You have to pay more to get quality. Reiss, Theory, Rag & Bone, L’Agence...there are lots of nice clothes out there. But you’re not going to find them at the Ann Taylor price point.

Hell, I still have dresses and skirts from H&M from the early 2000s that look better than crap in stores now.

Sigh. I remember the early 2000s when Gap t-shirts were made of thick cotton, and they lasted forever. And when I started my first job in 2005, I got some skirts at Ann Taylor that were gorgeous (still have two I love). Ann Taylor and Jcrew used to have thick cashmere sweaters back then that were high quality, and I still have some of those sweaters today.

The last sweater I bought from Ann Taylor was so flimsy and thin. In fact, all of their tops are flimsy and thin now. It's ridiculous that I actually have some pieces from AT made in the mid-90s, and they are more durable and don't have the holes that newly purchased AT clothes seem to just get for no reason.

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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.

+1.

I don't want to shop at Express. But it is by far the best quality at that price point. I can't buy anything for work from Ann Taylor, Loft, White House Black Market, Gap, Old Navy, The Limited, J Crew Factory, H&M, etc. But Express is tolerable.

If you’re going to shop at garbage stores expect terrible clothing

Try Maje, Rebecca Taylor, Joie, equipment, Veronica besrd etc

I can't spend $300 on a pair of pants.

Understood but if you spend $40 on a pair of pants you can’t expect for them to be a good fit, fabric or last. I also used to shop at these types of stores. Now I spend way more on fewer items and am much happier longer term with my purchases.

NP - I personally have not noticed a great deal of difference in quality between expensive pants and pants from The Gap. The more expensive clothes often look more expensive, but they don't necessarily hold up better (in my experience). I say this as someone who is usually looking for durability in my clothes, in addition to wanting them to look nice. If you get all cotton pants from The Gap, they seem to wear more or less the same as all cotton pants from anywhere else - except they are often made to withstand repeated machine washing and drying, unlike some fancier brands.

The real issue is that price doesn't guarantee quality. So, you roll the dice when you purchase higher cost items. It's less risky to purchase lower cost ones- even if it doesn't wear well, you didn't make an investment so it doesn't matter.

Gap pp.. I used to like their casual things bcs I could find small sizes of jeans. However, last two pair of jeans I got there, zippers come down! great for a middle aged woman! and ripped by the back pockets within 4 months.

vanity sizing at Ann Taylor is truly out of hand. I am not a smaller size than when I was 20 and around 100lbs! Bougth a dress xxs and it fits perfect. Dress is nice though, I like it. But, it has always been a struggle to find decent clothes. 5'4" and around 120lbs now. I mean why is it so hard to make clothes for middle aged women that are nice and fit?

I agree. bought a basic, white shirt from there for over $60. thing is torn now. after one wear. won't be shopping there again.

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Anonymous wrote:I love COS. Great quality and good price points. But it is edgier than AT and you have to like black, a lot. They do have some other colors for spring right now though! You can also find some great things at Nordstrom but usually the higher price point stuff if you’re looking for nicer fabrics and quality. I only buy things on sale at J Crew, Anthro, Madewell etc anymore, and they are ALWAYS having sales anyway.

I had never heard of COS. I just looked at the site, and nothing seems to be appropriate for a formal office environment. Brooks Brothers is the only brand people have mentioned that seems reliable for office staples.

Me neither and good god is it ugly. Looks like something they’d make you wear in a cult.

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

I agree!!
I just bought pants and washed them twice and now I have to pay $10 to my dry cleaner to sew the stitches that came undone! So annoying!

I'm just tired of all the paper-thin tops in every store. I want something decent that I can wear to work without having to find an undershirt to go with it.

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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.

+1.

I don't want to shop at Express. But it is by far the best quality at that price point. I can't buy anything for work from Ann Taylor, Loft, White House Black Market, Gap, Old Navy, The Limited, J Crew Factory, H&M, etc. But Express is tolerable.

If you’re going to shop at garbage stores expect terrible clothing

Try Maje, Rebecca Taylor, Joie, equipment, Veronica besrd etc

I can't spend $300 on a pair of pants.

Understood but if you spend $40 on a pair of pants you can’t expect for them to be a good fit, fabric or last. I also used to shop at these types of stores. Now I spend way more on fewer items and am much happier longer term with my purchases.

Ok. Well 5 years ago I could spend $40 on a pair of pants have them fit and not be itchy and last 10 years. And I would be happy to spend say $100 for a pair of pants I could wear to work that would fit and not fall apart and be made of comfortable fabric. Why isn't there anything matching this in the $75-$150 range?

Also, why would't I expect pants to be a good fit? Doesn't that depend on how well my body matches the body of the fit model? That is independent of brand.

I agree. It used to be sort of aspirational for me when I was just starting out in my career. Now, it's pretty junky. And I agree that Express has improved and has some decent clothes that aren't overly trendy.

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

Ann Taylor and Loft's vanity sizing just seems to be increasingly out of control. I have a BMI at the very high end of normal, and I STILL swim in their size 6 pants. That said, their petites actually really do work for me.

Yes!! Their vanity sizing is RIDICULOUS. I have a 27 inch waist and their size 0 is too big for me. In what world is a 27 inch waist a double zero??

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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.

+1.

I don't want to shop at Express. But it is by far the best quality at that price point. I can't buy anything for work from Ann Taylor, Loft, White House Black Market, Gap, Old Navy, The Limited, J Crew Factory, H&M, etc. But Express is tolerable.

If you’re going to shop at garbage stores expect terrible clothing

Try Maje, Rebecca Taylor, Joie, equipment, Veronica besrd etc

I can't spend $300 on a pair of pants.

Understood but if you spend $40 on a pair of pants you can’t expect for them to be a good fit, fabric or last. I also used to shop at these types of stores. Now I spend way more on fewer items and am much happier longer term with my purchases.

NP - I personally have not noticed a great deal of difference in quality between expensive pants and pants from The Gap. The more expensive clothes often look more expensive, but they don't necessarily hold up better (in my experience). I say this as someone who is usually looking for durability in my clothes, in addition to wanting them to look nice. If you get all cotton pants from The Gap, they seem to wear more or less the same as all cotton pants from anywhere else - except they are often made to withstand repeated machine washing and drying, unlike some fancier brands.

What about Macy's or Nordstrom? Is it worth my time?