Where to buy affordable good quality clothes?

fro9etb8j5qsl2

The high street places I used to buy my clothes in seem to have gone downhill in quality in the last few years. I'm sick of buying stuff on DP, New Look etc, only to have it fall apart after a few wears. At the moment I buy most of my stuff in H&M and Zara, although I have found they can be hit and miss too. I'm trying to build a basic capsule wardrobe and am willing to spend a little bit more (but not too much!) on items that will stand the test of time. I wear mostly casual clothes but need to get out of the habit of jeans and cheap stretchy tshirts

I've heard mixed reviews of Boden but tbh, don't see the big deal about their clothes. I've looked at Cos but their stuff seems very expensive. How much should I expect to pay for a decent outfit?

baby and crumble

Op, if you can manage it, I'd highly recommend heading up to Belfast and going to Matalan. I have knitwear and jeans that have lasted years, and the prices are about the same/ slightly cheaper than H&M.

dee_mc

Yeah Matalan could be a good bet for knitwear and jeans and even underwear sometimes, but the quality of their tops (in my experience) is terrible. If you're in the North at any point Asda and Sainsburys would be worth a look too - similarly, knitwear is the most reliable.
I like S Oliver for tops, the quality can't be beaten. Esprit have some lovely stuff too. I don't get the Boden hype either, very basic styles IMO.

ams

I get a lot of my everyday clothes for work etc in M&S - the sales are very good and they constantly have discount codes available for their site. Their Limited collection rage would be the trendier end of things.

meeeeh

Mango for leather
American Apparel for Tees
I got some great jeans in Cos and also Zara before
Warehouse and sometimes Next for work
Massimo Dutti can be nice too
Sisley and Benetton are two brands I used to buy more but there are fewer of their shops around now.

I wear baggy Benetton t shirt instead of pyjamas. It was bought sometime in very early nineties. There are no holes in it after numerous washings and nowadays I am happy if a t shirt lasts me a year. Quality of clothing really did go down significantly in last twenty years.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Brilliant thanks girls I have a few bits from asda that are nice and ironically, even the stuff I have bought in tesco has lasted a lot longer than some of the new look stuff I bought in the last year :eek: I have bought kids clothes in sainsburys in the past and they didn't wash very well so that would put me off their adult clothes. I was just looking at the m&s site and they've a few nice bits in the sale Will check out mango and sisley too. I have heard that the Cos clothes are very good quality and they look fab but I'll definitely be holding out for a sale there.

The decline of clothes quality is shocking :eek: I have some things from New Look that I bought 7 or 8 years ago that are still going good but the load that I bought just before Christmas is mostly gone in the bin already. 3 tops had to be chucked after the first wash :eek:

dee_mc

Sainsburys cardigans with a bit of wool content are great. The rest of their clothing wouldn't be great.
I find myself shopping more in boutiques and supermarkets and BT nowadays, high street stuff isn't what it used to be.

jadie

I agree New Look has gone shocking, I got a pair of cords from there that now have a hole in them after one wash. All their skirts and dresses seem to be unlined too. I find Promod okay for quality and Oasis but that has gone down a bit on quality too. Lately I've been buying branded clothes like Ted Baker, Reiss, Whistles etc on adverts. Works out cheaper than even Penneys clothes for some things.

dee_mc

Seasalt is another great quality brand, lovely cottony things.

Spirogyra

Dunne's for trousers and shirts ? I know in general it looks a bit old, but quality is better than it used to be . Paul Costello works for them and some pieces can be 'trendy' ☺

mansize

Matalan? Really? I thought it was just a poor TK Maxx

jadie

A friend of mine also buys a lot of stuff on anthropoligie, have good sales

whatever76

Was in London recently and popped into http://www.stories.com/gb/ ( & Other stories ) and there stuff looked great and good quality. Similar to COS but I think more trendier . COS clothes I think can be very shapeless so have to be tall and thin !
Good news is that they are comming to Grafton St later in the year ...

meeeeh

Some very cool stuff there. What is their sizing like? I find Cos very big even in comparison to some german brands, and I would guess their 8 could be 14 in Mango. As far as I see they are part of H&M like COS so I assume they will be on the bigger side?

Hollister11

Dunnes has good stuff, but it's a bit on the pricey side.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Thanks for all the suggestions I ordered a few bits from mango on wednesday and they arrived this morning. Very happy with the style and quality, although the sizes are very generous. Also ordered a few plain tshirts from american apparel, they were on sale so cost no more than ones from penneys. Would have never even considered shopping with them before so hoping they turn out to be a good bet Picked up a few bits in the m&s sale and managed to resist all temptation of high street shops.

dudara

M&S is a favourite for work wear and basics. I also buy a lot from Hobbs, LK Bennett, Planet etc. It's worth buying less and spending more. When I'm in the US, I'll shop at Ann Taylor also

fro9etb8j5qsl2

dudara wrote: »

It's worth buying less and spending more.

This is so true! I'm a terror, I'll usually try and get as much as I can for as little money as I can and then sit around complaining that it doesn't last. It's only recently that I realised that you really do get what you pay for. My wardrobe is literally bursting with mismatched scraggly tat Hopefully this is the start of me turning over a new leaf

ams

I usually find the opposite with Mango!!! Maybe I'll give it a try again!

meeeeh

ams wrote: »

I usually find the opposite with Mango!!! Maybe I'll give it a try again!

I think it very much depends how much you spend with Mango.

If you buy a 20 Euro jumper you will feel it's overpriced. And if you spend around 40 you will probably get very decent price/quality product. But overall I think their strong point are leather jackets, coats...

ams

I meant with the sizing meeeh - I've had some seriously upsetting moments in their changing rooms!

meeeeh

Maybe it's different body types but I know in Mango I have to go a size up from just about any other brand (at least for trousers and skirts). I buy quite a lot of their stuff because their tailoring suits me while Zara for example doesn't overly except for trousers.

Lia_lia

I buy an awful lot of stuff in M&S. The larger stores have a great range of clothes, not just granny-ish styles that you'd associate M&S with! They often have discounts online also. You can stack discount codes on their website too I really like the Indigo range myself. And the clothes are fantastic quality.

Love Zara but I must say I've bought so many clothes there that just fall apart. Dunnes can be alright also.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

I take back what I said about Mango, I put on one of the dresses I bought for the first time today and by this evening, the seam was coming away at the shoulder :mad: Urgh. Also, the 2 dresses I ordered from m+s arrived and they were so ridiculously big and oversized that the neckline in them was literally down at my bellybutton :eek: So they've gone back too. Feeling a little disheartened now

On the plus side, the stuff from American Apparel arrived and it is fantastic quality The plain tshirts are a little baggy but lovely and long and the fabric is really thick.

miamee

I find most places can be hit and miss where quality is concerned and you really have to judge it yourself, item by item. I have clothes that I have bought in Penneys that are great quality - good cut, good material - but these are a rarity and not everyone has an eye for it. Same with H&M, most of the cotton tops and t-shirts in there are complete tat, you can nearly see through them and would easily put your finger through them but other things can be quite good quality. M&S are mostly good quality but can be a bit dull, good for basics I find and for underwear.

dorito92

Mrspostman can you post the link to the American apparel tshirts you got. Are they the 'baby rib' cotton ones? What's baby rib 😳

fro9etb8j5qsl2

The ones I got were fine knit jersey tshirts with a v neck. I can't seem to find them on the site now so perhaps they're sold out? I'm a size 12 on the waist and hips and size 14 on the bust so I ordered them in large but could have definitely gotten away with the medium. However, I also ordered a ribbed hoodie and I got in in extra large because the reviews said it came up small and lo and behold, the xl fitted perfectly. So I would say take a good look at the reviews before ordering. The quality of the fabric is excellent though.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Oh, also, I ordered a baby rib half sleeved black tshirt (maybe the one you are asking about?) and it is made of stretchy material, I got it in large and it fits like a glove but is one of those clingy-type tops.

meeeeh

miamee wrote: »

I find most places can be hit and miss where quality is concerned and you really have to judge it yourself, item by item. I have clothes that I have bought in Penneys that are great quality - good cut, good material - but these are a rarity and not everyone has an eye for it. Same with H&M, most of the cotton tops and t-shirts in there are complete tat, you can nearly see through them and would easily put your finger through them but other things can be quite good quality. M&S are mostly good quality but can be a bit dull, good for basics I find and for underwear.

I like M&S clothing in the ads. And I buy some of their stuff but their shops are so dull and unappealing that I am usually out as soon as possible. I also used to dislike Top Shop outlets because everything was just thrown around like it has no value. I haven't been in for a while so it might be different now. Quality of clothing in Zara can be seriously questionable but they make it feel more expensive and easier to spot things with spacious, nicely kitted shops. And the same is with their website.

dorito92

just ordered tshirts from M&S, never had their tshirts before, hope they're worth it!

dee_mc

dorito92 wrote:

just ordered tshirts from M&S, never had their tshirts before, hope they're worth it!

I like their Indigo ones but they are very big, I'm normally a 10 but would need an 8 in that range.
I haven't bought any of the t shirts from their regular range but noticed some nice tanks and tees that didn't look too shapeless last time I was in, my mum wears a lot of their stuff and it lasts for years