Quality of clothes

[Maya Moonstone]

Hi

I desperately need new clothes - besides I am tired of my winter clothes and the new colors for spring is yummy!

I have been out shopping the last two evenings in a local mall. Am I imagining it, but has the quality of clothes gone down? The fabric just feels so thin and it looks shabby as well as if after two washes it would not have its form anymore or will be full of fuzzies. I tried jeans on and even the jean fabric was not good quality. I don''t even want to mention the t-shirts, sweaters and pants.

I do not buy designer clothes for everyday wear. I work in a very casual environment and wear jeans everyday. I buy at shops like Macy''s and Eddie Bauer.

Has anybody else noticed the same thing? Or am I going cuckoo?

Maya

 

[decodelighted]

I really like the J Jill catalog & have had good luck with their stuff. I also do some Eileen Fisher & Garnet Hill?

Read a story in the NY Times today about a lady searching for "adult pants" ... as a 44 year old woman with a closet of only jeans & nothing to wear for teacher meetings. She found some pants she really liked at Shop Bop (one of Mara''s fave haunts I think) ... Vince brand Sneaker Twill Pants or something. Google for the article if ya want!

 

[bookworm21]

Maya, I noticed the same thing with the quality of clothing nowadays. I think the clothing companies are trying to compete with the trendy companies like Forever 21 and H&M, usually to the detriment of the quality of their own clothes.

I would recommend looking elsewhere for clothes. Nordstrom, in my opinion, carries better quality clothing than Macy''s and for around the same prices for similar items.

I would also check Express and Banana Republic. Banana Republic (BR) is having a sale right now, and a lot of their stuff is actually pretty fairly priced when they''re on sale. I''d recommend you look online for first pick.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mara]

My faves for clothes are Nordstrom, Banana, JCrew and Gap for well-made 'basics', sure any one of those stores may have an expensive area of clothes, but for the most part they are basic staples and they last me a really long time. I am still wearing sweaters from Banana from 3 years ago, can't go wrong with basic black!

I was in Express last nite for the first time in years and man is that stuff CHEAP. I shopped there when I was 22! They have really cute stuff as in styles, but the quality is not there at all...their 'suit pants' and stuff were super thin and stretchy and thin. A few of the things were like 'where do you wear this?' ... I feel like they are trying to compete with Forever 21 etc. I also love Arden B's styles, they have the cutest stuff but again, cheap feeling and the pricing is similar to a Banana...whereas the quality at Banana is SO much better.

Sometimes it galls to pay $150 or $200 for a pair of jeans or pants but if they fit like a second skin and they will wear well then to me it's worth it. I have had my jeans for a few years and I wear HOLES into them. So it's worth it to spend on them and not buy a new pair of $50 jeans every year. For me it's about the fit and not the brand.

We were in Macy's last nite and they have their Alfani brand which is middle-class fine I guess, I never thought it was anything special but they do have some cute stuff style wise. I bought the cutest little cotton twill chocolate 'washed' button down blazer, too cute with jeans and stuff. I was like gosh $90 for this? But it was super cute and I keep my fave jackets like this for YEARS (I still need to replace an old Halogen corduroy blazer from like 4 years ago that was $80 at Nordstrom!!) so I know I will wear the heck out of it if I love it.

Anyway I'd just keep shopping around and if you have to pay a bit more here or there for better quality, do it because it will last longer as long as you are not buying into whatever the trend of the year is.

ETA: If you have discount stores near you like a Loehmanns, go there! It is a great place to get deals on quality brand name stuff. I have picked up random business-casual Theory pieces there all year long marked down about 50%+ from retail, still expensive but I'd rather pay $60 for the sweater than $140. I got the BEST pair of pinstriped suitish pants there (no jacket, wah) that fit me perfectly and are super flattering and they were $120 and retail was $250!! I have worn them already countless times since I got them and the wrinkles fall out of them, they are so fab. Also check online at shopbop and other online places like Nordstrom.com and Revolve Clothing for their sales...they are already clearing out their first batch of 'spring' stuff in some areas!

 

[f0rbidden]

Since we''re talking about clothes here, can we add that plus size women''s clothes are REALLY hard to find in decent quality at reasonable prices?
I''ve been a ''plus size'' pretty much forever, and while I always talk about loosing weight, I never actually do it - my husband adores my curvy figure, so I don''t spend too much time worrying about it - until it''s time to go shopping!

Personally, I don''t want to look like a teenager (shopping at Torrid) and I don''t want to look like something from a previous decade (some stores online) I just want to look like the professional I am. I work in a business-cas environment, but I have an executive position there..why is this combination so difficult? Grrrr.

 

[fire&ice]

Years ago, buying in a upperscale dept store or nice store in general meant good quality. Now, everything is made in the same plant w/ the same fabrics as target.

Loehmans, T.J Maxx & Marshalls are good place to shop - but you have to know your style & it can be a bit overwhelming.

Talbotts may be a place for you to go. Basic stuff w/ decent quality. They are having a sale now. Also, I like Ann Taylor. Dillards private label is good for value & Sak''s has a moderate price private label that is quite nice.

Every wardrobe should consist of a great pair of black slacks. Start there and you can''t go wrong.