Cheap Clothing, Expensive Handbags

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#91
dangerouscurves said:
Thank you, Pipertiger. It's hard not to get political when it comes to clothes. The other day on the TV, there was a report on duck's down/feather on clothes made in France and Bulgaria. So, they literally pluck the feathers out of alive, squeaking ducks and the poor ducks have to experience this for the rest of their lives! From then on I decided to get winter jackets that uses polyester and cotton instead of feathers. They're not less warm than down jackets.
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I just had to find this quote for you (I think we can add animals to the labourers and the people who are made to make the animals suffer).

“Nothing should be made by man's labour which is not worth making, or which must be made by labour degrading to the makers.”
― William Morris
 
#92
I am new but I will offer this..Some people have their thing (purses, clothes, shoes). I really want a designer bag, and I am going get one. Where I get my from shouldn't matter, as look as the outfit is put together well.
I said this in my very long first post, one doesn't have to be rich to covet a designer bag, or to desire nice things. I know I will have save for a designer bag, which will last forever (for a long time) but clothes not so much. High end clothes are nice, not everyone has the money to shop for 1200 shirts and pants. If someone is looking that closely at someone else's wardrobe may be they are looking a little to hard, being a little to concerned.
 
#93
I rarely spend on expensive clothes for the following reasons:

1. My weight fluctuates too much. I would love to be one of those girls who stay a certain size all their adult lives, but that's not me. I would hate to buy a nice expensive piece and get to wear it only one season. In contrast, I can wear the bags and shoes and accessories whatever my dress size is.

2. My taste in clothes changes rather easily. Although my taste in bags also has changed over the years, it is much easier to sell old bags than old clothes.

So yeah, most of my clothes are from Gap, Old Navy, Zara, J Crew and Target.
 
#94
Well, I don't shop at most of the places mentioned in this thread or buy designer clothing. Do I win the internet now?

The reason has nothing to do with labor or quality or style or money or anything else. The simple fact is that once you get to be past about size 16, you just plain don't exist in the designer fashion and the vast majority of the fast fashion world. I don't shop in H&M or Zara or F21 because nothing in there fits me. I don't buy Burberry coats or Prada dresses because they don't make them in my size. Period. I made a little excursion out to Rodeo Drive last spring, there's also NM, Saks and Barney's near there, and not one of the vendors in any of those stores or boutiques had a piece of clothing that I could wear.

Yes, I'm a little bitter.

That's not to say I would spend the money on them if they did, but I might consider it for the right piece and the right discount.

As for the original question in the OP, I actually started out the opposite way. I started upgrading my clothes from Target and Walmart and Mervyn's (back when it existed) to Macy's and more recently Nordstrom. I also love Torrid and sometimes Lane Bryant. This came about by watching What Not To Wear and seeing that going up in price a little meant better fits and more tailored cuts, more attention to detail, less cookie-cutter fit-the-masses cuts. Sometimes better fabric too, but I have been disappointed in the amount of polyester that they still want $$$ for. I just bought a Ralph Lauren dress that's nothing but polyester. :sad:

And then I started moving up in bag from Target/Walmart to Coach/MK/DB. Haven't made it up to LV or Balenciaga or any of that yet, we'll see. Still have a tough time justifying $1000 on a purse.

I think by far the biggest thing about looking good is proper fit. A $20 Target dress that fits well is always going to look better than an ill-fitting $1000 designer dress. You just can't look good in clothes that don't fit you well, and usually you don't feel very good in them either. After that it becomes about taste and styling and wear and all that, but it starts with the right size and the right shape for your body. And maybe a little help from a good tailor on occasion.
 
#97
paculina said:
Well, I don't shop at most of the places mentioned in this thread or buy designer clothing. Do I win the internet now?

The reason has nothing to do with labor or quality or style or money or anything else. The simple fact is that once you get to be past about size 16, you just plain don't exist in the designer fashion and the vast majority of the fast fashion world. I don't shop in H&M or Zara or F21 because nothing in there fits me. I don't buy Burberry coats or Prada dresses because they don't make them in my size. Period. I made a little excursion out to Rodeo Drive last spring, there's also NM, Saks and Barney's near there, and not one of the vendors in any of those stores or boutiques had a piece of clothing that I could wear.

Yes, I'm a little bitter.

That's not to say I would spend the money on them if they did, but I might consider it for the right piece and the right discount.

As for the original question in the OP, I actually started out the opposite way. I started upgrading my clothes from Target and Walmart and Mervyn's (back when it existed) to Macy's and more recently Nordstrom. I also love Torrid and sometimes Lane Bryant. This came about by watching What Not To Wear and seeing that going up in price a little meant better fits and more tailored cuts, more attention to detail, less cookie-cutter fit-the-masses cuts. Sometimes better fabric too, but I have been disappointed in the amount of polyester that they still want $$$ for. I just bought a Ralph Lauren dress that's nothing but polyester. :sad:

And then I started moving up in bag from Target/Walmart to Coach/MK/DB. Haven't made it up to LV or Balenciaga or any of that yet, we'll see. Still have a tough time justifying $1000 on a purse.

I think by far the biggest thing about looking good is proper fit. A $20 Target dress that fits well is always going to look better than an ill-fitting $1000 designer dress. You just can't look good in clothes that don't fit you well, and usually you don't feel very good in them either. After that it becomes about taste and styling and wear and all that, but it starts with the right size and the right shape for your body. And maybe a little help from a good tailor on occasion.
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Very good post!
 
#98
I used to buy a lot of inexpensive clothing (love clothes), but as I have gotten older (and have more disposable income), I've started to value the quality over quantity factor. I have some high end designer pieces, which I've had for years (most purchased on sale) and wear as much as possible, making the cost palatable. I now generally look for clothing that I consider timeless/classic and has longevity, which i can find in mainstream brands. If there's anything that is a trend, I still stick to inexpensive brands.
 
#99
I loved reading through this thread, although I don't know if I have anything to contribute that hasn't been said already. I personally spend a lot more on my handbags than I do on clothing, mainly because most items of clothing I own just don't give me the same thrill each time I wear them like a bag does. But I do not agree in shopping at fast fashion chains due to their well-documented use of sweatshop labour and the horrible environmental pollution and waste that comes about from producing such high volumes of clothing very quickly. Although I have been guilty of an occasional Zara purchase, I think those of us who can afford to buy a fancy bag can also afford to be more ethical and mindful about where we buy our clothes.


From a purely aesthetic point of view, there's nothing wrong with pairing a simple tee and jeans with an Hermes bag. As long as your clothes fit well and are of good quality, you can make them work with any outfit. And anyway, we all know that spending lots of money on something doesn't mean it will look good. I've seen some very hideous bags from LV and the like. It's all down to personal tastes and how you put the outfit together.
 
#100
Besides t shirts and lingerie, I try to buy second hand clothes that are well made. It's the only way I can afford designer/upper mid range clothes, which often (not always by any means) fit better & it's environmentally friendly. Also, a lot of the vintage stuff, designer or otherwise, is more likely to be 100% natural fibers and tends to wear better than newer clothing.
 
#101
I don't buy super expensive clothes, but I don't by cheap or disposable clothing either. It may be that clothing is just slightly more important to me, but I feel like clothing is something you have on display all the time whereas purses are only seen in commute and then put away.
 
#102
I have a mix of handbags. I have a few mid-end designer handbags, one or two high-end designer handbags,and a few cheap "no name" handbags.

For clothing, I wear whatever. I don't tend to spend anything super excessive on clothing that will wear out over a year or two. My exception would be coats. I would spend a few hundred on a fancy coat that will last many seasons, but I will not spend a few hundred on a teeshirt.
 
#104
There's a difference between carrying a fancy bag and looking cheap/bad and carrying a fancy bag and wearing inexpensive clothes. Which one are we actually talking about?

I tried buying from the cheap stores a while ago and quickly stopped cuz it was just so unpleasant to wear that much polyester or spend so much time trying to find the decent stuff amongst all the crap. It's just easier to shop sales at more midrange stores that actually carry more quality. I think it's fairly easy to find stuff that is fashionable and LOOKS good in photographs from F21 or h&m but I find that I simply hate wearing those clothes. I don't doubt that bloggers can find basics or on-trend items in those stores for a photo. It up close or on the body, it's not too impressive.

You can get away with wearing a bag every day but not the same clothes. Clothing has to be so much more varied than bags so it'd just be too effortful or costly.
 
#105
I consider mid range to be Michael Michael Kors, Rachel Roy, Jones New York, DKNY, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica. I would even consider Jessica Simpson to be mid range. Some of her pieces are in the $150 range. I would probably add J. Crew, Banana Republic, and Gap.

But, I could be completely off. Most of my clothing comes from resale/thrift/consignment shops and discount stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls. I rarely buy clothing from the mall.
 
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