All clothing is ugly these days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lament every time a clothing item I own has to be retired because I know I can't replace it with anything decent.
-40 year old.

I have a 13-year-old pair of BR pants. They are awesome--fully lined, well-constructed, and a classic cut. They are also my motivation not to gain weight, because I cannot replace them.

I literally cried after I had my first child and outgrew all of my early 2000's BR. I had suits, pants, beautiful skirts - all 100% wool, lined and great quality. Their quality blows now for the price.

I pulled out some of my pantsuits from the early 2000s. Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, Ann Taylor, 100% wool, fully lined, still look great. Thankfully they were a little big in the waist back then. I also have an AT Loft pant suit, 50% wool, fully lined. Does Loft even make suits anymore?

I also have a silk jacket from Jones that is absolutely beautiful--double-breasted, fully lined, fits beautifully through the shoulders, not a pull or a pucker anywhere. Gorgeous fabric. It had matching pants but, alas, they are nowhere to be found.

I agree that clothing has gone downhill and it's harder to find quality pieces these days. BUT - I read your response and it's completely obvious you're stuck in a time warp. Liz Claiborne suits have NEVER been fashionable. I really doubt your JOnes New York pieces from almost 20 years ago EVER looked good. It's not surprising that you're having a hard time shopping if you're looking for jones New York attire from the aughts. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lament every time a clothing item I own has to be retired because I know I can't replace it with anything decent.
-40 year old.

I have a 13-year-old pair of BR pants. They are awesome--fully lined, well-constructed, and a classic cut. They are also my motivation not to gain weight, because I cannot replace them.

I literally cried after I had my first child and outgrew all of my early 2000's BR. I had suits, pants, beautiful skirts - all 100% wool, lined and great quality. Their quality blows now for the price.

I pulled out some of my pantsuits from the early 2000s. Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, Ann Taylor, 100% wool, fully lined, still look great. Thankfully they were a little big in the waist back then. I also have an AT Loft pant suit, 50% wool, fully lined. Does Loft even make suits anymore?

I also have a silk jacket from Jones that is absolutely beautiful--double-breasted, fully lined, fits beautifully through the shoulders, not a pull or a pucker anywhere. Gorgeous fabric. It had matching pants but, alas, they are nowhere to be found.

I agree that clothing has gone downhill and it's harder to find quality pieces these days. BUT - I read your response and it's completely obvious you're stuck in a time warp. Liz Claiborne suits have NEVER been fashionable. I really doubt your JOnes New York pieces from almost 20 years ago EVER looked good. It's not surprising that you're having a hard time shopping if you're looking for jones New York attire from the aughts. Wow.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lament every time a clothing item I own has to be retired because I know I can't replace it with anything decent.
-40 year old.

I have a 13-year-old pair of BR pants. They are awesome--fully lined, well-constructed, and a classic cut. They are also my motivation not to gain weight, because I cannot replace them.

I literally cried after I had my first child and outgrew all of my early 2000's BR. I had suits, pants, beautiful skirts - all 100% wool, lined and great quality. Their quality blows now for the price.

I pulled out some of my pantsuits from the early 2000s. Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, Ann Taylor, 100% wool, fully lined, still look great. Thankfully they were a little big in the waist back then. I also have an AT Loft pant suit, 50% wool, fully lined. Does Loft even make suits anymore?

I also have a silk jacket from Jones that is absolutely beautiful--double-breasted, fully lined, fits beautifully through the shoulders, not a pull or a pucker anywhere. Gorgeous fabric. It had matching pants but, alas, they are nowhere to be found.

I agree that clothing has gone downhill and it's harder to find quality pieces these days. BUT - I read your response and it's completely obvious you're stuck in a time warp. Liz Claiborne suits have NEVER been fashionable. I really doubt your JOnes New York pieces from almost 20 years ago EVER looked good. It's not surprising that you're having a hard time shopping if you're looking for jones New York attire from the aughts. Wow.

This is why I have just been entertained by all these co-signers to the OP. ALL fashion today is ugly but these folks never had any fashion sense to begin with

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lament every time a clothing item I own has to be retired because I know I can't replace it with anything decent.
-40 year old.

I have a 13-year-old pair of BR pants. They are awesome--fully lined, well-constructed, and a classic cut. They are also my motivation not to gain weight, because I cannot replace them.

I literally cried after I had my first child and outgrew all of my early 2000's BR. I had suits, pants, beautiful skirts - all 100% wool, lined and great quality. Their quality blows now for the price.

I pulled out some of my pantsuits from the early 2000s. Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, Ann Taylor, 100% wool, fully lined, still look great. Thankfully they were a little big in the waist back then. I also have an AT Loft pant suit, 50% wool, fully lined. Does Loft even make suits anymore?

I also have a silk jacket from Jones that is absolutely beautiful--double-breasted, fully lined, fits beautifully through the shoulders, not a pull or a pucker anywhere. Gorgeous fabric. It had matching pants but, alas, they are nowhere to be found.

I still have a pair of work pants that I live in each winter - thick wool AND lined that I got from GAP of all places. It was 2003, I was a new grad and at $70 it was most of my spending money for the week. They're starting to get tight on me and I so wish I had purchased an extra pair. Who knew clothing would turn to such garbage?

I regret giving away an old pair of well made JCrew wool pants in a civil war blue/grey plaid pattern. Nice and thick and gorgeous. Sometimes i look on eBay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lament every time a clothing item I own has to be retired because I know I can't replace it with anything decent.
-40 year old.

I have a 13-year-old pair of BR pants. They are awesome--fully lined, well-constructed, and a classic cut. They are also my motivation not to gain weight, because I cannot replace them.

I literally cried after I had my first child and outgrew all of my early 2000's BR. I had suits, pants, beautiful skirts - all 100% wool, lined and great quality. Their quality blows now for the price.

I pulled out some of my pantsuits from the early 2000s. Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, Ann Taylor, 100% wool, fully lined, still look great. Thankfully they were a little big in the waist back then. I also have an AT Loft pant suit, 50% wool, fully lined. Does Loft even make suits anymore?

I also have a silk jacket from Jones that is absolutely beautiful--double-breasted, fully lined, fits beautifully through the shoulders, not a pull or a pucker anywhere. Gorgeous fabric. It had matching pants but, alas, they are nowhere to be found.

I agree that clothing has gone downhill and it's harder to find quality pieces these days. BUT - I read your response and it's completely obvious you're stuck in a time warp. Liz Claiborne suits have NEVER been fashionable. I really doubt your JOnes New York pieces from almost 20 years ago EVER looked good. It's not surprising that you're having a hard time shopping if you're looking for jones New York attire from the aughts. Wow.

I wonder how old you are. Liz Claiborne transformed business wear for working women. From her obit in the NYT:

A strong-willed designer with an acute sense for business, she defied the male-dominated ranks of the fashion industry by starting her own company in 1976 with Mr. Ortenberg, a textiles executive. In an apt reversal of roles, she gave him the corporate title of secretary.

Ms. Claiborne correctly anticipated a market for affordable, professional-looking clothes that women could wear to compete on an equal footing with men in corporate professions. In her no-nonsense way, she became something of a role model, and her label an inspirational emblem, to those who, like her, were looking to break through glass ceilings....

As a designer, Ms. Claiborne did not care to be considered a trendsetter. She placed practical concerns over the glamour of the catwalks and the prestige of designer prices. Her arrival as a fashion brand was precipitous, catching the beginning of a great change in American society as women headed to the workplace in large numbers.

She created a new foundation for a modern working woman’s wardrobe, which had begun, she once acknowledged irritably, as the bland re-interpretation for women of a man’s navy blue suit and tie. Blouses that closed with frilly bows did not appeal to Ms. Claiborne. Her creative expressions were made of colorful tailored separates that could be mixed with other pieces to create many outfits.


You'll note that this is exactly what working women on this thread are still clamoring for.

In the mid-2000s (after Liz Claiborne had left the company), the Liz Claiborne label was sold to JC Penney. And that was the end of the Liz that many working stiffs had come to rely on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From an over-40 stylist/fashion blogger:

https://youlookfab.com/2017/09/05/five-missed-retail-opportunities/

She lists five retail opportunities that continue to be ignored by most of the fashion industry.
1. Tailored Tops
2. Dressy Footwear in Wide Widths
3. Designer Wear in Larger Sizes
4. Stocking the In-between size (She says that there is a notable difference between the largest size in Regular and the smallest size in Plus...this is no man’s land.)
5. Knee-Covering Dresses

Great post. I definitely relate to #1 and #5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lament every time a clothing item I own has to be retired because I know I can't replace it with anything decent.
-40 year old.

I have a 13-year-old pair of BR pants. They are awesome--fully lined, well-constructed, and a classic cut. They are also my motivation not to gain weight, because I cannot replace them.

I literally cried after I had my first child and outgrew all of my early 2000's BR. I had suits, pants, beautiful skirts - all 100% wool, lined and great quality. Their quality blows now for the price.

I pulled out some of my pantsuits from the early 2000s. Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, Ann Taylor, 100% wool, fully lined, still look great. Thankfully they were a little big in the waist back then. I also have an AT Loft pant suit, 50% wool, fully lined. Does Loft even make suits anymore?

I also have a silk jacket from Jones that is absolutely beautiful--double-breasted, fully lined, fits beautifully through the shoulders, not a pull or a pucker anywhere. Gorgeous fabric. It had matching pants but, alas, they are nowhere to be found.

I agree that clothing has gone downhill and it's harder to find quality pieces these days. BUT - I read your response and it's completely obvious you're stuck in a time warp. Liz Claiborne suits have NEVER been fashionable. I really doubt your JOnes New York pieces from almost 20 years ago EVER looked good. It's not surprising that you're having a hard time shopping if you're looking for jones New York attire from the aughts. Wow.

I wonder how old you are. Liz Claiborne transformed business wear for working women. From her obit in the NYT:

A strong-willed designer with an acute sense for business, she defied the male-dominated ranks of the fashion industry by starting her own company in 1976 with Mr. Ortenberg, a textiles executive. In an apt reversal of roles, she gave him the corporate title of secretary.

Ms. Claiborne correctly anticipated a market for affordable, professional-looking clothes that women could wear to compete on an equal footing with men in corporate professions. In her no-nonsense way, she became something of a role model, and her label an inspirational emblem, to those who, like her, were looking to break through glass ceilings....

As a designer, Ms. Claiborne did not care to be considered a trendsetter. She placed practical concerns over the glamour of the catwalks and the prestige of designer prices. Her arrival as a fashion brand was precipitous, catching the beginning of a great change in American society as women headed to the workplace in large numbers.

She created a new foundation for a modern working woman’s wardrobe, which had begun, she once acknowledged irritably, as the bland re-interpretation for women of a man’s navy blue suit and tie. Blouses that closed with frilly bows did not appeal to Ms. Claiborne. Her creative expressions were made of colorful tailored separates that could be mixed with other pieces to create many outfits.


You'll note that this is exactly what working women on this thread are still clamoring for.

In the mid-2000s (after Liz Claiborne had left the company), the Liz Claiborne label was sold to JC Penney. And that was the end of the Liz that many working stiffs had come to rely on.

It's true that Liz Claiborne transformed workwear for women, and also true that the LC clothes from the early 2000s were not at all fashionable.

[Anonymous]

Liz Claiborne ad campaigns from the mid to late 90s. These are the clothes I remember (and wore). Actually, I'd happily purchase everything below today. Timeless.

[Anonymous]

^^^ I took would wear all of that, except maybe the long button up thing. I’m 37 so not that old.

[Anonymous]

OP here. FWIW, I think there's a happy medium between today's hodgepodge Sad Little House on the Prarie/Tudor Meets Wall Street look and desiring to look like a 90s Liz Claiborne ad.

Although the Liz stuff above is nicely timeless; minus the high-rise jeans and the hideous, chunky sandal-things, of course.

And while I started this as a styling/trend vent, it is true that construction, fabrication and quality/durability these days is lamentable, and yes EVEN AT THE HIGH END.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. FWIW, I think there's a happy medium between today's hodgepodge Sad Little House on the Prarie/Tudor Meets Wall Street look and desiring to look like a 90s Liz Claiborne ad.

Although the Liz stuff above is nicely timeless; minus the high-rise jeans and the hideous, chunky sandal-things, of course.

And while I started this as a styling/trend vent, it is true that construction, fabrication and quality/durability these days is lamentable, and yes EVEN AT THE HIGH END.

Both of which are "on-trend" again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. FWIW, I think there's a happy medium between today's hodgepodge Sad Little House on the Prarie/Tudor Meets Wall Street look and desiring to look like a 90s Liz Claiborne ad.

Although the Liz stuff above is nicely timeless; minus the high-rise jeans and the hideous, chunky sandal-things, of course.

And while I started this as a styling/trend vent, it is true that construction, fabrication and quality/durability these days is lamentable, and yes EVEN AT THE HIGH END.

Both of which are "on-trend" again.

Former Liz Claiborne wearer who was just going to post the same thing. Those jeans are absolutely on-trend. But I take PP's point that the high-rise jeans and the chunky sandals are not "timeless" but rather are "back."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. FWIW, I think there's a happy medium between today's hodgepodge Sad Little House on the Prarie/Tudor Meets Wall Street look and desiring to look like a 90s Liz Claiborne ad.

Although the Liz stuff above is nicely timeless; minus the high-rise jeans and the hideous, chunky sandal-things, of course.

And while I started this as a styling/trend vent, it is true that construction, fabrication and quality/durability these days is lamentable, and yes EVEN AT THE HIGH END.

I think what many women are saying here is that they would like a work wardrobe based on those kinds of timeless classics made of quality fabrics, and they want each season to cycle in and out some of the "happy medium" items you refer to. And the happy medium, more trendy items don't necessarily need to be made to last (since they aren't intended to be worn forever), but they do need to be work-appropriate.

Right now, we have neither of these things. No one is selling timeless classics of quality fabrics/construction at a reasonable price,* and many of the trends right now are completely inappropriate for the office.

*And, sorry, $400 for a pair of pants is likely beyond the reach of most low-level and many mid-level professionals, outside of those in a few highly paid industries. And they especially can't afford them if they aren't going to last for many years.

[Anonymous]

It's a mix of shitty quality and laughable cuts, and you can't decouple the two. For example, I had a FITTED, 3/4 sleeves stretch cotton blend sweater from the GAP that I wore for all four years of college in the early 2000's. It got washed and dried in dormitory appliances, never handled delicately, and it looked great with both jeans and nice trousers. Fast forward to today - that sweater from the GAP is now likely to be a TENT with slits up the sides and look most appropriate for slobbing around the house in. And after one cycle of wash and dry, will be a pilled ball of wrinkly ragged mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. FWIW, I think there's a happy medium between today's hodgepodge Sad Little House on the Prarie/Tudor Meets Wall Street look and desiring to look like a 90s Liz Claiborne ad.

Although the Liz stuff above is nicely timeless; minus the high-rise jeans and the hideous, chunky sandal-things, of course.

And while I started this as a styling/trend vent, it is true that construction, fabrication and quality/durability these days is lamentable, and yes EVEN AT THE HIGH END.

I think what many women are saying here is that they would like a work wardrobe based on those kinds of timeless classics made of quality fabrics, and they want each season to cycle in and out some of the "happy medium" items you refer to. And the happy medium, more trendy items don't necessarily need to be made to last (since they aren't intended to be worn forever), but they do need to be work-appropriate.

Right now, we have neither of these things. No one is selling timeless classics of quality fabrics/construction at a reasonable price,* and many of the trends right now are completely inappropriate for the office.

*And, sorry, $400 for a pair of pants is likely beyond the reach of most low-level and many mid-level professionals, outside of those in a few highly paid industries. And they especially can't afford them if they aren't going to last for many years.

I just got a Talbots catalog in the mail yesterday - it was as if they knew about this thread.

And I was surprised to see...lined pants for work!!!

I own nothing by Talbots (was a Limited devotee) but lots of this stuff looks promising: https://www.talbots.com/online/work-shop/_/N-4158043964
(I fully confess that I do not like the prices