How to assess the quality of garments (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#131

Post by ljsocal » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:29 AM UTC

_hardwaregeek wrote: post #101

One of the common mistakes I and many others have committed when attempting to dress better is confusing dressing fancier for dressing better. The dress shirt made from cheap polyester that fits badly is not better than a well made t-shirt that fits perfectly. Instead, I've found that one should strive for clothing that fits well, has quality fabric , good form and flows . - Fit is self explanatory. The clothing need…

Some really good insights here, thanks. In the comments I’ve read so far, there isn't much mention of how to choose clothing. I’m fairly certain that most people have a lot of clothing that they rarely wear and wish they hadn’t purchased. It would be useful to have a guide (an app?) that helped with the selection at the time of purchase. I’d like to know the probable utility of an article of clothing before I buy it. The goal would be to optimize my closet, my clothing budget and my “confidence” in my wardrobe

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#132

Post by JohnBooty » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:30 AM UTC

settsu wrote: post #14

It's interesting how synthetics were mostly lumped together and largely undifferentiated. To be fair, that post is over 5 years old and some seemingly significant advances in fabrics for consumer garments have become widely available in the meantime. I've personally come to feel cotton is vastly over-rated as a clothing material for anything but cost-saving goals (which certainly is an important factor.) Of course th…

    merino wool and hemp, which are most often found combined with a synthetic or two

Wool + synthetic blend socks (SmartWool, etc) are an absolute revelation.

They are made in both summer and winter weights. If you're hiking, doing other sports, or simply spending a lot of time on your feet they may be one of the best investments you can ever make.

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#133

Post by twic » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:31 AM UTC

peterburkimsher wrote: post #19

My girlfriend works in this industry, and I'm grateful for this article teaching me how complicated her work is! When she first told me she works with Gerber files on a daily basis, I couldn't believe it. I thought those were just for designing PCBs! In fact, I still think that if she could transfer her skills, she could probably get a visa more easily. It's fun to walk around the sewing shops too, which have lots of…

> I had a fashion idea once: a tailored shirt with a red hem, so that the white buttons would be reminiscent of the windows in the cheatline on old aeroplanes.

When you say hem, do you mean placket?

If so, i like this idea. There are online custom tailors, like Bivolino and iTailor, that will let you customise the placket fabric and buttons (and more) of a shirt, so you could do this. I have a few shirts where i've done just that, although not in your colour scheme - i like a white or pale blue pattern for the base fabric, and then a bold floral pattern on the collar and placket.

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#134

Post by ianleighton » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:33 AM UTC

mayniac wrote: post #88

nextos wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hope is not completely lost. Some crazy Japanese companies produce stuff with unbelievably good fabrics all the time. E.g. The Real McCoy's, Buzz Rickson, Studio D'Artisan and a few others. For cotton, many of their models are loopwheeled which is a fantastic low tension fabric that ages really well. All they are doing is to copy American techniques from the golden age of workwear and sportswear. In fact, they try to…

I checked out some of the brands you mentioned, and holy crap they're expensive. Outlier has 3 t-shirts on offer for $300, shirts from most of those brands average $150, Acronym are selling jackets for $1k+.... I'm expecting a reply on the line of "quality comes at a cost" but I've got shirts over a decade old that have no visible signs of wear and cost a tenth of what these cost.

Disclaimer: Outlier fan.

The shorts and pants are where Outlier really shines (okay, and button-down shirts), they’re the best value. the ~$100 Ultrafine t-shirt is luxurious as hell but then you’ll want to wear it every day and it’s pretty delicate, being wool. Their pants definitely uphold the “quality comes at a cost” argument.

Also there are luxury brands with questionable quality that will also sell you a t-shirt for $100 that doesn’t have the same thought into materials or build as Outlier, etc.

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#135

Post by on_and_off » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:34 AM UTC

panda88888 wrote: post #104

on_and_off wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

merino + lyocel make for some awesome underwear. I have progressively replaced all my socks and boxers with ones made from these fabrics.

Could you give recommendation on brand and/or store?

Sure !

Anything with a combination of merino + lyocel (so tencel, modal, etc, there are different branded names) should be good. It will also be way costlier than a bad quality cotton where you get five boxers for 5$, but it does not have to go to 100$ either.

I own and like :

- I have some tshirts and socks from icebreakers. The tshirts are great for working out too ! They can be great for some hard activities like trekking but you need to know that merino is not great with abrasion, so if you wear a weighty backpack your tshirt might get damaged faster than a cotton one. Still many trekkers still wear these since they are great at temperature regulation, very comfortable and don't smell.

- seagale has great boxers and socks

- ninjasox has merino invisible socks. I had to search for a very long while before finding truly invisible merino socks.

- outlier also carry some merino socks, although they might be costlier than the other brands I have mentioned. I don't think the quality of their socks is noticeably better though (their tech pants are awesome though)

This kind of melange is awesome for any garment in direct contact with your skin. it is very soft and does not keep any odor even if you sweat a lot in them.

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#136

Post by JohnBooty » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:36 AM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #40

I mostly dress pretty casually: jeans and a T shirt is pretty typical. My shirts “fail” not because of stitching or things like that. Most of the time they get armpit stains from deodorant after probably 20 time I wear them or so. At that point I toss them. I don’t see how higher laity fabric would result in anything different, so I stick to cheaper basic shirts for everyday wear. I like clothes, but I like variety.…

Try the "prescription strength" antiperspirant. You will sweat much less.

It's more expensive, but you use less of it, so each container lasts longer. So it's not much more expensive in the long run by my experience. Especially if it saves you money on shirts.

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#137

Post by JohnBooty » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:38 AM UTC

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #6

corey_moncure wrote: post #5

Check any zippers it may have. Does it say YKK on it, does it move freely and is it sturdy and made of quality, tough materials? Or is it flimsy and prone to binding, can the pull tab be manipulated into some strange position?

YKK doesn't mean quite as it did. More an indicator of probably adequate than quality these days.

I've never had a peep of trouble from a YKK zipper, including quite a few purchased in the last few years.

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#138

Post by artsyca » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:39 AM UTC

artsyca wrote: post #115

dlivingston wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any high-quality clothing stores that you recommend?

Brooks Brothers

There's a lot of parameters if you will, clothing is the ultimate optimization exercise that includes quality, comfort, cost and fit of course but BB have made it into an art and their textures, colours and the flexibility of the clothes are top notch. I buy their clothes because they offer a high level of versatility and quite frankly they've helped my career in many ways too

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#139

Post by cyxxon » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:39 AM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #40

I mostly dress pretty casually: jeans and a T shirt is pretty typical. My shirts “fail” not because of stitching or things like that. Most of the time they get armpit stains from deodorant after probably 20 time I wear them or so. At that point I toss them. I don’t see how higher laity fabric would result in anything different, so I stick to cheaper basic shirts for everyday wear. I like clothes, but I like variety.…

I used to think the stains are just the deodorant or antitranspirant, but it seems it is something of that that reacts to the detergent. One tip I was given was to rinse the garments in water before washing them (haven't tried that myself), and to soak the shirts in citric acid for 24h (same stuff you use for cleaning your coffee maker etc). I actually tried that last month and that worked. Not totally gone, but very much reduced.

Re: How to assess the quality of garments (2014)

#140

Post by ptmvp » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 7:40 AM UTC

artsyca wrote: post #119

masklinn wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or rather, they're expensive upfront but often turn out to be more economical over the life of the garment. In either case, they will be more pleasant to wear than a lower quality alternative. Good ol' Vimes "Boots" Theory of Economic Injustice strikes again: > At the time of Men at Arms, Samuel Vimes earned thirty-eight dollars a month as a Captain of the Watch, plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots…

Ever wonder if cheap commodity exporting countries might play this as a form of covert economic aggression?

It's an interesting thought but I think there's little basis to believe there is a concerted effort here, as the average consumer is very aware that the quality of, say, a screwdriver from China, is very different from that of a German made one.

I think it's just an unintended consequence of a race to the bottom in cheap, disposable manufacturing. Even then, I'm unsure if on an aggregate level the progress in materials engineering and overall manufacturing processes does not eventually offset this focus on cheapness, resulting on better value than the more expensive alternative.