually dress for the male gaze, unless going out on a date or trying to meet someone. Most dress to ensure they feel good, or for other women, to impress them, or to fit in, even to compete. I think in this toast and its wearers miss this fundamental point.

The only Toast thing I have is a waxed coat. I kind of like what they do but others do it better. I'm not remotely interested in "flattering" clothes, or "my colours" or "emphasising my good features / hiding my flaws". It's definitely the structure, fabric, drape, movement which matters.

Worst are the fashionistas who really have money to burn and always signpost to hideous carnival clothes from some exclusive online boutique at £500+ I regularly wonder who these women are, and where they would wear such outlandish garments

Maybe they have rich-people stepford wife parties where they all dress up, rather than us ordinary mortals who earn average salaries and live in ordinary streets and work in ordinary workplaces where people just wear Next and M&S.

I closed my account from time to time owing to wasting too much time but make the mistake of still reading and inevitably a post triggers me into rejoining. This post did it. What an envious, sour faced take

I'll put money (my own, earned by me) I'm one of the "fashionistas" you're referring to. Whilst it's no concern of mine, or yours, that a couple has finances which allows the female partner to buy £500 + dresses my clothes are bought with my money which I earn.

Where do I wear them? Everywhere, work, pub, restaurants, theatre, concerts, leaving the house.

Well said.

What business is it of anyones how people spend their own money that they earned. It is a peculiar internalised misongny that says women spending mpney on fashionable or well made clothes is stupid or frivolous.

No one calls a man a "Stepford husband" for spending thousands on a football season ticket or running kit.

I find that unusual and im not sure I beleive you happily wear clothes thay you feel are unflattering or emphasis flaws like a fat belly.

we can wear clothes that flatter and disguise flaws, and still be interested in drape, structure etc, they are not mutually exclusive.

but very few women, will buy something as it is interesting and say gosh thays lovely look how big it makes my belly look.

I don't buy cheap quality clothes either, but somehow manage to buy garments which last me for years, sometimes even decades, without spending the eye-watering amounts some MNers recommend on threads (usually to a poster who has stated they have a limited budget!). Even if I were fabulously wealthy I wouldn't spend a fortune on clothes, I would still much rather get a bargain in a sale or buy second hand. Maybe I have a puritan streak but I hate the thought of spending obscene amounts of money on anything.

It seems a bit incoherent to buy quality clothes second hand whilst criticising other women for spending a lot of money on them in the first place. I buy mostly second hand and have done so most of my life but, while I can be very smug about my bargains, I always try not to be sanctimonious because, if it wasn’t for high spending women, I would have no wardrobe.