Quality characteristics of good clothes, meyrose

fashion, beauty & me – Ü40 lifestyle blog by image consultant Ines Meyrose from HH

From the consulting practice of an image consultant

In the wish list for 2018, red lily asked for topics from my everyday work. The question was more about the after-effects of the advice given to my customers, but I think that content can also be interesting, right? Recently there was a question for a seminar on business clothing that I think is worth considering. it is

How do I recognize good clothes??

It is easy to say that high-quality clothing lasts longer, or it is important for a high-quality overall impression that the clothing has quality characteristics. But what does that actually mean? When preparing for the seminar, I wrote down the following points

The cut of the clothes fits my body and style of clothing.
The material is comfortable to wear and breathable. This is mostly achieved by natural fibers or functional textiles.
I can maintain the material myself> that saves cleaning costs and I don’t postpone cleaning.
The fabric does not wear out, it retains its shape when worn or pulls back when it is aired. My tip: do the crush test. Crumple the fabric in your hand, let go, shake it and see if it stays frizzy or the wrinkles pull out again.
The fabric does not get pilling or it is easy to remove, e.g. with a lint razor. Material with long fibers is less prone to pilling than material with short ones.
Seams remain smooth even after washing.
Edges edged on the inside with bias tape provide a nicer interior and stabilize the seams. You can see what this looks like for example with this picture https://www.uefuffzich.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/uefuffzich-blog-jean-paul-gaultier-hose-pantalon.jpg at Bärbel vom Blog uefuffzich.de in the blog post A pants suit in the laundromat on Sylt.
The seams are made with many small stitches.

This blouse is particularly noticeable because it was light blue and was dyed dark brown by me, whereby the yarn has kept its color. With the seams in contrasting color, every botch would immediately catch the eye. You can see that the buttonhole is already firmly edged.
There are no loose threads at the seams or excessively long thread ends.
The buttons look nice, feel good and are firmly sewn on. If there are cheap buttons on a piece of clothing, either optically or haptically, you can replace them with more beautiful ones. You will probably be surprised at what beautiful buttons cost.

This blouse button is sewn on with a web, so there is some distance between the button and the fabric. The bridge is tightly wrapped with yarn. You can find out how to do this on the sewing button on the website.

The four-hole button is sewn crosswise with many stitches. It holds the bomb!
In the case of blouses and blazers, the collar is on the neck and the lapel on the chest.
The color of the Kle />

What additions do you have??

34 thoughts on “Quality characteristics of good clothing”

Dear Ines,
summarized very well; I used to sew a lot, unfortunately I can’t do it anymore (maybe in the pension again) so I pay particular attention to various things, e.g. buttons, loose threads, thread course, sewn and cleaned buttonholes, with skirts on the seam ( not spotty), neatly cleaned on the inside, on the feel and the material of the fabric, etc., it doesn’t make it easier to buy anything, although sometimes there can be nasty surprises after the first wash …
all dear Gabriele

If there are any nasty surprises in the points after washing, I usually complain about the parts. It’s annoying because of the racing, but at least I’ll be rid of it and have my money back.

I always do the crush test, if only because I’m lazy.

However, I do not agree with all of the points regarding high-quality clothing.
I have a perfectly fitting dress, for example from C&A.
My expensive cashmere sweater already has pilling.
All high-quality items of clothing do not necessarily have a bias binding.
The color of the clothes suit me? A cheap part from KIK does that too.
Is the color retained when washing? High-quality jeans also color.

I would prefer to see more and more specific tips, so in general it may be unsettling for one or the other.

An important point I still find when comparing several sizes that not only the length is adjusted, but also the cut in relation to waist, hip and, if available, breast darts.

What is almost no longer properly tailored today, at least in my price range in which I buy, is the correct shape of the waist for skirts. The line in itself must not be straight, but must have a very slight, almost imperceptible curve downwards.

I also love clothes that are sewn according to the art of tailoring and not because of the simpler, more effective, faster and cheaper way of sewing, overcasting and hiding fabric edges at the same time with one seam.

I was particularly impressed by Üffi, her recently introduced blazer. I really felt how fine everything was sewn and ironed. There are many small shops in Berlin where fashion designer tailors sell their home-made things. You can also find beautiful parts there, but the seams are never ironed out. What did I iron when sewing, every seam, not only when the garment was finished.

An interesting topic, thanks for that.

best regards,
Moppi

For me, high-priced is by no means synonymous with high-quality. There are sooo many expensive things that are useless – I wrote about a part here https://www.meyrose.de/2013/12/21/selbst-uld-oder-pfusch/ – and parts for little money that are well cut and good for something. In my experience, I tend to find things in the high-priced segment that meet my personal requirements, but I also have lucky hits in my closet for little money, for example a pair of jeans from C&A.

In my experience, cashmere always gets pilling. For me, the difference with good quality is that it stops after being removed twice at the latest. With poor quality (regardless of price), it never stops. I have a pair of cashmere cuddly pants from an outlet that has an extremely high original price, that is a real pilling monster, that for me it is of poor quality because it does not stop. I mean in the list that the pilling can be removed if necessary.

Jeans always stain something, but with vinegar essence in the washing process it can be significantly reduced. For other items of clothing, I expect them to hold their color for a long time, such as T-shirts and blouses.

I also find ironed seams beautiful. It’s just nice to look at and touch. We all agree on that.

For me, the most important thing is that the part fits properly. And not just in the width. That the sleeves are inserted correctly. Nothing rises or wrinkles. Stands out or gapes when the buttons are closed. Nothing “twitches” or turns when worn.
Then there is the material and the feel. Plus color. And yes, quality is expensive. And tailoring an art. Just like cutting hair. Everything that has to deliver a three-dimensional result in motion requires creativity, extreme precession, technology and passion. For me, if you can do that, you’re an artist, not a craftsman.
LG Sunny

For me, the one who does this is already a craftsman. But the designer is definitely an artist.

Dear Ines, thank you, of course that also applies to the topic I meant. I assume that you also recommend all of this to your customers.
I would have a hundred additions, but I will be careful not to go beyond the scope here. But one thing is very important to me personally: I always make sure that finished knitwear is knitted into shape and not just cut to size! You can see that a. on the sleeves due to the regular decrease pattern. If this is not there, the piece goes back on the pole.
Everything else has my full approval!
LG Susanne

I am pleased that a contribution in this direction also fulfills your wish. Then I look over the year to see what else I can chat about.

You are always welcome to break the frame .

There are certainly ZaraMangoHaundeM flags that sit great, fit (me) and have the right color. Nevertheless, for me this is not high-quality clothing and certainly not a quality feature. I find material origin and processing very important. I prefer to buy wool from Scotland, cashmere from Mongolia and cotton from Korea than from Bangladesh or China. I always look at the notes inside before shopping.
best regards
Bärbel

I also look at the notes. On my last visit to Zara, I immediately let go of every part because the material was terrible for my hands. I didn’t even have to look at the note anymore. For that at C&A cashmere in my hand that felt good. Unfortunately, no color suited me … #everything …

It’s good that you are devoting yourself to this topic. In the "frenzy of choosing and finally found a great part", I forget about such essential things …
I’ve already done that with the button exchange. A jacket got a much higher quality look. It was a good quality, but too much bling on the buttons …
I also find it impossible to get expensive BW T-shirts today. A little more with every wash. I only experienced it with a piece by Betty Barcley. Actually a favorite striped piece, it is getting shorter and shorter. So too bad and of course much too late for complaints.
Now I’m interested in Susanne’s additions, of course. How about a guest post?
Greetings from Sieglinde

I have a sweatshirt from 2017 that gets shorter with every wash … Fairtrade doesn’t help either …

Sieglinde, if you know something about the craft yourself, you see everything much more critically. Maybe I will take up the topic soon. I need to fill the gap between the knitting factory and the new start. It would fit!
LG Susanne

Dear Ines,
it’s great when a pattern runs like your dress. Of course you pay for that. I nodded intensely at your sentence about the buttons, because in my younger years I wanted to sew other buttons on a jacket to spice them up, so I went to a shop called Button King, which was probably a kind of paradise for button lovers. Because there were buttons in all colors, sizes, shapes … But they were all expensive, and since they would have been more expensive than the jacket at the time, I finally left it with the old buttons.
Warm rust rose greetings and Paulekrauler,
Traude
http://rostrose.blogspot.co.at/2018/01/wei-warm-und-ummantelt.html

What do we conclude from this? Beautiful buttons are best kept. In the hope that they will fit in quantity and size …

The cut and the material are the most important for me. Clear the color, but it has more to do with my type than with the Quality of a garment. I always do the finger test on coats and suits. A good new wool coat / suit does not wrinkle. My cashmere does not fluff, a little pilling and then it was good. But my new "pink sweater" lint terribly, wool fibers everywhere, goofy with black pants;)
I also like to look at buttonholes, sometimes they are badly missed. Always a huge highlight for me when the lining is not polyester. You know, I discovered a great wool coat without poly and then it is completely lined with it.
Not so easy to find clothes that are really good when you have become picky
Thanks for the great post. Greetings Tina

I also think the buttonhole notice is important. Thanks for that! Not only that there shouldn’t be any thread ends peeping out, but please sew them tightly.

Yes, the demands don’t make it easier to find clothes. But if you find some, you enjoy it a lot more, or?

I will sign your list immediately, dear Ines. I would like to add the smell test to your list. If the garment just smells a little chemical, I don’t even try it on.
LG Caro

Thanks for the addition. I will sign it immediately. I don’t buy in some stores because the smell strikes me when I come in.

The most important thing for me is that it fits really well. And then, surprisingly, I just found that dark blue knit combination at Zara that feels good and fits great.

I find it noteworthy that such a topic automatically threatens to become – I should say – a slightly elitist discussion.

Or just play in the ethical and moral tones. But that’s another debate for me.

That doesn’t mean that quality is not important. But on the contrary. I think it’s very important. LG Sabina

What is elitist about the discussion for you? That’s why I deliberately left out prices in the article.

No, not the subject itself. I am with you.

But who can afford cashmere from Scotland? Not every. When we talk like this, there is such a nuance for me …

I also had to shave my cashmere sweaters. I didn’t know that the shuffling stopped. Good to know!

Quality doesn’t have to be elitist, even if really good things come at a price. For two years now, I have simply not gone to Zara, Mango and Co. consistently, but prefer to buy less and higher quality.

@ Bärbel
At Zara and Mango I have not yet bought a single part for myself. I have never liked or fitted anything so that I wanted it. When it comes to cheap clothing, LoveT. Some time ago I wrote the article “Inexpensive, cheap, inexpensive, affordable – outfits around 50 euros” at http://looksoflovet.blogspot.de/2017/10/gunstig-billig-preiswert-bezahlbar.html, which I find very interesting found. In photos at bloggers I often see looks with cheap brands that look great.

I have a firm grip on the most expensive item in the store. This is not a big art in stores with high-quality items. These bloggers have a sure grip for pearls in the cheap range and find them wealth, towards me? Or wouldn’t I like that live? I dont know. And because my visits to such shops have so far been unsuccessful – and the smell of chemicals when I come in doesn’t make it any better – I hardly ever enter them.

@Sabina
Yes, not everyone can afford fine wool or cashmere at the original price. The crux of the matter for me is the word original price. We live in a society where not everyone has the same money. Fortunately – and I really appreciate this happiness – I have enough money to do new things in my life so far. I am aware of how quickly this can change. However, I also work on it almost every day and make sure that it stays that way with luck and money.

What I want to say is that if you don’t have the money for the original goods, buying a second-hand product like this might be better served than buying a poor quality new one. There is absolutely something to be said about the saying "Who buys cheap, buys 2 x" and "I’m too poor to buy cheap". That’s why I prefer to buy less in high quality and in the end the fashion mathematics – the cost per stretch – works.

Every month I give a client a seminar on outfits for job interviews for people who want to get back to work after a health break. Unless they have a well-earning partner or family, these participants usually have very little money and we always talk about how to get valuable clothing for little money. These people benefit from the fact that the used value for clothing is too low (and that is why I am giving away and not selling).

I just glanced into my closet. I have 7 t-shirts. Six of them are from Armor Lux for a price of around 70 euros and one from s.Oliver for 10 euros. That from s.Oliver holds the dark blue color, but has twisted side seams = poor quality. Armor Lux’s are in good condition despite being worn a lot. The only reason why I didn’t claim it from s.Oliver is that I didn’t find a dark blue thin alternative.

Most people in Germany have significantly more than 7 T-shirts in their closets, many of which are worn out and washed out. In my opinion, even those who have less money are better served by buying a part of less of a higher quality. I will soon go into more detail about my T-shirts and the reasons for this selection in a contribution to the new basic equipment series.

On Ines comment: “Seminars for applications”.
When I was still working as a coach for women, a client came for an interview and, among other things. the clothes for it. She absolutely wanted the job and was also very suitable for it. But she had little self-confidence and little current money and hardly any good clothes, but she had saved something. So she bought the best and most expensive dress that she could afford – in keeping with the company environment – and went to the interview with a good sense of self-worth.
Sure she got the job! And from the savings she immediately bought a high-quality basic wardrobe for exactly this job and afterwards she could afford any wardrobe anyway ….
You can really say: invested correctly!

Dear Ines,
nice report!
I think you can see the difference in quality in samples! When parts are sewn so that the pattern is continuous or interrupted by the seam. But that doesn’t always have to do with price either.
I find pilling extremely annoying, but unfortunately that can rarely be turned off. Then you have to use the pilling razor more often.
Happy weekend and best regards
Claudia

If the patterns of cheap things are continuous, I’m all the more happy. However, this is a point where I as a consumer immediately understand why a continuous pattern costs more money. There is simply more waste and there is much more work to be done, which takes time.

Here in the blog I showed a summer dress in 2017, in which the pattern is not cut properly:

In the article, some readers were upset about this lack. He doesn’t bother me with the dress because I found it cheap for a sustainably produced dress. If it had been twice as expensive, it would have been a reason for me not to buy it. In the end, the price-performance ratio has to be right.

Hui, that’s a lot of points … – my head is buzzing and of course I have to admit that over the years, unfortunately, I seem to have bought a whole range of low-quality parts …

Just recently I bought a blouse where I found these loose threads / excessively long thread ends almost everywhere after the first wash. Annoying !! And right now I’m wearing a sweater from a well-known manufacturer that is completely cut off, especially on the collar, and also crumples like a stupid one. I haven’t put it on for a long time, but now throw a huge cloth over it, it’ll be warm enough on your neck and neck.

As soon as you talk about these tailoring skills, I’m completely out of it. Maybe you could show photos at some point in addition to this post? Bad examples versus good examples? So quasi again illustrated tips? That would be nice.

best regards
Gunda

Stupid sweater. Fortunately, I only have a few bad examples because I rarely buy them. I’ll see what good examples I can find to illustrate the article a little more. When I write, I usually assume that it is so naive that it is clear what is meant by it… Thanks for saying that it is not. A typical mistake on my part is: Because I know it, I think everyone knows it. But then the article would be useless anyway, if so … Thank you!

I have now supplemented the post with a few pictures and described them a little more. Is that easier to understand now? Is there one more thing missing on one aspect??

A very good article!
I very much advocate paying attention to high-quality clothing. If only because this is simply more sustainable than buying parts that are only good for cleaning after the second wash.
Unfortunately, as a non-specialist, you only really notice good quality when it is too late.
LG
Sabienes

My speech … then the fashion math also works with the low cost per carry on. The more practiced the view, the better the quota.