Can most people really tell expensive clothes from good high street pieces?

[pontipinemum]

I'm listening to an audiobook at the moment and the main character talks about her clothes a lot. About how expensive clothes look better etc.

Now I am absolutely NOT a fashionist by any stretch.

I am wondering though can others tell the difference? I'm not talking about really cheap shein clothes etc. Or really unusually designed dresses.

But say a regular clothing item like this Chanel pull over, it is nice but I absolutely would not be able to tell if it was $3,500 or if it was £40 from Marks and Spencer

https://www.chanel.com/us/fashion/p/P82481K11949UA790/pullover-wool-silk/

I can with winter coats, tailored blazers, shoes.
Not so much with jeans or blouses unless I look very closely. Cashmere, yes by feel to an extent.
I agree that high street quality has vastly dropped.
I pulled out an old white shirt of my Mum's that I thought was really soft cotton. I checked and it's really fine linen with a St Michaels label attached. Incomparable with the current Linen pieces at M&S.

I agree high st quality has dropped, I was in markies a few weeks ago and nothing was good quality, they are using cheap materials to keep the price point down, which I find interesting as they have really upped their game in terms of design, things look fantastic on line, but in the flesh you can see they are cheap quality.

the fact of the matter is everything has increased in price hugely so to keep low price points something has to give.

I wouldn't be able to tell and couldn't fathom spending that amount of money on clothes. I have a friend in constant credit card debt due to her love of £££ handbags. Wearing my £10 cloth tote from the local book shop brings me as much joy as a £2.5k handbag would.

Yes, unfortunately M&S has become the new Zara

It’s what most people seem to want though. They won’t pay for quality. It’s all about quantity.

I predict that M&S St Michael will be collectable one day. The difference in quality between that and what they put out today makes me want to weep sometimes.
But to be fair to them, that label goes back to a time when M&S were known mainly for quality and weren't also trying to be cheap and fashionable, which seems to be the expectation now.

Oh I do miss old school M&S.

To be fair, whilst micron count is important for the fineness and softness of the wool, there are solid reasons to prefer other breeds to merino, principally durability. There is excellent knitwear made using other breeds, often quite expensive if well-made and adhering to other traditions (eg Icelandic lopapeysa). That said, within the category specifically of merino there is a range of quality. It's not just the fineness of the yarn but now it's knitted up and finished, and someone familiar with knitwear can tell by look and especially feel. There's been a glut of poor quality cashmere on the market for years and if you are experienced with it, you can definitely tell the difference.

When it comes to wool fabric, like suiting, the range is even broader. You can sometimes get fabric from the Loro Piana mills and it costs hundreds per metre.