Anonymous wrote:How I miss Ann Taylor circa 1998 - 2006

+1- Agree- I had some beautiful work clothes from Ann Taylor- I still have a classic navy blazer that is in great condition.

I can't stand all of the ruffles on everything and the random cheap fabrics.

_

I thought I had finally found a pair of pants that fit me perfectly (the Monroe Slim). However, the waist did that huge gap thing in the back. Totally out of proportion to the rest of the pants. So far, I've tried three different sizes in the regular and the curvy and am still having this issue. So aggravating.

i only buy these brands from thredup, for reasons already mentioned here.

You’re just figuring this out now? Loft is a different store than Ann Taylor, and I would consider it on par with an outlet store - it’s been shockingly low quality for 15 years. Ann Taylor used to be decent, but it too took a nose dive 15 years ago and is now “meh”. The prices reflect that, as prices have barely budged in 15 years.

Anonymous wrote:I just ran into Ann Taylor this week bc I saw some cute things online and wasn’t sure of quality. So disappointing bc the prints and cuts are pretty decent this season, but the fabrics were terrible. Worse than target quality.

Weirdly, I ordered online and the quality of what I got was SO much better than in-store. Why I don’t know.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, so how do you know the fabric quality is terrible? I swear I don’t really know the difference! I’ve only recently started shopping at loft.

OP here. It feels terrible in your hands. The cotton feels thin and wispy, as well as scratchy. All those ruffles are there to add detail to try and hide this with cutesy stuff. Ann Taylor carries a few high end things - their linen line has nice fabric, but again, the cut is terrible. If you go in, feel their linen, and then touch the other pieces. Also, touch the Lou and Grey and feel the difference between their cotton and regular Loft. If you are in MD, go into G-street fabrics and lay your hands on their cotton lawns, their garment cottons, and other clothing fabrics. I sew, so I’ve learned fabric quality through touch. I’ve also bought in G-Street’s bargain area and made mistakes - just finished a little jacket for a child out of the most horrid-to-work-with plaid blend. The only thing that made it tolerable was the flannel-backed satin lining and the fact I interfaced every piece to give it more structure. It came out cute but I won’t work with cheap fabrics anymore. Not worth the trouble.

Anonymous wrote:How I miss Ann Taylor circa 1998 - 2006

Amen. I now shop almost exclusively at Talbots, because things donn’t seem to fall apart as quickly. I used to love Anne Taylor.

How I miss Ann Taylor circa 1998 - 2006

Ok, so how do you know the fabric quality is terrible? I swear I don’t really know the difference! I’ve only recently started shopping at loft.

I just ran into Ann Taylor this week bc I saw some cute things online and wasn’t sure of quality. So disappointing bc the prints and cuts are pretty decent this season, but the fabrics were terrible. Worse than target quality.

It is awful, but some things are tolerable if you get them on sale. Imagine what they are actually worth? I’ve purchased final sale items and had to toss them b/c the fit was terrible

Talbots is awful too.

I fell in love with Loft around 2018 and felt the same. I stopped shopping there.

I find it really varies. Mostly agree, but every now and then I find something great, which keeps me giving them a try. Honestly quality is bad at so many places these days I’m not sure AT is necessarily worse than others. Even expensive brands are disappointing lately!

I just had a similar realization for Boden, of all brands! I had come to rely on their quality fabrics, and this year, my daughter's skirt came unlined (had to buy a liner), and I've read several reviews that much of their summer dresses and skirts are unlined and too see-through. The descriptions are often wrong on the website, regarding fabric content and presence of lining. People have complained, as I did, but besides a promise to look into it, nothing gets done.

Very disappointing.

The Lou and Grey line is nice enough, and their leggings are adorable and fit well. Sales rep confirmed they are made in a different factory. Their normal brand - whoever is doing their cutting and construction is just AWFUL. Sleeves often too narrow, armscye often not deep enough, all run boxy and on the short side - and I'm short! I went into Neiman's, hit their sale rack, and could put on a size 0 Vince jacket, which was (expectedly) too small in the chest. They were able to order me a 4. From the sleeves to the tailored cut, to the length - amazing. Fabric quality was excellent too.

T-shirts from almost anywhere are dreadful - fabric thin and cheap. I bought a Simplicity pattern and will throw together a few out of fabric I like, that's of higher quality. I tend not to be as much as a t-shirt chick as I used to be though.

Seems you DO get what you pay for!