Best quality for the price?

britt32087 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 07:46 AM

So the free people thread got me thinking... which brands/stores offer the best quality for the price you pay? Or the worst?

I'll start off with a few:
Free people: meh. Love their stuff but most of it isn't that great quality
Ella Moss: IMO is WAY too expensive for what you get. One shirt I got, washed once according to the instructions, and there was pilling everywhere afterwards...it's pretty much unwearable.
BCBG: I've had good experiences with all my BCBG clothes, and really like the quality, and it's pretty easy to find good deals.

What do you guys think?

***idalis*** · #2 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 08:33 AM

OK, there's so many brands out there and my mind is not sharp in the morning, so i opened revolve and went down their list and picked out a few crap and a few good (I refrained from going through Forward, but there's a lot of obviously good stuff in there, though with price tags to show for it, and I gather that's not what this thread is asking for):

CRAP:

C&C California - totally overpriced for the quality. The tanks are nice, but they are far from high quality to justify the prices. Only if they are on big markdown/tj maxx etc.

American Vintage

Ella Moss

Mike & Chris (sorry to those who like it

)

Michael Stars

Young Fabulous & Broke - now i do like some of their stuff, and have a few pieces i got cheap, but they are not anywhere near the quality those prices should be

CC Skye - Not really clothes but since i saw it there i can't help it. How the hell did this crap get popular and why the hell would anyone pay this kind of money for it?

Rebecca Beeson

MEH

BCBG - some pieces are better than others. Some are honestly barely above old navy quality, esp the outlet stuff. There are decent pieces if you can get them cheaper, which you often can, but it's not the bestttt.... heck they even make the $2000 Herve Leger's (which they own) in China now. Weak.

LA Made - grossly overpriced at retail, but okkkkk

LinQ - ditto, but decent

Elizabeth & James

Splendid - if it's on sale it's acceptable

GOOD

Bailey 44 - not cheap by any means, but hold up well and are well made imo. Some stuff is over-styled. A lot of it is nice though.

David Lerner - made in USA. Well put together.

Catherine Malandrino - can find this stuff cheap at Runway TJ Maxx'es once in a while

Velvet - wouldn't call it HIGH quality, but holds up well, doesn't fade/pill, and can generally be found much cheaper than the retail prices (which i still wouldn't pay)

Susana Monaco

Rebecca Minkoff

Rachel Pally

Tracy Reese

Robert Rodriguez

Will try to add some more later. These were just what I picked out on a quick run through (and included in the crap category is anything gapbananarepublicoldnavyjcrewUOetc lol)

britt32087 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 08:38 AM

Cool! Thanks for that list. I agree with you about Bailey 44 too. I only have one shirt but it's held up extremely well and it's gorgeous. C&C, I think, is hit or miss. I only buy their basics if they have one of their crazy sales.

Does anyone have any input on Vince, Joie? I personally haven't tried these brands but they seem uber expensive for a lot of basic looks. I'm j/w if the quality is worth the price.

***idalis*** · #4 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 08:40 AM

I'd put Vince on the meh list (would buy it if it was on sale... the price is not on par with the quality, but it is not crap by any means), and Joie on the crap

cat · #5 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 08:48 AM

i'd put bailey 44 on the meh list.

***idalis*** · #6 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 08:54 AM

Yeah, well i admit i have not ever and would never pay full price for it. Then again i hardly ever pay retail for anything. It feels dirty. And now that i think more about it, i think the pieces i have that are better are the older stuff.

***idalis*** · #7 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 08:58 AM

Also, i'm sorry to say, but I think 95% of the clothes on the market are total crap quality compared to days past. Such is the trend toward cheap labor and other garbage-in-garbage-out industry practices.

agalarowicz · #8 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 08:58 AM

i really dont think you can say all or even most pieces from one brand are good or bad. in my experience its really hit or miss with anything.

***idalis*** · #9 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agalarowicz

i really dont think you can say all or even most pieces from one brand are good or bad. in my experience its really hit or miss with anything.

Well.... if we are talking about the mid range kind of stuff i think we are referring to in this thread and that I think the OP was looking for, then that is likely true of MANY of the brands, as things are still made in various places, etc, and they are still mass produced stuff. However once you get past the mid range I disagree. At that point it is either excellent or garbage

britt32087 · #10 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 09:13 AM

^ITA. And we don't have to limit this to mid-range stuff, we can expand it to any brand really, I'm just curious as to what peoples' opinions are about various brands/designers

peppamintgrl · #11 (**permalink**) 04-29-2011, 11:41 PM

I don't know if I've just been too spoiled by ebay but I feel like NOTHING is worth full retail.

And I am also tired of not being able to find an opaque white t-shirt at any price point...it seems that the more expensive the shirt, the more $$ it is. And the stores sell it as "whisper light". Give me a Hanes $5 shirt over "delicate" and "whisper light" any day.

I have a few Splendid jackets and I was not impressed. The styles are cute, but the fabrics are very thin and delicate--they pill easily and feel to me as if they won't hold up. (I think the average retail price for my pieces were around $100. I paid around $30 on eBay. No way in heck would I pay $150 for a cotton jacket...)
Splendid-meh.

I've also had some Vince stuff, and again, it's extremely overpriced--$100 on sale for a dolman top?! I got mine from eBay for around $40, which was pricey but I really wanted it. I think the quality was good though.
Vince-good but overpriced.

I think I have had a few (3-4) pieces from James Perse and was actually pretty pleased with them. If you can find that stuff on sale, buy it.
James Perse-good but overpriced.

C&C was the first "premium" t-shirt brand I tried and I thought their shirts were very soft (it was during that mercerized cotton craze) but thin and I would not buy them now.
C&C-meh.

That's all I could think of off the top of my head.

acejj768 · #12 (**permalink**) 05-07-2011, 03:29 AM

in my experience
1.good quality- gap jeans, levi jeans, coach bags, lucky brand jewelry, clothes from express, clothes,jewelry and bags at new york and company(good for price) , shoes from shoe show,target's flats, most stuff from tj maxx ,especially bags and jewelry, most shoes from walmart are good quality for the price,dooney and bourke hand bags , new directions clothes at belks, guess by marciano,

2.average quality-jcpenney jeans, charlotte russe clothes and shoes,american eagle, betsey johnson handbags,old navy

3. not good- jessica simpson's stuff is definitely poor quality, rue 21,

ShakeMySmirnoff · #13 (**permalink**) 05-09-2011, 08:45 AM

Gotta agree with Catherine Malandrino on it being good quality.

I have a few pieces and they have held up for quite some time now.

James Perse is also great. I worked a sample sale for them in Chicago and I got a major discount, Half off, plus extra 30%. Got a few tanks & shirts and they turned out okay. They are however, pretty expensive. I wouldn't have bought them if I wasn't working it.

Also, Coach products have never disappointed me. I've owned plenty of their wallets & handbags and I've never really had a quality problem with the brand, very reputable!

I'll try to add some more later!