Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try Uniqlo.

That's even worse. Those linen tops are so overpriced.

The sleeveless linen top I got from there was garbage. Seams didn’t line up and weird bunching and poofing.

Uniqlo has gone downhill very quickly. They used to make nice basic tees. Now that are stiff oversized trash.

+1, I have Uniqlo tees I got when the first store opened in Manhattan and they were way nicer than what is sold now.

OP, I agree. I’ve had some luck lately at White House Black Market

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try Uniqlo.

That's even worse. Those linen tops are so overpriced.

The sleeveless linen top I got from there was garbage. Seams didn’t line up and weird bunching and poofing.

Uniqlo has gone downhill very quickly. They used to make nice basic tees. Now that are stiff oversized trash.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is happening for most brands, unfortunately, as companies find ways to make cheaper clothes for less.

One important point to think about: plastic microbeads that are ingested by fish and then ingested by us. They come in part from clothing made from artificial plastic fibers that disintegrates in the soil and water.

Please vote with your money and choose natural fibers whenever possible!

This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,

Um, yes, and? No one said otherwise. Calm down. If you want to talk about brands on a global basis, or brands other than Ann Taylor, feel free to start your own thread.

That's how threads work.
That's how threads work.
That's how threads work.
That's how threads work.
That's how threads work.
LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE...oh, wait...sorry.

Anonymous wrote:
This is happening for most brands, unfortunately, as companies find ways to make cheaper clothes for less.

One important point to think about: plastic microbeads that are ingested by fish and then ingested by us. They come in part from clothing made from artificial plastic fibers that disintegrates in the soil and water.

Please vote with your money and choose natural fibers whenever possible!

This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,
This is happening for most brands,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try Uniqlo.

That's even worse. Those linen tops are so overpriced.

The sleeveless linen top I got from there was garbage. Seams didn’t line up and weird bunching and poofing.

Anonymous wrote:Ann Taylor Loft is worse. Every item I’ve purchased from there has ripped within 6 months.

Yeah, but Loft has never been good. The whole point of Loft is that yeah, quality not as good as AT, but you could get something cute for the right price to last you for a season.

Ann Taylor Loft is worse. Every item I’ve purchased from there has ripped within 6 months.

Y’all I just read an article the other day that stated the average wear days for an article of clothing has declined from something like 180+ to more like 70. This is an actual metric the retail fashion industry tracks.

That means in the past every item of clothing was worn for the equivalent of half a year before being discarded whereas now it’s more like one fifth of a year. That’s a huge decline.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Consumers want on trend, cheap clothes, so quality goes down? Or businesses want to shave costs and customers don’t mind?

My hypothesis is that it’s the former - and inversely correlated with insta / Facebook / blogger growth in users.

Agree with this entire post. The last 4,years I have struggled to find decent work clothes (or just clothing in general). I’m 45 and willing to splurge on a few nice items but having trouble finding anything that is made well. I’ve tried Boss which I thought was dowdy and purchased 2 Theory pants suits which I’m underwhelmed with (no lining in the pants). So where do you shop to find good quality work clothes at a reasonable price or a nice splurge? Please excuse typos.

Anonymous wrote:Agree- I used to go in there, fall in love with so many items, buy them and wear them for years. They looked great and would last well.
Now I walk in, see nothing and the few items I have bought look awful after a couple of wears...

To be fair. I've still gotten some good basics there. Still wearing the black skirt I bought three years ago all the time. And have liked their summer cropped pants. But not finding tops/blouses/sweaters I like at all or dresses. Used to be my go to place for dresses and stuff.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The profit horizon for any company is this: Create a desirable product that is profitable. 2) Increase profits by growing your sales base (marketing, expansion, etc.) 3) Eventually you reach cant grow sales base anymore so your grow profits by cutting costs. 4) Eventually the value proposition goes away for consumers, close business.

You have the 4 wrong. It's should say: rent clothing so that customers no longer care about the durability of their clothing. See, like Ann Taylor has already started doing. https://www.infinitestylebyanntaylor.com.

Lol I saw Express does a clothing rental service...Express clothing is junk that is only good for one wear anyway!

At this point, Express has higher quality than AT. Brands shift- Express shifted up and AT shifted down. Express is now doing better on quality than BR, too.

OP here. Wow, I had no idea! I'm going to have to peek in.

Express is still junky clothing for college girls

It's one of the few mainstream retail brands that makes its clothes with a size 2 woman in mind. The materials are normal to above average compared to JCrew, AT, etc. But they fit better for thinner because they are designed for smaller sizes. These brands that design for size 8ish don't drape well. You can't simply make clothing bigger or smaller with the same design because it doesn't fit the same across body types.

I’m a 0 or 2 and Express is low quality cheesy junk. I’m not a high schooler off to debate team practice.

Totally agree. There is one near my office and for a year I kept buying stuff there and then returning it because I couldn’t stand the plasticky feel
of it. And SO overpriced, compared to BR or J Crew.

Anonymous wrote:Try Uniqlo.

That's even worse. Those linen tops are so overpriced.

Try Uniqlo.