It's possible merchandise differs country to country... tastes certainly will.
They don't make 'em like they used to...
- Thread starter An Officer
- Start date
Where are you people getting such crappy clothes?
I bought some clothes at H&M last summer and wear them about once a week and they're still holding up fine.
Hell, I buy most of my clothes at Target and they last for years before I have to replace them.
What are you folks doing in your clothes that wears them out so fast?
The T-Shirts and the jeans are fine, but it the fabrics they use for the coats and jackets looks cheaply made if you ask me. the material they use inside the coat looks nicer then it does on the outside. I just have a big problem with their coats and jackets.
Remember too that H&M, Topshop, and the like are designed as fast-fashion. Quick to stores, made with a definite low pricepoint in mind, and not necessarily designed to last beyond a season or two.
Zara does the same thing but is a step up in quality, though still not built to last ages.
Zara does the same thing but is a step up in quality, though still not built to last ages.
^ Have you shopped in both recently? Knowing you, I would guess you are talking about business clothes? I confess I know nothing about that - I only wear business attire when absolutely necessary, and that is only very rarely, thankfully.
Zara used to be great, but they have also gone down hill. I would not buy anything from there now. Topshop is actually slightly better quality in my opinion - 90% of their stuff is still pretend clothing yes, but there are decent quality items here and there - some of their slacks for example, their vintage and special collections mostly. Standard Topshop tops, cardigans, sweaters, etc are absolute junk. Still, from what I've seen, Topshop is regarded as a pretty good stop, both by Joe public and modern casual fashion aficionados alike.
I'm in both quite a lot (I have been hunting for a couple of things which I've had no luck with), and have had ample opportunity to compare, although I do suspect we may not have been looking at quite the same things.
It is possible there may be some variation in quality between their smart and casual ranges.
With those two shops, it's comparing crap to crap mostly though... I think the smarter thing (since the good times are behind us) is to invest in something that costs a little more but looks better and lasts longer - as far as casual clothes go.
Instead of buying loads of cheap poorly made clothes every year when they've worn out, why not buy casual wear of quality, a handful of choice items as needed. A lean but mean casual wardrobe, rather than a large but relatively useless one. Even if you pay 4 times more for an item, and it lasts ten years instead of one, I think it makes sense. These are the terms presented to us lately, whether we like it or not, you cannot get the very good stuff so cheaply anymore.
Zara used to be great, but they have also gone down hill. I would not buy anything from there now. Topshop is actually slightly better quality in my opinion - 90% of their stuff is still pretend clothing yes, but there are decent quality items here and there - some of their slacks for example, their vintage and special collections mostly. Standard Topshop tops, cardigans, sweaters, etc are absolute junk. Still, from what I've seen, Topshop is regarded as a pretty good stop, both by Joe public and modern casual fashion aficionados alike.
I'm in both quite a lot (I have been hunting for a couple of things which I've had no luck with), and have had ample opportunity to compare, although I do suspect we may not have been looking at quite the same things.
It is possible there may be some variation in quality between their smart and casual ranges. With those two shops, it's comparing crap to crap mostly though... I think the smarter thing (since the good times are behind us) is to invest in something that costs a little more but looks better and lasts longer - as far as casual clothes go.
Instead of buying loads of cheap poorly made clothes every year when they've worn out, why not buy casual wear of quality, a handful of choice items as needed. A lean but mean casual wardrobe, rather than a large but relatively useless one. Even if you pay 4 times more for an item, and it lasts ten years instead of one, I think it makes sense. These are the terms presented to us lately, whether we like it or not, you cannot get the very good stuff so cheaply anymore.
Actually, no. I would never buy business clothes from any of these places. The quality, styling, fabric and fit are all shockingly bad for anything tailored for that purpose. My smarter stuff tends to be either made-to-measure or bespoke, with an assortment of other bits & pieces from Ralph Lauren, Zegna, Ferragamo and a few others.
I tend to go to the fast-fashion places for occasional cheap casual pieces and funky outerwear for the times I don't want to wear a tailored jacket. Zara is really great for the fun, vaguely fashionable, outerwear especially. I go in a handful of times a year; last time would have been 2-3 months ago and I got a great flannel shirt there that's holding up very well after several wears and washes. Topshop/H&M I visit more rarely, but still, would have been about 4-6 months ago.
I wonder if the mens/womens line differ significantly, accounting for our different experiences? I would doubt it... maybe it's just we shop for different things there after all, as you suggest.
Actually, I shop in the men's department quite often! Again, because I am motivated by quality, and men's clothes are far superior in this regard, in fact, it's astonishing the difference in quality. Plus, hardly any women's clothes there fit me, mostly because they assume a woman is rarely going to be 5' 9", which is probably true, but doesn't work so well for me! And they sew all of these terrible panels on the front of tops which look horrendous on anybody who isn't terribly well endowed. Not to mention the fact few tops pass my belly button, which is not so cool when I don't want to let it all hang out, especially in the winter! So if I'm not going to go made-to-measure, I had better find unconventional ways of dressing myself.
Since I have decided to make life impossible for myself by refusing to go around in ill-fitting things, I face almost equal, but different problems in the men's department... I find Zara cuts everything too square, there is very little detailing and sculpting going on, they have a not very endearing quality of making me look as though I'm carrying more weight than I actually am. It is possible you do not need this sort of stuff, because your male physique would compensate for it, whereas I require it to be narrower on the shoulders, have a bit of a waist, give less room on the upper arms, etc etc (as you know women aren't likely to carry much muscle mass on the upper body).
A Zara jacket or shirt would hang from me in an utterly shapeless and unflattering way (which is not at all helped by the quality of the materials). I have a problem with the necks, too, they are usually far too big and make my proportions look all wrong. I don't actually want to look too much like a scrawny teenage boy. Then there is the quality of the materials (which I've mentioned before) - completely unforgiving, clinging where it shouldn't and hanging where it should. Zara feel altogether roomier and more relaxed in general. It may be that is what you prefer and like, although if I remember correctly, your build cannot be much bigger than mine, I would imaging we're not very extremely dissimilar, you're quite slight for your sex, and I'm certainly not typically petite. However, being that we're of different races, sexes, and heights, we probably have no business being in the same shop ever!
One thing I'll stick with, is Zara's fibres are quite outrageously bad for the price (not as bad as H&M, granted), they look pretty but there's no substance. If you want fun tops and jackets, a similar style of shop as far as casual preppy wear goes is Jack Wills, I don't know if they have a few branches where you are, and they charge about double Zara, but you can see the difference in quality. Same with SuperDry, who charge a little less but the quality and detailing is still excellent - although they are slightly more urban and don't do blazers and such, they have a lot of funky t-shirts, tops, and jackets. Neither of these do square cuts of any kind. I would say the detailing is really excellent considering the price - of a similar quality as Ralph Lauren Polo if you want a point of reference, without the over-sizing issues - they still don't do an extra small, which is useless if you're not broad and muscle-bound, a small is going to make you look saggy and unremarkable (considering the price you've paid), especially around the upper arms, I don't know how built they expect people to be. I know boys my age with a similar frame to myself, and I don't know where they expect these types to shop. I guess they just won't shop in certain places if they want something that actually fits.
I have been looking for a white button shirt, the simplest thing in the world you'd think, but it has been mission impossible! High street stores were bad due to quality. Polo thinks everyone is a jock. SuperDry does massive stiff collars. A&F assume your neck is about the thickness of a tree trunk. Many others I rejected because they were see-through in some lights, which is not the best thing when you have chosen a shirt because it is white, but the colour of your skin is peeping through, making it appear not quite as crisp as I'd like.
I have had a similar problem with finding a simple white t-shirt with no logos, which isn't see through, or just generally bad quality. Any suggestions would be welcome at this point, as I'd like to have them in time for the warm weather. I'll put a price cap on those though, no more than the ballpark figure of the brands I mentioned above, any more and I object on principle! Perhaps if I were shopping for a handmade silk top to use on a special occasion, that would be one thing, but I'm talking cotton, basic, daily wear!
Frustration at these two items are mainly the reason I put up this whole topic. What ever happened to the simple good stuff?
Since I have decided to make life impossible for myself by refusing to go around in ill-fitting things, I face almost equal, but different problems in the men's department... I find Zara cuts everything too square, there is very little detailing and sculpting going on, they have a not very endearing quality of making me look as though I'm carrying more weight than I actually am. It is possible you do not need this sort of stuff, because your male physique would compensate for it, whereas I require it to be narrower on the shoulders, have a bit of a waist, give less room on the upper arms, etc etc (as you know women aren't likely to carry much muscle mass on the upper body).
A Zara jacket or shirt would hang from me in an utterly shapeless and unflattering way (which is not at all helped by the quality of the materials). I have a problem with the necks, too, they are usually far too big and make my proportions look all wrong. I don't actually want to look too much like a scrawny teenage boy. Then there is the quality of the materials (which I've mentioned before) - completely unforgiving, clinging where it shouldn't and hanging where it should. Zara feel altogether roomier and more relaxed in general. It may be that is what you prefer and like, although if I remember correctly, your build cannot be much bigger than mine, I would imaging we're not very extremely dissimilar, you're quite slight for your sex, and I'm certainly not typically petite. However, being that we're of different races, sexes, and heights, we probably have no business being in the same shop ever!
One thing I'll stick with, is Zara's fibres are quite outrageously bad for the price (not as bad as H&M, granted), they look pretty but there's no substance. If you want fun tops and jackets, a similar style of shop as far as casual preppy wear goes is Jack Wills, I don't know if they have a few branches where you are, and they charge about double Zara, but you can see the difference in quality. Same with SuperDry, who charge a little less but the quality and detailing is still excellent - although they are slightly more urban and don't do blazers and such, they have a lot of funky t-shirts, tops, and jackets. Neither of these do square cuts of any kind. I would say the detailing is really excellent considering the price - of a similar quality as Ralph Lauren Polo if you want a point of reference, without the over-sizing issues - they still don't do an extra small, which is useless if you're not broad and muscle-bound, a small is going to make you look saggy and unremarkable (considering the price you've paid), especially around the upper arms, I don't know how built they expect people to be. I know boys my age with a similar frame to myself, and I don't know where they expect these types to shop. I guess they just won't shop in certain places if they want something that actually fits.
I have been looking for a white button shirt, the simplest thing in the world you'd think, but it has been mission impossible! High street stores were bad due to quality. Polo thinks everyone is a jock. SuperDry does massive stiff collars. A&F assume your neck is about the thickness of a tree trunk. Many others I rejected because they were see-through in some lights, which is not the best thing when you have chosen a shirt because it is white, but the colour of your skin is peeping through, making it appear not quite as crisp as I'd like.
I have had a similar problem with finding a simple white t-shirt with no logos, which isn't see through, or just generally bad quality. Any suggestions would be welcome at this point, as I'd like to have them in time for the warm weather. I'll put a price cap on those though, no more than the ballpark figure of the brands I mentioned above, any more and I object on principle! Perhaps if I were shopping for a handmade silk top to use on a special occasion, that would be one thing, but I'm talking cotton, basic, daily wear!
Frustration at these two items are mainly the reason I put up this whole topic. What ever happened to the simple good stuff?
I read all that and feel as exhausted as you must have on your recent shopping trips! 
You have my sympathy!
There's a Jack Wills shop in the outlet village just down the road from me. I usually end up walking past it to go to my usual haunts there, but will pop in for a closer look next time I'm there and check out some of their casual outerwear. I think I went in once and found a decent peacoat, but I'll have a closer look. I always feel really reluctant to spend RL and above type money on casual outerwear, so it would be nice to add another mid-priced option to the mix instead. Thanks for the tip.
Re: build & mass-market fit issues - well, there's a reason I prefer the structure of tailored clothing, and also why I prefer that clothing to be custom when possible. The structure flatters my build and having it cut for me adds to that effect. Cheating? But of course!
You have my sympathy!
There's a Jack Wills shop in the outlet village just down the road from me. I usually end up walking past it to go to my usual haunts there, but will pop in for a closer look next time I'm there and check out some of their casual outerwear. I think I went in once and found a decent peacoat, but I'll have a closer look. I always feel really reluctant to spend RL and above type money on casual outerwear, so it would be nice to add another mid-priced option to the mix instead. Thanks for the tip.
Re: build & mass-market fit issues - well, there's a reason I prefer the structure of tailored clothing, and also why I prefer that clothing to be custom when possible. The structure flatters my build and having it cut for me adds to that effect. Cheating? But of course!
I bought a Maytag washer and dryer set in 1975 and they ran for about 30 years, and I only had to replace the thermostat once in the dryer. Maytag is owned by someone else and isn't as reliable today. I still use the clock radio I've owned since 1979. I don't have the same luck with appliances today. I have bought refrigerators and ovens that don't last 10 years before pooping out.
The functionality of clock radios has declined as well. For years I enjoyed the common (at that time) ability to enjoy the clock radio's ability to continue playing music in between presses of the snooze button (snooze button only affected the alarm tone). Unfortunately the displays, switches and/or buttons on those units eventually failed. The last couple of replacements go completely silent when I press the snooze button or lack the alarm tone completely (has a choice of radio bands and a couple of soothing digital recordings like waves and heartbeat).
The only changes in clock radio technology I can consider progress has been the battery backups and the radio "atomic" time setting function. I don't consider dependence on a proprietary MP3 player's expansion interface for music playback progress from a clock radio standpoint (only from a convenient recharger standpoint).
The only changes in clock radio technology I can consider progress has been the battery backups and the radio "atomic" time setting function. I don't consider dependence on a proprietary MP3 player's expansion interface for music playback progress from a clock radio standpoint (only from a convenient recharger standpoint).
I wrote this a few weeks ago. I thought it seemed vaguely relevant
From having to not having: the ten levels of wisdom
Having leads to enjoyment
Enjoyment leads to wanting
Wanting leads to impulsiveness
Impulsiveness leads to waste
Waste leads to management
Management leads to deferred gratification
Deferred gratification leads to anticipation
Anticipation leads to anticlimax
Anticlimax leads to rejection
Rejection leads to not having.
Wow. I've been reading the Tao Te Ching lately, and you could almost drop this right in. If you added a line or two to tie the end back to the beginning, it probably should be dropped in.
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