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The United Nations of Uniqlo

economist.com

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Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#11

Post by hobofan »

csomar wrote: post #4

I have stumbled on Uniqlo while around Tokyo. I was surprised how cheap it is, minimalist the styles were, and how very good the material/quality is. I have been mainly purchasing from Celio, Mango, H&M (ie: the European brands). My experience is that the clothes will last less than a year before becoming too washed to be wear. Clothes I bought from Uniqlo still look very good now 1.5 year later. Looks like they'll l…

> and how very good the material/quality is. I have been mainly purchasing from Celio, Mango, H&M (ie: the European brands).

Compared to those cheap brands, sure. I've mainly bought Uniqlo clothes for the last 4 years, and they've been decaying at about a slightly slower rate (maybe 0.75x) than similar brands to those you listed, but for each item, I estimate that it was probably 2-3x as expensive as their cheap counterpart.

In contrast to that, I also still wear some skateboard clothes that run in the same price range as Uniqlo and are ~10 years old by, which hold up much better (with most of the damage coming from my cat). I don't have any illusions that any of my Uniqlo stuff will last that long.

I still like Uniqlo, as they provide one of the most straightforward shopping experiences for someone who doesn't like shopping, but there is certainly room for improvement in their quality.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#12

Post by hatmatrix »

victor106 wrote: post #8

Love the clothes Hate the work culture. I have a few friends who work for Uniqlo on the e-commerce team in the US. They all tell me that the work culture is horrible. It’s very Japanese. - Long unproductive hours gets your bosses appreciation. - Very sexist and male dominated. - They hate working remote even when it was absolutely necessary for the employee. - No respect for maternity related issues. Any company that…

Also from the article:

> As a child Yanai [Uniqlo's founder] was scared of his father, who would beat him for not finishing his breakfast quickly or spending too much time reading after bedtime. But a sense of duty lured him home after he graduated from university and he took over the family enterprise as its employees began to retire.

Doesn't get much more Japanese than this.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#14

Post by [deleted] »

csomar wrote: post #4

I have stumbled on Uniqlo while around Tokyo. I was surprised how cheap it is, minimalist the styles were, and how very good the material/quality is. I have been mainly purchasing from Celio, Mango, H&M (ie: the European brands). My experience is that the clothes will last less than a year before becoming too washed to be wear. Clothes I bought from Uniqlo still look very good now 1.5 year later. Looks like they'll l…

[deleted]

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#15

Post by iamben »

Huge fan of Uniqlo, we're very lucky to have so many of them in London.

The clothes tend to be the right side of 'fashionable', ie the cuts are modern and flattering, the price is very comparable with and often better than the other UK high street rivals, and most importantly the quality for the most part far surpasses everything else in the price bracket. It's (generally) far better than buying from Zara or H&M, which feels very 'fast' in comparison.

The GAP comparison is probably apt, although one thing I really appreciate about Uniqlo (especially compared to GAP) is the lack of branding and logos. You can easily build a complete wardrobe (work/pub/play) - especially if you're buying base pieces. Which is probably the reason they get a lot of love on /r/malefashionadvice/.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#16

Post by wastedhours »

iamben wrote: post #15

Huge fan of Uniqlo, we're very lucky to have so many of them in London. The clothes tend to be the right side of 'fashionable', ie the cuts are modern and flattering, the price is very comparable with and often better than the other UK high street rivals, and most importantly the quality for the most part far surpasses everything else in the price bracket. It's (generally) far better than buying from Zara or H&M, whi…

Before the lockdown and WFH, I'd say about half my work-casual wardrobe ended up being Uniqlo. Very good quality, good design, and as you say, there's nothing obnoxious about their branding.

If they had a similar free delivery option as Asos Premium, would probably use them for pretty much everything.

Though I don't fully understand their ridiculously long trousers.

Edit: as per responses, make use of their alterations service!

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#17

Post by gberger »

bruceb wrote: post #6

What H&M had, Zara somewhat still has, but Uniqlo doesnt have is the must buy or might not see it again. Uniqlo does a good business selling decent quality clothes at a decent price that are modern classics.

> What H&M had, Zara somewhat still has, but Uniqlo doesnt have is the must buy or might not see it again.

And this is why I shop at Uniqlo, not at H&M or Zara. I like to ensure that my favourite basics will always be available for repurchase 2+ years after the original purchase, so I can replace a worn item.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#19

Post by tjr225 »

wastedhours wrote: post #16
iamben wrote: post #15

Huge fan of Uniqlo, we're very lucky to have so many of them in London. The clothes tend to be the right side of 'fashionable', ie the cuts are modern and flattering, the price is very comparable with and often better than the other UK high street rivals, and most importantly the quality for the most part far surpasses everything else in the price bracket. It's (generally) far better than buying from Zara or H&M, whi…

Before the lockdown and WFH, I'd say about half my work-casual wardrobe ended up being Uniqlo. Very good quality, good design, and as you say, there's nothing obnoxious about their branding. If they had a similar free delivery option as Asos Premium, would probably use them for pretty much everything. Though I don't fully understand their ridiculously long trousers. Edit: as per responses, make use of their alteratio…

> Though I don't fully understand their ridiculously long trousers.

I don’t have any length issues with their pants due to my height but perhaps they are intended to be hemmed?

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#20

Post by 627467 »

Their range of soft touch cotton long sleeve t-shirts have become a stable in my wardrobe for years now. For the winter they are a must. Every time I managed to travel to a country with Uniqlo I stock up with another 4 or 5 of those.
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