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

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

#221

Post by VLM » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:15 PM UTC

mrandish wrote: post #32

dlivingston wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I'm not a connoisseur of fine clothes but I have noticed that out of cheap places to buy clothes Costco seems to have a consistently high hit rate of good value for money, at least in men's clothes. They seem to curate their clothes suppliers pretty well.

That's the business model of Costco across all departments, they don't offer much selection but everything in the store has a local maxima of value for the money.

Costco gets you the best deal, Walmart and the dollar stores only sell garbage at the lowest possible cost, Amazon sells literally everything and has converted over the years from having the best deals to having the fastest logistics, and then there's whatever niche specialist suppliers are left like digikey for electronics parts etc.

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

#222

Post by torgoguys » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:20 PM UTC

I choose clothing mostly to be low maintenance, functional, and inexpensive over the long-term. I had (apparently incorrectly given the discussions here) assumed that to be the norm around here. The amount of people expressing difficulty finding clothing that lasts also surprises me. Maybe it's because I'm a guy or maybe it's because I've never purchased from a fast fashion brand. (?) In my experience a typical adult men's clothing item from Walmart will last hundreds of wearings and washings, no special picking through the options needed. (I'm talking just regular clothes--coats, footwear, gloves, etc are probably exceptions to this).

The only area I've had trouble with is finding casual, easy slip on/off everyday shoes that last a long time. I wear the same shoes literally everyday and always seem to wear the soles out in less than a year. (Perhaps I'm asking too much here there because I'm on my feet a lot?) Any tips on this would be appreciated.

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

#223

Post by peterburkimsher » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:20 PM UTC

twic wrote: post #133

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 d…

Yes, I meant placket! Thanks for the ideas of custom tailors; I'll check out their prices.

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

#224

Post by kitotik » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:22 PM UTC

If it has a zipper, and that zipper is not made by YKK, it is disposable garbage. This indicates the main priority in production was reducing cost.

Sadly the other way around doesn’t always work, you can still get crap stitching and fabric on an article with YKK.

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

#225

Post by VLM » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:26 PM UTC

For decades style has generally trended toward informal so I'd be interested in an article focusing on informal and sportswear.

I own formal clothes, smart casual, business casual, but as trends continue I'll probably never wear any of that stuff again, other than maybe some smart casual on dates with my wife.

Lots of people spend all their time at work and home looking like they're dressed for a picnic at the park or are on the way to the gym, so it would be interesting to see an article focusing on that kind of clothing.

I don't mind looking like I'm permanently on the way to the gym; I would like to look good doing so.

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

#226

Post by dbatten » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:30 PM UTC

jghn wrote: post #204

JohnBooty wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

For me what finally worked was counterintuitive. I stopped wearing antiperspirant altogether. The heavy duty stuff did cause me to sweat less in my armpits but I found I sweat everywhere else more. And I still had pit stains. Switched to deodorant and found that I was sweating less, and pit stains are a complete thing of the past.

I second this. I had debilitating underarm sweat and continually ruined shirts with pit stains. I switched from antiperspirant to a simple deodorant. I sweat SO much less in the arm pit area and I never sweat through my shirts anymore (unless I'm working out, of course).

Undershirts have been a good win as well - keeps the chemicals off my real shirt, and if you get high-end ones, they're light and breathable and don't make me any warmer.

I can't believe antiperspirant continues to exist as a product. Must be working for somebody.

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

#227

Post by kaybe » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:32 PM UTC

torgoguys wrote: post #222

I choose clothing mostly to be low maintenance, functional, and inexpensive over the long-term. I had (apparently incorrectly given the discussions here) assumed that to be the norm around here. The amount of people expressing difficulty finding clothing that lasts also surprises me. Maybe it's because I'm a guy or maybe it's because I've never purchased from a fast fashion brand. (?) In my experience a typical adult…

There are tips out there to have 2-3 pairs of shoes and rotate between them since the downtime for airing out lets them last longer, apparently.

(Not sure if that also includes the soles. Soles can be replaced if the quality is there though.)

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

#228

Post by kaybe » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

hi5eyes wrote: post #97

artsyca wrote: post #23

How refreshing to see something like this on HN; I want to iterate that there is an inextricable link between textiles and computer technology going back to the invention of the loom

techwear has been a trendy industry for solid 5+ years now

Can you give some trending examples that are not just phones strapped to the body?

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

#229

Post by tsunamifury » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

FDSGSG wrote: post #129

tsunamifury wrote: post #33

Textile quality, tailoring and fit, or a good price: in general with very few exceptions you pick two. I am a fanatic about my clothing quality and have searched high and low to find the right quality. Fit is, in general based on taste, and price is really limited by your time to search sales. I’ve arrived at the conclusion that Loro piana, Brunello Cuccinelli and to a lesser degree Zenga provide the very best qualit…

> I’ve arrived at the conclusion that Loro piana, Brunello Cuccinelli and to a lesser degree Zenga provide the very best quality generally available Why not go bespoke at this point? I keep asking myself this, laziness seems to be the only reason.

Because I wear their streetwear lines not suits. But on that note I visited Saville Row on my last trip to London and even they talked of Brunello admiringly.

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

#230

Post by FDSGSG » Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

jansan wrote: post #201

FDSGSG wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Loro Piana (the clothing brand) is rather expensive but you will not often (ever?) run into poor quality fabrics in their stores.

There is just no way that a 625$ price tag for a polo shirt can be justified by the product's quality.

Loro Piana cotton polo shirts are definitely not worth the price, the 645$ cotton/linen "jeans" definitely are.

Nothing by Loro Piana is bad, lots of the stuff is overpriced but many things are quite reasonable. After the LVMH acquisition they regularly offer pretty great discounts too.

I just bought one of these jackets (in yellow) for 1000 euros, an absolute bargain. https://us.loropiana.com/en/p/Man/Jackets/Sweater-Jacket-FAE...