5 Reasons to Avoid the High Street for a Polished Look
November 20, 2010 by Arash Mazinani
Filed under All Content, Gentlemen, Style Tips
I know what you’re thinking right now, What’s wrong with the high street store’s clothes? It’s not that there is anything wrong with them it’s just they don’t really cut it when it comes to that really refined look. I know this post may cause a little bit of a stir, but stay with me. I guess this post derived from seeing a rerun of one of Gok Wan’s shows where he pits designer clobber vs high street brands. He then asks the audience to choose which they thought were better, pretty much every time they picked the high street leaving me cursing at the TV. Now before I jump right into the post I’ll confess the majority of my clothes are from the high street. Which when I refer to I mean brands like topman, h&m, zara etc etc. But going through my own collection of clothes gave me the following realisations and inspired me to create this article.
- The quality is usually lacking, if you want that killer look then the quality of the fabrics used in the garment needs to be up to scratch. You only need to hold up a shirt from the high street brands to see the cotton isn’t as good as designer and pieces from a proper tailor.
- When clothes are cut they’re usually cut from one standard pattern then they’re made up and distributed to the retail stores. The problem is not everyone is built the same, that’s why it’s key to make sure your shirt fits you perfectly. Quite often buying from the big name on the high street doesn’t really cut it. Now I’m not necessarily advocating designer here, but rather if you can afford made to measure or even better bespoke. Anywhere that can offer quality along with a fit that’s tailored made for you will ensure you get a piece that fit’s you rather than joe bloggs.
- We often forget about colour when it comes to clothes just assuming if it looks right it probably is. But the last thing you want is to wash the item and the colour to start fading and not look quite right. I can vouch for designer pieces here that tend to use better quality dyes and treating processes. For example most black you find on the high street is in fact a dark combination of purple and blue and not black at all.
- We can all agree that clothes from the high street don’t last as long as designer or more specialist pieces. I’ve seen pieces from places like Primark literally last weeks, you’re lucky to get a year out them and after a few months will probably start to look shabby. Designer clothes tend to keep their shape better and also due to the quality last longer meaning you have to spend less having to reinvest in your wardrobe every 6 months.
- Designer… it’s in the name they’re better designed. Most of high street copies designs from designer clothes sometimes to ill effect. If you want the most fashion forward or intricately designed clothes then you need to take a step up from the high street.
It seems I may have given the high street shops a bit of a bashing. But my main goal of the article was to get people thinking about what they’re actually buying and how if they spend a little extra on their clothes they can get better quality clothes for a truly polished look.
I’d love to here your opinions on this subject by commenting below.
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You make good points here, definitely. There is no way I could possibly afford all labels/brands/designer clothes right now. No. Way. I so wish, though! But my philosophy is basically this:
Trendy = Save.
Timeless = Invest.
Good post!
Jenna
Plenty of food for thought here Arash, great post.
I always recommend clients to buy the best quality items that they can afford, – of course everyones budget is different. But I think that if you look after your clothes and accessories well, you can make your purchases last a good while longer,which can’t be a bad thing.
Great post, love this controversy between high street fashion vs designer. I agree with your opinion, if I have all the money in the world, I would buy designer all the time, I’m a person who doesnt really go with the trend, I love to mix and match everything I have so designer apparel will last longer then the high street, that means investment!!!
But right now, I can only afford high street clothing, I sometimes save up my money to get here and there designer pieces that I can afford.
<3
http://reserveradefashion.blogspot.com
This is very comprehensive Arash! These ideas took me a long time to understand and implement as I have never had a high budget. There is the awesome of exception of time consuming thrifting, which is where I get a lot of my pieces.
Agree, agree, agree! Though I do have most of my inexpensive things intact, but it may be due to my meticulousness. However, this post is super on the mark. My boyfriend loves getting things from Zara and Calvin Klein, and while I’m starting to appreciate Zara more (specially during their super sales), the quality of the fabric and the sewing can be quite shoddy! I’ve seen too many a garment with bad scratchy polyester at a ludicrous price.
The funniest part is that my boyfriend has a shirt from H & M and his father has the exact same shirt, but it’s Calvin Klein. The only difference is the quality of the fabric, as the one from H & M is scratchier than the Calvin Klein one. The one thing I’m still educating him on is fit. He very skinny, yet usually has to size up because he is very tall and the sleeves/hems are too short. Though now that I’ve pointed that out he’s much more aware of fit. Getting a suit for him will be very interesting, heh!
i think you are totally right. clothes who have a price last longer, and the good thing is that not everybody has them! however, my budget is not that high, so i have to buy my clothes at the “regular stores”. but from time to time, i allow myself to buy a more expensive piece!
My rule of thumb has been to buy fewer clothes but spend more on them. For work I no longer buy off the rack suits. Yes bespoke suits do cost more but I see them as an investment. A good well made suit in a British fabric can last you 10 years. I bought a suit from the high street about 2.5 years ago and it looks shabby.
If I buy clothes from the high street I make sure I take them to my tailor and get them altered. That makes a huge different and the better fit makes the clothes look more expensive. This is true for my shirts, jeans, trousers, blazers etc.
Oh and I’d like to add I don’t buy anything from Zara anymore because everytime I have the garment falls apart. Really quite shocking quality.