As someone who’s obsessed with the Edwardian era. I can agree. Corsets were not torture, they were for back and bust support. Men, women and children wore corsets. Until around 1920 where they started to change from a corset to more elastic girdles. I hate how the textile industry is dominated by plastics too. We don’t need plastic clothes. We need more wool, cotton, silks and linen.
@@RED-my9hl did you mean crop tops? or tbh, it’s both. I swear no one makes normal fitted t-shirts. its either cheap and cropped for the girlies 🌸 or it’s expensive and boxy-fitted for the edgy and tomboyish girls. there’s no in between. or when there is, it’s not cotton like you’d hope, it’s elastic and it “fits” by being tight, relying on you to have the body to fit the clothes not the clothes having to fit your body 👍🥲
Yup, I can't wait to do a video on men's clothing, there a lot of things going on psychologically when business make clothes for men vs women, and they know our shopping habits well
@@matxalenc8410 yeah, I do the same, and I'd like to look in the mens section for pants to as all the pants for girls/women are allways extremley short and revealing so i end up wearing my 'bike jeans' as my friends call them
Recently I had to buy a whole new wardrobe, because I got hired into an office job and my wardrobe is 90% band tees and jeans - which isn't advisable to wear in a business casual area. I spent literally the entire day going to different clothing stores because almost everything was either so sheer that I would get sent home for being too inappropriate, or it was so sloppily sewn that it was going to fall apart the very second I put it on. I left with maybe two pants and three blouses, and even then, it took a major hit to my bank account. Planned obsolescence will kill us all.
@@soupafleyeI'm in the same boat as them and honestly? Thrifting is ruined now. Most of it is shein quality, you can't try anything on so you end up with a ton of uncomfortable stuff, half the time the size is wrong, and it's often close to the same price and more stressful than buying new. I spent $400 at madewell and got 5 items. I have this year spent over $500 thrifting. Only $20 of that was in person because genuinely everything in the stores is awful and thrift stores are miserable experiences. $500 and something like 30+ items has netted me a total of 3 decent items, 5 good items that are wayyyyy too small, and 22 items that I have to find a way to pass on. Something like 2/3s of those are trash i wouldn't even feel okay giving away to someone with no clothes.
@@soupafleyethrifting is worthless, ive been lookikg for a single wearable pair of jeans for the last 3 months just popping into different thrift stores when i get the chance and ive still had zero luck. all of my thrifted clothes fall apart in
I needed a black shirt for concert black. I liked NONE of them, except a nice, sturdy-feeling one from the mens' section. I also like the cut of it on me.
People who sew know its been trash. It's sad when you realize the people who put them together are penalized for not working fast enough and paid peanuts.
With pattern matching, that is actually a sign of quality. If the patterns match across seams, that means they used more material. It also shows that they laid pieces out on the grainline and cut it thoughtfully. If they took the time to do that, they took the time to sew it together properly as well and actually had it patterned well.
ah okay I didn't know how big of a deal it was when I came to it, but now that u explain it it definitely makes more sense if they match the patterns or not, thanks for clarifying!
it's crazy how they force people into this devastating labor of mass producing these clothes for them to just be thrown into landfills, either immediately or eventually by being so poor quality they hardly last. why are they allowed to harm workers across the world and in the states as well as the planet itself just so they can make even more excessive profit? quality clothing is a necessity that has been funneled into purposeless products made from extreme harm. you can hardly even try to save up money in order to get something more expensive but long lasting because the pricey brands are largely junk too. i don't get it. we have the technology, we know what we need and what's good quality. nothing has to be junk- it's a waste of materials, time, money, and it's inhumane the conditions all workers have to endure, some very much worse than others, but it hurts. it hurts to see this rabid pursuit of profit at the cost of humanity.
@JustMe-vs1kj No, it is not. With my medical bills and other issues outside of my control that make me extremely poor, the last thing I can justify is tailor-made clothing. Are you really that out of touch you think that's reasonably possible for any poor person? If they can do that, then they aren't poor.
@@MossTunic I think the point JustMe was trying to make is that you said in your og comment that there's not much point to saving up for something more expensive because those are often junk too. And they were pointing out "expensive" isn't indicitive of quality when it comes to high street fashion. If you WERE able to save up some money, you're better investing it into hand made clothing than branded high street as, yes, even the expensive stuff comes from much of the same sweat shops. I'm also low on cash (admittedly not with the medical bills too as I'm UK based), but have found if I save for just one or two items of 'good' clothing a year, I save a lot of money. One etsy you can find people who handmake things for reasonable prices, often equiv or cheaper to high street (I've found a cute dress maker who does measured to fit dressed for about £60 to £80. Expensive but again no more than high street). And used clothing apps like vinted are amazing. You can purchase 'good' brands for insanely low prices (just avoid shein, temu etc), AND you're then not participating in the landfill of fast fashion.
i have a ton of clothes from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. the quality difference between those clothes and the ones i’ve bought within the last 10 years or so is wild. the denim is thick and sturdy with heavy seams, the tops are opaque and thick (white tops too), the zippers aren’t flimsy are and actually hold up to use, the shirts are soft but still hold their shape, the materials are mostly natural fibers, etc. some of the clothes i have are over 40 years old and still look brand new. it’s sad that the quality has dropped so drastically and it makes it incredibly difficult to find modern clothing that isn’t complete and utter shyte
sometimes its hard to even make your own quality clothes bc fabric in general took a nosedive.. i just decided to shop vintage and thrift because its easier and honestly better fits my style
They demanded it. They felt it and wouldn’t buy it it fell apart. I’ll wear a pair of $200 work pants for a DAY and seams popped already. Makes me v mad. It’s not hard to make things good it’s like penny saving measures
I usually buy from the kids section and it's been like that for years there ... their clothes are not made to last. It's horrible!!! Do kids not deserve cotton, linnen, and wool? And this has now blown over to adult clothing ... I recently saw a Polo Ralph Lauren 200+ euro jumper (that's about 220 USD). Assumed it would be 100% wool, checked the tag, nope! Plastic! Who has 200+ euros for plastic??? Also, I'm a suit wearer. I have not seen a single jacket that was 100% natural materials. EVER. I've been wearing suits for 5 years now. Where are the wool/cotton jackets??? It's all plastic. Even the very expensive ones. On top of feeling uncomfortable, they are LOUD too. And ugly.
Yea, that's why it's even more frustrating spending a lot of money on something that's supposed to be "high quality" and getting slapped in the face with cheap quality anyway. It can't be THAT more expensive just to use natural materials for certain things, but of course businesses look for most profit
To be fair, Ross is where all the reject clothing goes from other stores to be sold at a discount. So they might have disproportionately low quality clothes
Also keep in mind you're looking in the juniors section which is compleatly filled with fast fashion quality.The woman's side has all the name brand kalvin Klein, Michel Kors, Tommy Hilfiger ect. The juniors section is always the lower quality@@Kaysaja
I'm old lol...and it's been a steady decline since I was a teen, but it's crazy how the "Y2K" look is coming back but the materials are so cheap now? I'm just very against buying new clothes now unless I find something truly remarkable and unique.
I was a teen during Y2K and the quality of high fasion items was already considered really bad most of the time at that time. Today these poor quality items from the past are high quality items from today.
Y2K clothes were already so awful, literal plastic, and even then at least they stood the wash... i've had to throw away at least 3 items right after the very first wash since we crossed the 2010s, because they straight up desintegrated, no joke. It wasn't even a harsh cycle
Men’s clothes tends to be better quality but not always by much. I recently made the mistake of trying to buy a jacket at target and jfc. Everything had loose threads, pilling, and thin fabric that wouldn’t hold up in water. Comparing something new I bought for $50 to my vintage jacket that I got for $20 was kinda depressing. Gonna stick to thrifting now lol
If you can find anything thrifting. I’ve been a regular thrifter and not only have prices of thrifted goods going up massively, but the thrift shops I have around me are almost always shien.
This drives me insane, it's been SO hard to find anything good last 2 yrs, even brands I liked and were pretty good once are dropping the ball HARD, it's terrible. I get most stuff second hand, but if I need any basics new, it takes many months to find SOMETHING that is Okay.
a few years ago i started learning about the difference between high quality and low quality sewing and ever since that's one of the main things i look at when buying clothes. and it's just INSANE how many clothes will straight up have loose threads and bad stitching and the ends aren't even trimmed properly. i know it probably makes it easier but i also just hate when raw edges have been finished with a serger. it's not an immediate red flag if they're inside seams but if it's a hem or something i just don't buy those clothes. i dont expect everyone to be sewing blind hems by hand these days but for a hem i don't think it's too much to expect that the raw edge should be folded inside and finished with a suitably strong stitch. i've also found that actually trying to check for quality before buying clothes makes people think something is wrong with you. most of the people who've seen i check the stitching before buying a garment kind of laugh and wonder why i would waste my time doing that when the clothes are so cheap that i can just buy new ones if they rip. it's wild.
yea, I think many of us have just become complacent with the quality we recieve now, so when you point it out ppl tend to think ur doing too much, but it's being aware of it that helps in the first place, or at least spreads some type of awareness
@@Kaysaja yep exactly. plus, the more we talk about it the more we will normalize it. i don't expect me pointing out quality to completely change the minds of everyone around me but maybe they'll think about the quality of their own clothes at some point and come to see that poor quality is not worth the convenience and price
Holy crap??? I'm a guy and I have absolutely no problem getting quality clothing that will last *forever*. Why tf are women's clothes so much worse??? Women need quality clothes to. I genuinely cabt even fathom why they wouldn't.
This is exactly why I thrift most of my clothing. I live in an area where there are a lot of rich elderly people, who donate tons of vintage clothing from their youth. The quality of those clothes is phenomenal compared to now. I recently went to the mall and I couldn't find any good quality clothing, not to mention the clothes were boring as hell. Every store sells the same dull garbage, I remember when different stores had different styles! Now you go to Pacsun and Forever 21 and they are selling the same stuff. I have a more alternative style, so the stuff that they sell is not really my vibe. I ended up getting two tops from a more high-quality store that were my style. I spent 60 bucks.. for two tops. Yeah, I'm sticking to thrifting.
the amount of clothes i have worn from new that have ripped or broken almost instantly but own stuff from thrift/ charity shops that have lasted me years! oh its real
I shop for shirt basics in the men's section. I appreciate the quality, I just hate that the cuts of fabric are very limited - usually all boxy and too high necklines.
I wonder if it’s because you’re shopping in the body cut, and high neckline section… I’m kidding I agree. When you increase in size they assume you increase in weight. I’m tall as frig and skinny so finding pants that are long enough, I’m usually assumed to be obese so they’re awfully baggy. Same with shirts. My tip would be to buy a size down of your goal size and look for the tag and find your size + T/tall it’ll make the cuts it’s longer/slimmer Also I learned how to alter hems and it’s been a super useful thing. Even just by hand with a seam ripper and needle and thread
Clothing stores scare me. As a mid to thick girly with a short waist, shopping for anything but dresses for my office job is a nightmare. I should not be able to fit from a medium to an xxxl, or a 12 to a 22, depending on the store and fabric. And every store i go to, you find maybe 3 pieces in the whole store that don't feel like plastic or look like it's going to fall apart after 2 wears. Now i'm learning how to sew to avoid wasting money on basic shirts and skirts.
You should investigate Abercrombie, and show how bad their quality has went down. I remember them lasting for years, I own so many shirts and even using my mom’s old shirts (still useable now) but I recently got a sweater from there and material was melting off. $80 dollars for junk.
My solution to this madness: I only buy men's and boy's clothes of my size 👌 it's striking how much better the quality is, and the prices still aren't that much higher (considering that you won't need to buy new clothes every month since the old ones couldn't take their first washing machine round).
Went to the target near me and everything was expensive and low quality. And badly fitted! I have an average thin body but I was getting camel toes in every pair of pants and had problems with jeans being too tight in the legs and waist but too loose in the butt.
100% that, plus stuff like coats/jackets mostly have that square or rectangular silhouette :( i'm always excited when i see something that accentuates the waist
So I would say I have pretty expensive clothing taste compared to average. A while back I put in a fairly large order during the SSENSE sale (I can really only afford their stuff on sale tbh but this was a pretty big splurge). Everything felt like forever 21 quality! Maybe like… 2010s f21 quality, but still I was shocked that it was being passed off as luxury. At this point I’m just learning to sew garments 🤷♀️
One guideline I go by is: if you grasp the fabric in your fist, like kind of ball it up for a moment, and it instantly wrinkles, then it's going to look cheap. And I've found that to be pretty true. The biggest enemy to clothing longevity I've faced is pilling. I hate how blend fabrics pill!
Clothing in general is the only category where the price has actually shrunk for the sticker cost. (AKA pre-inflation calculation) As such the labor, materials, quality control, shipment, pre-washing, blocking, dyes, pattern making, seams, lining, finishing, etc; has aaaaaaall been minimized to keep it affordable. Unfortunately, if you like to sew this movement also means quality fabrics themselves are hard to find even if you try to source them. There is some great videos out there talking about how a combination of factors like quality fabric factories going out of business, it cheaper for wool producers to throw it away then process it, and a variety of other issues. Keeping in mind the weave, material composition, sheen, etc can all help you find good quality clothing. A good test is running a fingernail lightly along lighter fabrics to see if it catches.
i go to antique stores for my clothing, or vintage. rarely i thrift. i never EVER shop new unless its something like underwear and the majority of my clothes have lasted in pristine condition. albeit for not that long, but compared to my modern clothes like a year with no deteroration is amazing.
Ive had to shop for new Clothes due to a fire and its so upsetting. Im wearing my Halloween costume and i swear ive found clothes in stores that are worse quality than it is.
Not only the number of stitches per inch/cm but also how straight the seam is, especially on trousers. I saw jeans with seams that were spiraling around the leg and it clearly wasn't the design with how it made the legs look as if drawn by Junji Ito.
5:42 as a person who’s worked at Ross. They’re understaffed and customers frequently mistreat all of the merchandise. They do their best to discount all damaged items, but because of the amount of work they have to do, and how much merchandise customers damage they aren’t able to always put discount stickers on everything. In that case just ask an employee. You also didn’t highlight that Target is much more expensive! $40 for a hoodie for example at Target versus $12 at Ross. So of course there’s going to be a major quality difference. The quality being poor is due to sweatshop labor, underpaid workers made to churn out X amount of clothing items per hour…
I remember 2 years ago I bought a pair of trousers from Stradivarius for 80 zł (around 20$) and literally THE NEXT DAY THEY RIPPED ON THE SEAM (I wasn't even walking around a lot lol). I understand a lot (especially for 80zł) but on the next day? It's like they just want to get rid of them so that they'd be a customers problem...
Inditex clothes are ridiculously low quality yet the owner is the richest man in Spain and one of the richest in the world..... and because i'm spanish they p much have a monopoly over there and there is barely any competition, especially if you don't live in a big city with more foreign brands. I have luck with their jeans but the tops don't last a year, some I bought had to be thrown out after a single wash, it's really sad. I went to one of their stores this weekend (Bershka) and they had straight up stained clothes hung up on the displays, 0 shame.
As someone who works at Ross I have to give my opinion on that shirt with the sequin pocket. Realistically that shirt should be taken to the back to be thrown away, I feel that it is too damaged to even sell at a discount. I would assume that the pocket got messed up whilst on the floor since customers love to throw shit around for some reason. I would also assume that it's still out on the floor because an employee hasn't noticed it yet or someone is just ignoring it. The Ross I work at is very understaffed so oftentimes there is no one out on the salesfloor to take out damaged items or to even do any mark downs. I work in the stockroom in the apparel section so I have noticed how awful the quality is of the clothes especially for the women's section. The clothes are so thin and still they refuse to put any pockets on the pants. I have had buttons break on me because for some reason they decided to use the thinnest buttons ever. I wouldn't say that the men's department is any better, but I would say that the shirts aren't as thin since the styles are different and you're not going to see some of the weird materials that they use for women's blouses there. With the stitching I feel there isn't much I can critique because of the way that the laborers are paid and need to make as many articles of clothing as possible just to get by since these companies want to pay them as little as possible and use the cheapest materials so they can make a better profit.
It's because owners of big clothing companies are greedy and want to make the most money. They don't care if other people suffer as long as they profit. It's terrible
I know there is a dressmaker or a talented self-taught sewist around you. It's not as cheap as Temu but the extra money means you buy it once and you are done for a few years. My dressmaker charges me a flat fee to transform my old sheets into pyjamas!
Yea I will say, customers are rough with the clothes sometimes idk y lol so I was thinking it could of happend on the floor too. And I didn't even think about the stitching being a result of the overworked employees, which just opens up a whole other can of worms on the mistreatment of workers that they don't even want to do their jobs well, it's messed up.
I love that you are actually educating yourself and going out to get anecdotal data. I think you could (if you wanted) really fine-tune this craft into journalism
I think of this topic all the time. Also now the price is not a sign of quality anymore. I prefer to have a small wardrobe with good-quality clothes so I don’t need to buy new ones often. Finding a good sweater has been challenge for me. Acrylic, a synthetic fiber often used as a cheaper alternative to wool, is not recyclable and can't be incinerated without releasing toxic substances. The acrylic sweaters I had lost their shape or looked worn out quickly. Blended fabrics are also hard to recycle. Another challenge for me is that I’m shorter than average, and here in Western Europe, most mass-market tops with any shape don’t fit me well. I have ordered clothes for office-business look last week online and had to return almost everything - made for someone taller, half transparent fabric, though shouldn't be, very bad seams... I also don’t want to leave behind a pile of plastic waste, so I try to buy clothes made from natural materials. Actually problematics of "plastic" clothes and fast fashion even scares me. That's why I decided to order a sweater from a knitter using natural wool that will fit my body well. Also, I like to support people who make things with their hands. I’ve also bought a sewing machine and hope to learn to make clothes that fit me better than mass market patterns.
My mom recently bought a new pair of jeans for the first time since the 90s (im 25, she bought most of her clothingbefore i was born). The reason she bought them was because her other pair from the 90s finally got a whole in the knee. She went to the same store, same brand, same size. 3 weeks later the belt loop ripped off when she pulled them up. I sewed it back down but then the fabric around it ripped with the loop. Her and i still talk about it. Those new pants are gone, turned into rags. Her old ones i put a patch on and they are once again good to go for maybe another 30 years.
I have a shirt from when I was in middle school! Middle school! With tons of rhinestones and studs I still love and wear it and every stud and rhinestone has stayed over the years! Only just saw its first loose thread at the bottom after years of being throw in the wash and worn for years! I noticed all my new clothes fit awkward no matter what in places but my old clothes I’ve saved still got their shape and fit great still
I have to buy unisex and men's tees because women's tees have ridiculously tight sleeves, whether they're plus sized or not. But even tees are suffering from poor stitching these days, particularly around hems and the armhole. I've also had to buy new pants every couple of years now because of how quickly the fabric and/or seams wear out due to friction. In the 90s and early 2000s, I only ever had to replace pants (specifically jeans) because I broke a zipper or I simply outgrew them. When the ripped jeans trend picked up in the early 2000s, it took some serious time and effort to force a natural wear-and-tear rip in denim. You could sneeze at a pair of "jeans" today and holes would form. And don't even get me started on underwear. I've never had to replace my underwear as frequently as I have in the last 6+ years.
The majority of my closet is men’s clothes, it’s incredibly noticeable when thrifting. The woman’s section is always full of paper thin, polyester garbage.
Yup. I actually wear men's skate shoes and t-shirts. Primitive brand is a fav. The quality of the fabric is what I remember from 30 years ago. Nice and thick. Good, strong seams. Softens over time in the wash. Sure they cost 30 or 40 bucks each, but they're gonna last quite awhile, so it's a good value.
where i live literally NOTHING from big box stores (target, walmart, ross, etc) is my style. and if it is it doesnt fit properly. i thrift nearly all of my clothes now, and ive noticed even the thrifts are getting flooded with cheap shein and fashion nova stuff, though its not as all-encompassing as the cheap stuff in the box stores a good tip is to find your size in mens jeans, and then go for the stuff that is real denim. it lasts a lot longer than the polyester stuff. a good pair of black jeans can pair with most outfits, and you can also work in them.
She's pretty on point but word of caution. Don't trust her recommendations because a lot of them are undisclosed ads and I can tell you as a seamstress that they are for bad quality items.
Old Navy is the only big brand I will buy on the regular. I own a decent amount of clothes from there. Definitely some polyester, the PJs I own from there are polyester/rayon blends, but I don’t think the regular shirts have polyester. They’re either cotton, rayon, viscose, or a blend of two of those. I own two little cotton dresses from there that are very nice. I’ve had them since like age 10 (I was super overweight at 10 so they still fit) and they’re still holding on strong. And the sales/clearance are also super good. The polyester/rayon set I mentioned was purchased for about $4 if I’m not mistaken? Perfect summer PJs. I paid about $20 for 3 pairs of cotton shorts I wear to the gym constantly. Perfect length. Some of my favorite nice and casual shirts came from there. Plus the stuff from there is soft. I’m autistic so texture problems are pretty common, but I’ve never had an issue with Old Navy’s stuff. -God I sound like an Old Navy spokesman I promise I’m a real boy-
Your findings at Ross + Marshall’s make sense, the reason clothes are at a cheaper price than usual is because they’re defective/ not deemed presentable by the original companies
I feel like Ross Stores are the most bottom of the barrel, last resort, and out of desperation stores to get clothing from due to this reason. Those clothes are the rejects that never got placed on a non-discount store floor (department or brand stores) due to faults with garment construction.
I just buy second hand these days, and only of brands I know have been reliable for me in the past. One of the only times I buy new is when it's from independent artists. My disappointment there is a lot of artists will still use relatively cheaply made goods for cost and accessibility (and because its hard to find companies that do custom prints at small batches), but it sucks because it means I'm paying a premiumum for their art, but the clothing itself is still poorly made. Had a cool print shirt from an indie artist, and 2 buttons fell off on the first wear. I then just easily pulled a 3rd off by lightly pulling at it. Ended up just unpicking all of them and re-sewing them by hand, but we shouldn't HAVE to do that with brand new garments.
I wear egl/lolita quite a bit, and i feel like our community has been hit quite hard. These are delicate clothes, they NEED to be high quality or it just won't work. But you can shill out 200-300 euros for a dress and it'll still be made my a poorly paid factory worker from china, most likely. I only buy from etsy sellers and other independent designers now
Last weekend i went to a popular teen/young hip fashion store and a lot of the clothes were straight up STAINED and hung up in the most visible place... they literally have no shame anymore
it seems against the law to deny a return from a customer. There was a time when stores had prominently displayed signs: no returns on underwear. Now they put it back on selling floor. I will only buy sealed 5-pack. Not sexy, but practical. Prewashing is not mandatory
For a video about clothing, I would suggest using different descriptions for items of clothing. For instance, a tank top, a t-shirt, a crop top, a long sleeved tshirt etc etc
First time coming across your channel! And I personally check clothing. I grew up having to thrift clothing so I'm used to checking for stains, but I noticed that my thrifted pieces last a lot longer than my new clothes. I have a few wool blazers that are satin lined and they have held up better than the polyester jacket I bought from tjmaxx that was made to emulate wool. I have been trying to cut back on clothing shopping so whenever I do go out, I have to be very picky about quality in order to justify buying something new. I also check the laundry labels to see how easy something is to clean and maintain. I'm autistic and a lot of synthetic fabrics and materials can be sensory issues for me. But I think keeping someone's needs in mind while checking for quality are good shopping habits. It makes people slow down and think before mindlessly adding something mew to their closet.
The latest stages of capitalism take away anything good we once had. Esp if you are not the body shape these mass produced clothes are made for. It’s tragic how shien was able to basically close a gap in the market that is plus size clothes that are the same as straight sizes just in bigger sizes. Like we dehumanize people w the selection in plus size. Most of the ppl I know still buying fast fashion are ppl who wear plus size. And all of this to say, these big box stores are playing in our face making the cheapest clothes and expecting us to pay triple the price we were in 2012.
I think checking out the men’s section will be a good comparison. Often I have found that the fabrics are more durable, thicker, and better quality. Staples like t-shirts and socks are more durable in general, and the denim tends to be thicker. Usually what contributes to fabric degradation is the synthetics or elastic (stretch) components added to fabric, and also how we wash our clothes. The heat from the dryer or hot wash cycles will break down the elastic faster. Air drying is a pain, but it can help extend the life of fabrics in general.
Amazing video!! And yeah, I turned 18 this year and I’m on my own when it comes to buying my clothes. I’m diving deep into good quality stuff, and I’ve found eBay and thrift stores are the way to go. Cause anywhere you go now, even high quality stores, everything is cheap!! 80s cotton sweaters are my go to obsession rn
really interesting idea for a video, wasn't expecting the channel to be so small!! Would love more investigative type videos, love your humor as well :)
Many people today see pure information as a thread to them and I do not get why. A fact itself neutral. Thank you for your hard work! Last year I bought a bunch of sewing patterns for simple garments like casual tops, shirts, hoodies, jackets and pants/shorts. I am sick of overpriced poor quality clothing, sewn by slave workers and soaked in toxic dyes that fall apart after two washes. I can make it myself in a better quality with non toxic natural fiber fabrics for far less money. Same goes for food. Processed food and fast food became far more expansive and worse in quality, I can cook much cheaper from scratch, now. But I know, taking up these skills take time and effort. (But are also so much fun and extremely rewarding). When I was younger I was a little ashamed for my selfmade garments because they were not "perfect". Today I can consider them much better qualitywise than the clothing items I bought, recently.
At this point, I’m thankful for my mom’s pass me downs; clothing from the 80s and 90s in excellent condition made of thick cotton, linen or cashmere. Unbelievable that they sell literal garbage.
7:40 I could be wrong, but the baby phat tee might be one of those ‘budget’ luxury pieces. Like you know when you go into Walmart and they have Levi’s? They’re never as good of quality as ones you’d buy in an actual Levi’s store, and that’s because they’re made to be budget versions, or cheaper but visually indecipherable. I notice that a lot too when I go to Marshall’s, like when I look at their juicy couture or Bebe stuff… it’s quite frankly shit. Yet I’ve seen regular pieces at other stores and they feel a lot better but at a much much higher price point.
I can’t spend a ton of money on clothes and I’ve noticed this too. Almost everything in my budget is sheer or has something wrong with it. I’ve had to wear some pants only at home because you can see straight through them in the light. It’s really sad because they know people can’t afford anything better
I’m a guy but I still am thinking of learning about sewing cuz this shit is ridiculous. The clothes are bad quality compared to a garment from 150 years ago that would’ve lasted years, the streaming services giving the illusion of media ownership while jacking up the prices of rent, the food being sluffed with basically poison in 60% of the American diet. Nah I’m gonna become a cook, and a sewer
oh noooooooo- (: on the plus side, i like the captivating intro of the exhibits of the horrid quality of women's clothes like holes and broken sequins :) also subbed from youtube recommend
Almost everything we buy is made by a company that partakes in shady and unethical business practices or has blood on their hands. Perfect examples of this are companies such as Nestle, Dupont, Chaqita
I’m so glad I went through my teen years wearing this crappy clothing bc now as an adult I’m a big lover of cotton! It’s hard that materials like cotton, silk, bamboo etc are expensive but it is worth saving you money in the long run 🙌👏
Would be interesting to see a similar relative comparison of thrifted items, which are often still in good shape after 20 years of use. I got a blazer from 2008 or so, and while the sleeves were frayed at the cuffs, the stitching and garment construction is solid. Really well-made. I think I will find a nice complimentary fabric to make bias tape with and cover the frayed cuffs. The quality is so nice, I'll even stitch neatly to do it justice.
Ive had some clothing items from 2015 and they are still pretty good, but my newer clothes deteriorate so much faster. Half of the items in the stores today feel like plastic or are super thin, I have some sensory issues, particularly with clothes, so the move to polyester clothes makes it even more difficult to find clothes. I had this conversation with my mom recently, how bra's that I brought around 2 years ago are in worse shape than the ones I got in the 8th grade(around 10 years ago). It feels like the fast fashion industry doesn't put any effort in the quality of womens clothes and more often than not I have to look at what a shirt is made off to decide if it is worth it or not. I dont know how prices are in America, but in my country, most(if not all) fast fashion brands are pretty pricey and a thin, blank, regular t shirt can be 20 dollars. Also, so many t shirts or sweatshirts with a printed design on them feel so stupid, like they were made with AI. Its so frustrating, especially when your body changes and you have no choice but to buy new clothes and everything is garbage.
When I was a kid back in the 1900s, clothes were expensive, however the quality was top notch (hence the hand me downs between multiple siblings). Clothing stores only released new items once every season or every other season, and that is when you got new clothes, but only like 3 new outfits worth for the whole autumn/winter seasons. You could get cheaper clothes at Kmart or Venture, but it was like they wanted to punish you for being poor by making sure those clothes looked like they were from those stores. Even a graphic tee was around $20 in 1990s money. You can either have quality or affordable, but not both at the same time.
I have sloppy sewing, but damn my sewing isn't that insanely bad. That's just sad Honestly I'm glad I'm learning to sew. I want to make my own clothes eventually, because it'll be cheaper and last much longer in the long run. We shouldn't have to go back to constantly learn how to make our own clothes just to be able to wear decent clothes!
Have to agree with your general assessment of Target v. the cheaper fast fashion stores. I do try to thrift the majority of my wardrobe, but on the rare occasion that I need to restock basics like tees or a more current cut of jeans, Target is my go-to. Everything I’ve purchased there has held up & remained wearable for at least several years, whereas cheapy polyester clothes from other retailers have looked terrible after washing or literally fallen apart. So for anyone else like me who can’t afford to spend hundreds on ethically made clothing, or perhaps it’s difficult to find your size at the thrift, PLEASE just buy better quality basics that will at least last you a couple years 🙏 If everyone at least did that instead of chasing the latest flimsy polyester trend every other week, it would make a massive difference in slowing down the fashion cycle & reducing waste!
There's a reason I see a lot of women wearing vintage clothing or making their own clothes. Thousands of dollars for a synthetic dress. It's unthinkable.
I usually thrift what I can, but h&m in my city had a few band tees that I really liked. While women's t-shirt was flimsy and very thin, men's shirt of the same band was nice and thick and only a little bit more expensive 😐 I thought I was going insane
Had to get a new set of clothes for a new office job. Bought about 6 sweaters, and maybe 5 basic long sleeve shirts (and a peacoat on sale), got me at $300+ dollars..and this was an old navy sale mind you...barely a weeks worth of just shirts...
I rarely ever go into clothing shops. Most of my clothes are high end cashmere, tweed, or cotton sundresses etc. I buy online. I am not bothered by these gross textures in these shops and weird shapes and cuts, ugly colors. It is more expensive but I love it. Wore one sweater for 8 years. Still have a sweater from 20 years ago. When I try to give a store a chance, I end up giving ugly side eyes. C&A tried selling "cashmere" sweaters for an "attempt" cashmere price (not cheap enough to give away it was just razor wool, not expensive enough to lose their customers and make it too much fraud). A cashmere sweater usually costs € 300, that is not a c&a price, they priced it at € 120. I am allergic to regular wool so I tried it cause I was sceptical and it itched like crazy. So their labels were fake.
I shop in Men’s for stretch/ soft basic tees and long sleeves. They are less expensive and better quality. If some men’s clothes look like they would fit you, try them on! Some look good and last longer.
I would give the benefit of the doubt that the store that the shirt with the damaged pocket was in just had not been noticed by the staff and hence not discounted or taken off the floor. FYI it is perfectly fine to ask a staff member if you can get a discount due to damage (particular if the item has not been labelled as damages stock/sold as is) if your interested in the item.
The training of the store associates/the layout of the stores also contributes, the amount of knitwear with ruined shoulders in the store because it was on an hanger instead of folded and put on a table is appaling
Finishline used to sell really nice football sweatshirts around Christmas, I would get one with my Christmas money. I never see those anymore and it was like 2 for 40 and 2 for 30 if they really wanted to get rid of them. They were very nice quality. ❤😢
I exclusively thrift now and it allows me to be way more picky on clothing quality. It takes some time, but I am able to stick to pretty much exclusively natural fibers and pieces that will hold up within my budget, because the cheap fast fashion that's in lower priced stores is NOT it. Also, legitimately, my migraines have reduced significantly after I mostly cut polyester out of my wardrobe. (I am prone to overheating, which is a migraine trigger, and breathable materials help SO much on that front!
Sadly, some of the most durable store bought clothes I've gotten in the past few years have came from Walmart. Walmart and Fleet Farm. Everything else just falls apart
I miss when a grandmother would their grandchild a high quality article of clothing they had since childhood, like gloves or a coat, and it would be in pristine condition:(
I started full cross dressing as an adult and I have noticed I haven't needed to buy anything in so long. I remember as a teen any female clothing I wore was always not as great as my men's clothing. Even underwear, it's not very pretty but even male underwear lasts longer I noticed.
I used to have a synthetic nightgown. And, Jesus Christ, it was horrible! I got all sweaty in it, stitches were inaccurate, but the worst part, is that my body was so itchy! Conclusion: Never buy a synthetic clothing, especially when it's a nightie.
I'm ruffly the same size as my mom was when she was my age just taller and with more muscle so I fit into all her old clothes, none have holes and even if I get something on them the stains come out within a single wash, I also have some leggings that I got three years ago that had holes in compromising places in a single wear.
Fast fashion is what’s ruining women, teens and girls clothing. It’s made poorly, skin tight, sheer and non repairable if accidentally torn.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess it’s probably reproductively harmful as well.
So many fabric and treatments are just… banned everywhere but China
As someone who’s obsessed with the Edwardian era. I can agree. Corsets were not torture, they were for back and bust support. Men, women and children wore corsets. Until around 1920 where they started to change from a corset to more elastic girdles. I hate how the textile industry is dominated by plastics too. We don’t need plastic clothes. We need more wool, cotton, silks and linen.
Also all the shirts being crop tops to save fabric 💀💀💀
@@RED-my9hl did you mean crop tops? or tbh, it’s both. I swear no one makes normal fitted t-shirts. its either cheap and cropped for the girlies 🌸 or it’s expensive and boxy-fitted for the edgy and tomboyish girls. there’s no in between. or when there is, it’s not cotton like you’d hope, it’s elastic and it “fits” by being tight, relying on you to have the body to fit the clothes not the clothes having to fit your body 👍🥲
@@LiterallyAllNamesAreTaken yeh my bad i meant cropped 😂
Also, I've noticed that men's clothes are generally better quality & use more natural fibers than the women's clothes (from like the same store)
That's why I get my shirt basics in the men's section.
Facts. I noticed that too.
Yup, I can't wait to do a video on men's clothing, there a lot of things going on psychologically when business make clothes for men vs women, and they know our shopping habits well
@@matxalenc8410 yeah, I do the same, and I'd like to look in the mens section for pants to as all the pants for girls/women are allways extremley short and revealing so i end up wearing my 'bike jeans' as my friends call them
Supply and demand, we will take so they will sell it
Everything is more expensive and worse. Sales aren’t sales anymore (10% is a JOKE). Shopping is flat out not enjoyable anymore.
Please, black fridays aren't even worth going crazy for anymore, they really call stuff a "hUgE sAlE!" and then mark it down like 5 dollars 💀
Recently I had to buy a whole new wardrobe, because I got hired into an office job and my wardrobe is 90% band tees and jeans - which isn't advisable to wear in a business casual area. I spent literally the entire day going to different clothing stores because almost everything was either so sheer that I would get sent home for being too inappropriate, or it was so sloppily sewn that it was going to fall apart the very second I put it on. I left with maybe two pants and three blouses, and even then, it took a major hit to my bank account.
Planned obsolescence will kill us all.
just thrift at this point
@@soupafleyeI'm in the same boat as them and honestly? Thrifting is ruined now.
Most of it is shein quality, you can't try anything on so you end up with a ton of uncomfortable stuff, half the time the size is wrong, and it's often close to the same price and more stressful than buying new.
I spent $400 at madewell and got 5 items.
I have this year spent over $500 thrifting. Only $20 of that was in person because genuinely everything in the stores is awful and thrift stores are miserable experiences.
$500 and something like 30+ items has netted me a total of 3 decent items, 5 good items that are wayyyyy too small, and 22 items that I have to find a way to pass on. Something like 2/3s of those are trash i wouldn't even feel okay giving away to someone with no clothes.
@@soupafleyethrifting is worthless, ive been lookikg for a single wearable pair of jeans for the last 3 months just popping into different thrift stores when i get the chance and ive still had zero luck. all of my thrifted clothes fall apart in
I needed a black shirt for concert black. I liked NONE of them, except a nice, sturdy-feeling one from the mens' section. I also like the cut of it on me.
I hope at least the company paid for this pile of trash you had to acquire.
People who sew know its been trash. It's sad when you realize the people who put them together are penalized for not working fast enough and paid peanuts.
With pattern matching, that is actually a sign of quality. If the patterns match across seams, that means they used more material. It also shows that they laid pieces out on the grainline and cut it thoughtfully.
If they took the time to do that, they took the time to sew it together properly as well and actually had it patterned well.
ah okay I didn't know how big of a deal it was when I came to it, but now that u explain it it definitely makes more sense if they match the patterns or not, thanks for clarifying!
@@Kaysajaas a man myself I would like to apologize for all of that
@@JordanS-ww4eu😭???
it's crazy how they force people into this devastating labor of mass producing these clothes for them to just be thrown into landfills, either immediately or eventually by being so poor quality they hardly last. why are they allowed to harm workers across the world and in the states as well as the planet itself just so they can make even more excessive profit?
quality clothing is a necessity that has been funneled into purposeless products made from extreme harm. you can hardly even try to save up money in order to get something more expensive but long lasting because the pricey brands are largely junk too.
i don't get it. we have the technology, we know what we need and what's good quality. nothing has to be junk- it's a waste of materials, time, money, and it's inhumane the conditions all workers have to endure, some very much worse than others, but it hurts. it hurts to see this rabid pursuit of profit at the cost of humanity.
Pricey brands are not the opposite of cheap fast fashion. Tailor made clothes are. So saving up to get something high quality is absolute possible
@JustMe-vs1kj No, it is not. With my medical bills and other issues outside of my control that make me extremely poor, the last thing I can justify is tailor-made clothing. Are you really that out of touch you think that's reasonably possible for any poor person? If they can do that, then they aren't poor.
@@MossTunic I think the point JustMe was trying to make is that you said in your og comment that there's not much point to saving up for something more expensive because those are often junk too. And they were pointing out "expensive" isn't indicitive of quality when it comes to high street fashion. If you WERE able to save up some money, you're better investing it into hand made clothing than branded high street as, yes, even the expensive stuff comes from much of the same sweat shops.
I'm also low on cash (admittedly not with the medical bills too as I'm UK based), but have found if I save for just one or two items of 'good' clothing a year, I save a lot of money. One etsy you can find people who handmake things for reasonable prices, often equiv or cheaper to high street (I've found a cute dress maker who does measured to fit dressed for about £60 to £80. Expensive but again no more than high street). And used clothing apps like vinted are amazing. You can purchase 'good' brands for insanely low prices (just avoid shein, temu etc), AND you're then not participating in the landfill of fast fashion.
i have a ton of clothes from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. the quality difference between those clothes and the ones i’ve bought within the last 10 years or so is wild. the denim is thick and sturdy with heavy seams, the tops are opaque and thick (white tops too), the zippers aren’t flimsy are and actually hold up to use, the shirts are soft but still hold their shape, the materials are mostly natural fibers, etc. some of the clothes i have are over 40 years old and still look brand new. it’s sad that the quality has dropped so drastically and it makes it incredibly difficult to find modern clothing that isn’t complete and utter shyte
sometimes its hard to even make your own quality clothes bc fabric in general took a nosedive.. i just decided to shop vintage and thrift because its easier and honestly better fits my style
I do a lot of 80s clothes thrifting and those damn garments last me FOREVER!
@@peiithos exactly! i make clothes too but the fabric being sold is all poor quality now :/
I have clothes from the 80's to 90's and thats true!!
They demanded it. They felt it and wouldn’t buy it it fell apart.
I’ll wear a pair of $200 work pants for a DAY and seams popped already. Makes me v mad. It’s not hard to make things good it’s like penny saving measures
I usually buy from the kids section and it's been like that for years there ... their clothes are not made to last. It's horrible!!! Do kids not deserve cotton, linnen, and wool? And this has now blown over to adult clothing ... I recently saw a Polo Ralph Lauren 200+ euro jumper (that's about 220 USD). Assumed it would be 100% wool, checked the tag, nope! Plastic! Who has 200+ euros for plastic???
Also, I'm a suit wearer. I have not seen a single jacket that was 100% natural materials. EVER. I've been wearing suits for 5 years now. Where are the wool/cotton jackets??? It's all plastic. Even the very expensive ones. On top of feeling uncomfortable, they are LOUD too. And ugly.
Yea, that's why it's even more frustrating spending a lot of money on something that's supposed to be "high quality" and getting slapped in the face with cheap quality anyway. It can't be THAT more expensive just to use natural materials for certain things, but of course businesses look for most profit
@@Kaysaja Right!!!
or you find something like a blazer where the outside is a natural fiber but the lining is just plastic and feels awful. you dont get to win :/
@@peiithos oh gosh the worse
This!!! I’ve been desperately trying to find a nice wool suit jacket and there are no where to be found. Even luxury bands are going synthetic.
To be fair, Ross is where all the reject clothing goes from other stores to be sold at a discount. So they might have disproportionately low quality clothes
yea thats a good point, I forgot to keep that in mind too
Also keep in mind you're looking in the juniors section which is compleatly filled with fast fashion quality.The woman's side has all the name brand kalvin Klein, Michel Kors, Tommy Hilfiger ect. The juniors section is always the lower quality@@Kaysaja
I'm old lol...and it's been a steady decline since I was a teen, but it's crazy how the "Y2K" look is coming back but the materials are so cheap now? I'm just very against buying new clothes now unless I find something truly remarkable and unique.
I was a teen during Y2K and the quality of high fasion items was already considered really bad most of the time at that time. Today these poor quality items from the past are high quality items from today.
I’m keeping all my clothes for my nephews and shit. 20 year cycle. They’re gonna be fresh as hell in my contemporarily cringe clothes
Y2K clothes were already so awful, literal plastic, and even then at least they stood the wash... i've had to throw away at least 3 items right after the very first wash since we crossed the 2010s, because they straight up desintegrated, no joke. It wasn't even a harsh cycle
Men’s clothes tends to be better quality but not always by much. I recently made the mistake of trying to buy a jacket at target and jfc. Everything had loose threads, pilling, and thin fabric that wouldn’t hold up
in water. Comparing something new I bought for $50 to my vintage jacket that I got for $20 was kinda depressing. Gonna stick to thrifting now lol
If you can find anything thrifting. I’ve been a regular thrifter and not only have prices of thrifted goods going up massively, but the thrift shops I have around me are almost always shien.
This drives me insane, it's been SO hard to find anything good last 2 yrs, even brands I liked and were pretty good once are dropping the ball HARD, it's terrible. I get most stuff second hand, but if I need any basics new, it takes many months to find SOMETHING that is Okay.
a few years ago i started learning about the difference between high quality and low quality sewing and ever since that's one of the main things i look at when buying clothes. and it's just INSANE how many clothes will straight up have loose threads and bad stitching and the ends aren't even trimmed properly. i know it probably makes it easier but i also just hate when raw edges have been finished with a serger. it's not an immediate red flag if they're inside seams but if it's a hem or something i just don't buy those clothes. i dont expect everyone to be sewing blind hems by hand these days but for a hem i don't think it's too much to expect that the raw edge should be folded inside and finished with a suitably strong stitch.
i've also found that actually trying to check for quality before buying clothes makes people think something is wrong with you. most of the people who've seen i check the stitching before buying a garment kind of laugh and wonder why i would waste my time doing that when the clothes are so cheap that i can just buy new ones if they rip. it's wild.
yea, I think many of us have just become complacent with the quality we recieve now, so when you point it out ppl tend to think ur doing too much, but it's being aware of it that helps in the first place, or at least spreads some type of awareness
@@Kaysaja yep exactly. plus, the more we talk about it the more we will normalize it. i don't expect me pointing out quality to completely change the minds of everyone around me but maybe they'll think about the quality of their own clothes at some point and come to see that poor quality is not worth the convenience and price
That’s really interesting ur against serged hems i’ve never heard that before but im gonna be looking for that now, i think ur right
Holy crap??? I'm a guy and I have absolutely no problem getting quality clothing that will last *forever*. Why tf are women's clothes so much worse??? Women need quality clothes to. I genuinely cabt even fathom why they wouldn't.
Fast fashion has taken over more of women's fashion than men's fashion. The clothes are made to be disposable! It's terrible
This is exactly why I thrift most of my clothing. I live in an area where there are a lot of rich elderly people, who donate tons of vintage clothing from their youth. The quality of those clothes is phenomenal compared to now. I recently went to the mall and I couldn't find any good quality clothing, not to mention the clothes were boring as hell. Every store sells the same dull garbage, I remember when different stores had different styles! Now you go to Pacsun and Forever 21 and they are selling the same stuff. I have a more alternative style, so the stuff that they sell is not really my vibe. I ended up getting two tops from a more high-quality store that were my style. I spent 60 bucks.. for two tops. Yeah, I'm sticking to thrifting.
the amount of clothes i have worn from new that have ripped or broken almost instantly but own stuff from thrift/ charity shops that have lasted me years! oh its real
I shop for shirt basics in the men's section. I appreciate the quality, I just hate that the cuts of fabric are very limited - usually all boxy and too high necklines.
Btw, as long as the sleeves fit, you could take them to be altered. It's so worth it.
I wonder if it’s because you’re shopping in the body cut, and high neckline section…
I’m kidding I agree. When you increase in size they assume you increase in weight.
I’m tall as frig and skinny so finding pants that are long enough, I’m usually assumed to be obese so they’re awfully baggy. Same with shirts.
My tip would be to buy a size down of your goal size and look for the tag and find your size + T/tall it’ll make the cuts it’s longer/slimmer
Also I learned how to alter hems and it’s been a super useful thing. Even just by hand with a seam ripper and needle and thread
Clothing stores scare me. As a mid to thick girly with a short waist, shopping for anything but dresses for my office job is a nightmare. I should not be able to fit from a medium to an xxxl, or a 12 to a 22, depending on the store and fabric. And every store i go to, you find maybe 3 pieces in the whole store that don't feel like plastic or look like it's going to fall apart after 2 wears. Now i'm learning how to sew to avoid wasting money on basic shirts and skirts.
You should investigate Abercrombie, and show how bad their quality has went down. I remember them lasting for years, I own so many shirts and even using my mom’s old shirts (still useable now) but I recently got a sweater from there and material was melting off. $80 dollars for junk.
My solution to this madness: I only buy men's and boy's clothes of my size 👌 it's striking how much better the quality is, and the prices still aren't that much higher (considering that you won't need to buy new clothes every month since the old ones couldn't take their first washing machine round).
Went to the target near me and everything was expensive and low quality. And badly fitted! I have an average thin body but I was getting camel toes in every pair of pants and had problems with jeans being too tight in the legs and waist but too loose in the butt.
100% that, plus stuff like coats/jackets mostly have that square or rectangular silhouette :( i'm always excited when i see something that accentuates the waist
Oof yea I should definitely try on the clothes next time to see how they fit, cus a lot of clothes nowadays have u looking like a roblox character 💀
So I would say I have pretty expensive clothing taste compared to average. A while back I put in a fairly large order during the SSENSE sale (I can really only afford their stuff on sale tbh but this was a pretty big splurge). Everything felt like forever 21 quality! Maybe like… 2010s f21 quality, but still I was shocked that it was being passed off as luxury. At this point I’m just learning to sew garments 🤷♀️
One guideline I go by is: if you grasp the fabric in your fist, like kind of ball it up for a moment, and it instantly wrinkles, then it's going to look cheap. And I've found that to be pretty true. The biggest enemy to clothing longevity I've faced is pilling. I hate how blend fabrics pill!
Clothing in general is the only category where the price has actually shrunk for the sticker cost. (AKA pre-inflation calculation) As such the labor, materials, quality control, shipment, pre-washing, blocking, dyes, pattern making, seams, lining, finishing, etc; has aaaaaaall been minimized to keep it affordable. Unfortunately, if you like to sew this movement also means quality fabrics themselves are hard to find even if you try to source them. There is some great videos out there talking about how a combination of factors like quality fabric factories going out of business, it cheaper for wool producers to throw it away then process it, and a variety of other issues. Keeping in mind the weave, material composition, sheen, etc can all help you find good quality clothing. A good test is running a fingernail lightly along lighter fabrics to see if it catches.
This is why I only buy secondhand clothing that hasn't been manufactured in recent years.
i go to antique stores for my clothing, or vintage. rarely i thrift. i never EVER shop new unless its something like underwear and the majority of my clothes have lasted in pristine condition. albeit for not that long, but compared to my modern clothes like a year with no deteroration is amazing.
Ive had to shop for new Clothes due to a fire and its so upsetting.
Im wearing my Halloween costume and i swear ive found clothes in stores that are worse quality than it is.
I am so sorry that you are going through all of that. Good luck with your hunt for good, quality clothing.
I hope you're doing okay
Not only the number of stitches per inch/cm but also how straight the seam is, especially on trousers. I saw jeans with seams that were spiraling around the leg and it clearly wasn't the design with how it made the legs look as if drawn by Junji Ito.
5:42 as a person who’s worked at Ross. They’re understaffed and customers frequently mistreat all of the merchandise. They do their best to discount all damaged items, but because of the amount of work they have to do, and how much merchandise customers damage they aren’t able to always put discount stickers on everything. In that case just ask an employee. You also didn’t highlight that Target is much more expensive! $40 for a hoodie for example at Target versus $12 at Ross. So of course there’s going to be a major quality difference. The quality being poor is due to sweatshop labor, underpaid workers made to churn out X amount of clothing items per hour…
I remember 2 years ago I bought a pair of trousers from Stradivarius for 80 zł (around 20$) and literally THE NEXT DAY THEY RIPPED ON THE SEAM (I wasn't even walking around a lot lol). I understand a lot (especially for 80zł) but on the next day? It's like they just want to get rid of them so that they'd be a customers problem...
Inditex clothes are ridiculously low quality yet the owner is the richest man in Spain and one of the richest in the world..... and because i'm spanish they p much have a monopoly over there and there is barely any competition, especially if you don't live in a big city with more foreign brands. I have luck with their jeans but the tops don't last a year, some I bought had to be thrown out after a single wash, it's really sad.
I went to one of their stores this weekend (Bershka) and they had straight up stained clothes hung up on the displays, 0 shame.
@@tenneluna6948- that’s horrible!!!
As someone who works at Ross I have to give my opinion on that shirt with the sequin pocket. Realistically that shirt should be taken to the back to be thrown away, I feel that it is too damaged to even sell at a discount. I would assume that the pocket got messed up whilst on the floor since customers love to throw shit around for some reason. I would also assume that it's still out on the floor because an employee hasn't noticed it yet or someone is just ignoring it. The Ross I work at is very understaffed so oftentimes there is no one out on the salesfloor to take out damaged items or to even do any mark downs.
I work in the stockroom in the apparel section so I have noticed how awful the quality is of the clothes especially for the women's section. The clothes are so thin and still they refuse to put any pockets on the pants. I have had buttons break on me because for some reason they decided to use the thinnest buttons ever. I wouldn't say that the men's department is any better, but I would say that the shirts aren't as thin since the styles are different and you're not going to see some of the weird materials that they use for women's blouses there. With the stitching I feel there isn't much I can critique because of the way that the laborers are paid and need to make as many articles of clothing as possible just to get by since these companies want to pay them as little as possible and use the cheapest materials so they can make a better profit.
It's because owners of big clothing companies are greedy and want to make the most money. They don't care if other people suffer as long as they profit. It's terrible
I know there is a dressmaker or a talented self-taught sewist around you. It's not as cheap as Temu but the extra money means you buy it once and you are done for a few years. My dressmaker charges me a flat fee to transform my old sheets into pyjamas!
Yea I will say, customers are rough with the clothes sometimes idk y lol so I was thinking it could of happend on the floor too. And I didn't even think about the stitching being a result of the overworked employees, which just opens up a whole other can of worms on the mistreatment of workers that they don't even want to do their jobs well, it's messed up.
People are hella aggressive with stuff they don't own yet!! Even at Nordstrom rack!. @@Kaysaja
I love that you are actually educating yourself and going out to get anecdotal data. I think you could (if you wanted) really fine-tune this craft into journalism
Even expensive stores like aritzia have some pieces with just dogshit quality
It really depends on what you buy. I did get some nice cotton sweatpants from them that have lasted since 2020 though.
it’s funny you mention this bc i got an aritzia ad after this video
I think of this topic all the time.
Also now the price is not a sign of quality anymore.
I prefer to have a small wardrobe with good-quality clothes so I don’t need to buy new ones often. Finding a good sweater has been challenge for me. Acrylic, a synthetic fiber often used as a cheaper alternative to wool, is not recyclable and can't be incinerated without releasing toxic substances. The acrylic sweaters I had lost their shape or looked worn out quickly. Blended fabrics are also hard to recycle.
Another challenge for me is that I’m shorter than average, and here in Western Europe, most mass-market tops with any shape don’t fit me well.
I have ordered clothes for office-business look last week online and had to return almost everything - made for someone taller, half transparent fabric, though shouldn't be, very bad seams...
I also don’t want to leave behind a pile of plastic waste, so I try to buy clothes made from natural materials. Actually problematics of "plastic" clothes and fast fashion even scares me.
That's why I decided to order a sweater from a knitter using natural wool that will fit my body well. Also, I like to support people who make things with their hands. I’ve also bought a sewing machine and hope to learn to make clothes that fit me better than mass market patterns.
My mom recently bought a new pair of jeans for the first time since the 90s (im 25, she bought most of her clothingbefore i was born). The reason she bought them was because her other pair from the 90s finally got a whole in the knee.
She went to the same store, same brand, same size.
3 weeks later the belt loop ripped off when she pulled them up. I sewed it back down but then the fabric around it ripped with the loop.
Her and i still talk about it. Those new pants are gone, turned into rags. Her old ones i put a patch on and they are once again good to go for maybe another 30 years.
I have a shirt from when I was in middle school! Middle school! With tons of rhinestones and studs I still love and wear it and every stud and rhinestone has stayed over the years! Only just saw its first loose thread at the bottom after years of being throw in the wash and worn for years! I noticed all my new clothes fit awkward no matter what in places but my old clothes I’ve saved still got their shape and fit great still
I have to buy unisex and men's tees because women's tees have ridiculously tight sleeves, whether they're plus sized or not. But even tees are suffering from poor stitching these days, particularly around hems and the armhole. I've also had to buy new pants every couple of years now because of how quickly the fabric and/or seams wear out due to friction. In the 90s and early 2000s, I only ever had to replace pants (specifically jeans) because I broke a zipper or I simply outgrew them. When the ripped jeans trend picked up in the early 2000s, it took some serious time and effort to force a natural wear-and-tear rip in denim. You could sneeze at a pair of "jeans" today and holes would form. And don't even get me started on underwear. I've never had to replace my underwear as frequently as I have in the last 6+ years.
The majority of my closet is men’s clothes, it’s incredibly noticeable when thrifting. The woman’s section is always full of paper thin, polyester garbage.
Yup. I actually wear men's skate shoes and t-shirts. Primitive brand is a fav. The quality of the fabric is what I remember from 30 years ago. Nice and thick. Good, strong seams. Softens over time in the wash. Sure they cost 30 or 40 bucks each, but they're gonna last quite awhile, so it's a good value.
Yes you should see expensive clothing
Duly noted 🫡
@@Kaysajayeass
The white shirt with what looks to
me like a grease stain from a machine of some sort seems like that happened during production of the shirt
where i live literally NOTHING from big box stores (target, walmart, ross, etc) is my style. and if it is it doesnt fit properly.
i thrift nearly all of my clothes now, and ive noticed even the thrifts are getting flooded with cheap shein and fashion nova stuff, though its not as all-encompassing as the cheap stuff in the box stores
a good tip is to find your size in mens jeans, and then go for the stuff that is real denim. it lasts a lot longer than the polyester stuff. a good pair of black jeans can pair with most outfits, and you can also work in them.
Jennifer Wang does videos of going to designer stores and looking at the quality of clothing. I find it pretty interesting
Ooh I'm not familiar with her, I'll have to check her out!
She's pretty on point but word of caution. Don't trust her recommendations because a lot of them are undisclosed ads and I can tell you as a seamstress that they are for bad quality items.
Now, they are in no ways perfect.
HOWEVER, when I'm looking for cotton, quality, sales, and a bit of brand recognizability, I go to Old Navy. 🤷🏾♀️
Old Navy is the only big brand I will buy on the regular. I own a decent amount of clothes from there. Definitely some polyester, the PJs I own from there are polyester/rayon blends, but I don’t think the regular shirts have polyester. They’re either cotton, rayon, viscose, or a blend of two of those. I own two little cotton dresses from there that are very nice. I’ve had them since like age 10 (I was super overweight at 10 so they still fit) and they’re still holding on strong. And the sales/clearance are also super good. The polyester/rayon set I mentioned was purchased for about $4 if I’m not mistaken? Perfect summer PJs. I paid about $20 for 3 pairs of cotton shorts I wear to the gym constantly. Perfect length. Some of my favorite nice and casual shirts came from there.
Plus the stuff from there is soft. I’m autistic so texture problems are pretty common, but I’ve never had an issue with Old Navy’s stuff.
-God I sound like an Old Navy spokesman I promise I’m a real boy-
I will always go with thrift stores. I have texture issues with pants and it's always AWFUL repairing the pants when they rip
the fact that i got back to back shein and amazon ads on this vid
Your findings at Ross + Marshall’s make sense, the reason clothes are at a cheaper price than usual is because they’re defective/ not deemed presentable by the original companies
I feel like Ross Stores are the most bottom of the barrel, last resort, and out of desperation stores to get clothing from due to this reason. Those clothes are the rejects that never got placed on a non-discount store floor (department or brand stores) due to faults with garment construction.
I just buy second hand these days, and only of brands I know have been reliable for me in the past. One of the only times I buy new is when it's from independent artists. My disappointment there is a lot of artists will still use relatively cheaply made goods for cost and accessibility (and because its hard to find companies that do custom prints at small batches), but it sucks because it means I'm paying a premiumum for their art, but the clothing itself is still poorly made. Had a cool print shirt from an indie artist, and 2 buttons fell off on the first wear. I then just easily pulled a 3rd off by lightly pulling at it. Ended up just unpicking all of them and re-sewing them by hand, but we shouldn't HAVE to do that with brand new garments.
I wear egl/lolita quite a bit, and i feel like our community has been hit quite hard. These are delicate clothes, they NEED to be high quality or it just won't work. But you can shill out 200-300 euros for a dress and it'll still be made my a poorly paid factory worker from china, most likely. I only buy from etsy sellers and other independent designers now
Last weekend i went to a popular teen/young hip fashion store and a lot of the clothes were straight up STAINED and hung up in the most visible place... they literally have no shame anymore
it seems against the law to deny a return from a customer. There was a time when stores had prominently displayed signs: no returns on underwear. Now they put it back on selling floor. I will only buy sealed 5-pack. Not sexy, but practical. Prewashing is not mandatory
For a video about clothing, I would suggest using different descriptions for items of clothing. For instance, a tank top, a t-shirt, a crop top, a long sleeved tshirt etc etc
First time coming across your channel! And I personally check clothing. I grew up having to thrift clothing so I'm used to checking for stains, but I noticed that my thrifted pieces last a lot longer than my new clothes. I have a few wool blazers that are satin lined and they have held up better than the polyester jacket I bought from tjmaxx that was made to emulate wool. I have been trying to cut back on clothing shopping so whenever I do go out, I have to be very picky about quality in order to justify buying something new. I also check the laundry labels to see how easy something is to clean and maintain. I'm autistic and a lot of synthetic fabrics and materials can be sensory issues for me. But I think keeping someone's needs in mind while checking for quality are good shopping habits. It makes people slow down and think before mindlessly adding something mew to their closet.
The latest stages of capitalism take away anything good we once had. Esp if you are not the body shape these mass produced clothes are made for. It’s tragic how shien was able to basically close a gap in the market that is plus size clothes that are the same as straight sizes just in bigger sizes. Like we dehumanize people w the selection in plus size. Most of the ppl I know still buying fast fashion are ppl who wear plus size. And all of this to say, these big box stores are playing in our face making the cheapest clothes and expecting us to pay triple the price we were in 2012.
I think checking out the men’s section will be a good comparison. Often I have found that the fabrics are more durable, thicker, and better quality. Staples like t-shirts and socks are more durable in general, and the denim tends to be thicker. Usually what contributes to fabric degradation is the synthetics or elastic (stretch) components added to fabric, and also how we wash our clothes. The heat from the dryer or hot wash cycles will break down the elastic faster. Air drying is a pain, but it can help extend the life of fabrics in general.
Amazing video!! And yeah, I turned 18 this year and I’m on my own when it comes to buying my clothes. I’m diving deep into good quality stuff, and I’ve found eBay and thrift stores are the way to go. Cause anywhere you go now, even high quality stores, everything is cheap!! 80s cotton sweaters are my go to obsession rn
really interesting idea for a video, wasn't expecting the channel to be so small!! Would love more investigative type videos, love your humor as well :)
Many people today see pure information as a thread to them and I do not get why. A fact itself neutral. Thank you for your hard work! Last year I bought a bunch of sewing patterns for simple garments like casual tops, shirts, hoodies, jackets and pants/shorts. I am sick of overpriced poor quality clothing, sewn by slave workers and soaked in toxic dyes that fall apart after two washes. I can make it myself in a better quality with non toxic natural fiber fabrics for far less money. Same goes for food. Processed food and fast food became far more expansive and worse in quality, I can cook much cheaper from scratch, now. But I know, taking up these skills take time and effort. (But are also so much fun and extremely rewarding). When I was younger I was a little ashamed for my selfmade garments because they were not "perfect". Today I can consider them much better qualitywise than the clothing items I bought, recently.
At this point, I’m thankful for my mom’s pass me downs; clothing from the 80s and 90s in excellent condition made of thick cotton, linen or cashmere. Unbelievable that they sell literal garbage.
7:40 I could be wrong, but the baby phat tee might be one of those ‘budget’ luxury pieces. Like you know when you go into Walmart and they have Levi’s? They’re never as good of quality as ones you’d buy in an actual Levi’s store, and that’s because they’re made to be budget versions, or cheaper but visually indecipherable. I notice that a lot too when I go to Marshall’s, like when I look at their juicy couture or Bebe stuff… it’s quite frankly shit. Yet I’ve seen regular pieces at other stores and they feel a lot better but at a much much higher price point.
Yea I think ur right I remember someone else saying the same thing in another one of my videos, so that could definitely explain the horrible quality
Unrelated, but your hair looks beautiful! The color and style suit you, and with the glasses and earrings? So pretty. ♡
This is why I am trying to learn to sew my own clothes as I am never satisfied with store bought ones it's so frustrating
I can’t spend a ton of money on clothes and I’ve noticed this too. Almost everything in my budget is sheer or has something wrong with it. I’ve had to wear some pants only at home because you can see straight through them in the light. It’s really sad because they know people can’t afford anything better
I’m a guy but I still am thinking of learning about sewing cuz this shit is ridiculous. The clothes are bad quality compared to a garment from 150 years ago that would’ve lasted years, the streaming services giving the illusion of media ownership while jacking up the prices of rent, the food being sluffed with basically poison in 60% of the American diet. Nah I’m gonna become a cook, and a sewer
oh noooooooo- (: on the plus side, i like the captivating intro of the exhibits of the horrid quality of women's clothes like holes and broken sequins :)
also subbed from youtube recommend
ok first thing your hair is so cute
Thank u 💓
Yesss ur bangs are adorable 😊😊
in my country we have Cotton On, its really good in my opinion and uses Cotton, the clothes feel good and last longer than anything else I have!
We have Cotton On in the US. I have some good clothing from there.
I didnt realize how bad 100% cotton could be until I bought a Hell Bunny skirt that felt and sounded like paper. Too loud and uncomfortable to wear.
Almost everything we buy is made by a company that partakes in shady and unethical business practices or has blood on their hands. Perfect examples of this are companies such as Nestle, Dupont, Chaqita
I’m so glad I went through my teen years wearing this crappy clothing bc now as an adult I’m a big lover of cotton! It’s hard that materials like cotton, silk, bamboo etc are expensive but it is worth saving you money in the long run 🙌👏
Would be interesting to see a similar relative comparison of thrifted items, which are often still in good shape after 20 years of use. I got a blazer from 2008 or so, and while the sleeves were frayed at the cuffs, the stitching and garment construction is solid. Really well-made. I think I will find a nice complimentary fabric to make bias tape with and cover the frayed cuffs. The quality is so nice, I'll even stitch neatly to do it justice.
Ive had some clothing items from 2015 and they are still pretty good, but my newer clothes deteriorate so much faster. Half of the items in the stores today feel like plastic or are super thin, I have some sensory issues, particularly with clothes, so the move to polyester clothes makes it even more difficult to find clothes.
I had this conversation with my mom recently, how bra's that I brought around 2 years ago are in worse shape than the ones I got in the 8th grade(around 10 years ago).
It feels like the fast fashion industry doesn't put any effort in the quality of womens clothes and more often than not I have to look at what a shirt is made off to decide if it is worth it or not. I dont know how prices are in America, but in my country, most(if not all) fast fashion brands are pretty pricey and a thin, blank, regular t shirt can be 20 dollars.
Also, so many t shirts or sweatshirts with a printed design on them feel so stupid, like they were made with AI.
Its so frustrating, especially when your body changes and you have no choice but to buy new clothes and everything is garbage.
When I was a kid back in the 1900s, clothes were expensive, however the quality was top notch (hence the hand me downs between multiple siblings). Clothing stores only released new items once every season or every other season, and that is when you got new clothes, but only like 3 new outfits worth for the whole autumn/winter seasons. You could get cheaper clothes at Kmart or Venture, but it was like they wanted to punish you for being poor by making sure those clothes looked like they were from those stores. Even a graphic tee was around $20 in 1990s money. You can either have quality or affordable, but not both at the same time.
I hate shopping for clothes. Especially now it feels a lot harder and tiring.
There are videos that show even luxury brands have poor quality clothing. Like bad sewing, poor materials, loose threads, bad heming.
15:12 my Polish mind cannot comprehend. I'm so sorry for you guys, being unable to easily access normal food quality is crazy
I have sloppy sewing, but damn my sewing isn't that insanely bad. That's just sad
Honestly I'm glad I'm learning to sew. I want to make my own clothes eventually, because it'll be cheaper and last much longer in the long run. We shouldn't have to go back to constantly learn how to make our own clothes just to be able to wear decent clothes!
Have to agree with your general assessment of Target v. the cheaper fast fashion stores. I do try to thrift the majority of my wardrobe, but on the rare occasion that I need to restock basics like tees or a more current cut of jeans, Target is my go-to. Everything I’ve purchased there has held up & remained wearable for at least several years, whereas cheapy polyester clothes from other retailers have looked terrible after washing or literally fallen apart. So for anyone else like me who can’t afford to spend hundreds on ethically made clothing, or perhaps it’s difficult to find your size at the thrift, PLEASE just buy better quality basics that will at least last you a couple years 🙏 If everyone at least did that instead of chasing the latest flimsy polyester trend every other week, it would make a massive difference in slowing down the fashion cycle & reducing waste!
Every time I've gone to Ross, I've seen DIRTY CLOTHES! I guess that shows you how often they clean the floor.
There's a reason I see a lot of women wearing vintage clothing or making their own clothes. Thousands of dollars for a synthetic dress. It's unthinkable.
it’s happening in thrift stores too. i went to one the other day and almost everything was 100% polyester
I usually thrift what I can, but h&m in my city had a few band tees that I really liked. While women's t-shirt was flimsy and very thin, men's shirt of the same band was nice and thick and only a little bit more expensive 😐 I thought I was going insane
Had to get a new set of clothes for a new office job. Bought about 6 sweaters, and maybe 5 basic long sleeve shirts (and a peacoat on sale), got me at $300+ dollars..and this was an old navy sale mind you...barely a weeks worth of just shirts...
I rarely ever go into clothing shops. Most of my clothes are high end cashmere, tweed, or cotton sundresses etc. I buy online. I am not bothered by these gross textures in these shops and weird shapes and cuts, ugly colors. It is more expensive but I love it. Wore one sweater for 8 years. Still have a sweater from 20 years ago. When I try to give a store a chance, I end up giving ugly side eyes. C&A tried selling "cashmere" sweaters for an "attempt" cashmere price (not cheap enough to give away it was just razor wool, not expensive enough to lose their customers and make it too much fraud). A cashmere sweater usually costs € 300, that is not a c&a price, they priced it at € 120. I am allergic to regular wool so I tried it cause I was sceptical and it itched like crazy. So their labels were fake.
I shop in Men’s for stretch/ soft basic tees and long sleeves. They are less expensive and better quality. If some men’s clothes look like they would fit you, try them on! Some look good and last longer.
I would give the benefit of the doubt that the store that the shirt with the damaged pocket was in just had not been noticed by the staff and hence not discounted or taken off the floor. FYI it is perfectly fine to ask a staff member if you can get a discount due to damage (particular if the item has not been labelled as damages stock/sold as is) if your interested in the item.
The training of the store associates/the layout of the stores also contributes, the amount of knitwear with ruined shoulders in the store because it was on an hanger instead of folded and put on a table is appaling
Finishline used to sell really nice football sweatshirts around Christmas, I would get one with my Christmas money. I never see those anymore and it was like 2 for 40 and 2 for 30 if they really wanted to get rid of them. They were very nice quality. ❤😢
I exclusively thrift now and it allows me to be way more picky on clothing quality. It takes some time, but I am able to stick to pretty much exclusively natural fibers and pieces that will hold up within my budget, because the cheap fast fashion that's in lower priced stores is NOT it. Also, legitimately, my migraines have reduced significantly after I mostly cut polyester out of my wardrobe. (I am prone to overheating, which is a migraine trigger, and breathable materials help SO much on that front!
This is why 90% of my clothing is secondhand.
Sadly, some of the most durable store bought clothes I've gotten in the past few years have came from Walmart. Walmart and Fleet Farm. Everything else just falls apart
I hate polyester, acrylic etc. It's not even about the environment (though that's important too!) - it's that synthetics just make me sweaty as hell 😅
I miss when a grandmother would their grandchild a high quality article of clothing they had since childhood, like gloves or a coat, and it would be in pristine condition:(
I started full cross dressing as an adult and I have noticed I haven't needed to buy anything in so long. I remember as a teen any female clothing I wore was always not as great as my men's clothing. Even underwear, it's not very pretty but even male underwear lasts longer I noticed.
My problem with womens clothing is how damn big the neckline usually is
It’s soooooo hard to find anything that’s cotton nowadays. Even bedding and things.
I used to have a synthetic nightgown. And, Jesus Christ, it was horrible! I got all sweaty in it, stitches were inaccurate, but the worst part, is that my body was so itchy! Conclusion:
Never buy a synthetic clothing, especially when it's a nightie.
I'd love to see a men's re-enactment of this video!
The irony that i got a temu ad😭
I'm ruffly the same size as my mom was when she was my age just taller and with more muscle so I fit into all her old clothes, none have holes and even if I get something on them the stains come out within a single wash, I also have some leggings that I got three years ago that had holes in compromising places in a single wear.
Ratatat tattered 👗 .... Love the spooky music
Before the video started I got a shein ad for women's clothing 💀