Are there guarantees of quality?

[Grrtt780]

I have been thrifting a lot of clothes lately and have been enjoying it. I also got a great job out of college where I have to wear suits so I had to build a new wardrobe anyway so it worked out.

I know a lot of the things that mark a good quality suit, shirt, and shoe now but are there any specific features that pretty much guarantee quality?

I am thinking specifically full canvassing in suits. I am under the impression that there really is no such thing as a poor quality, fully canvassed suit. Correct?

Are there any other features in suits, shirts, shoes, ties, etc that 100% guarantee it is a quali item?

 

[ykurtz]

Quality requires a mixture of style, materials and workmanship. So, no, there isn't a single attribute of clothes/shoes that guarantee quality. It's an emergent phenomenon where there is enough style/material (better)/workmanship in proper proportion. So really just learn what constitutes superior style, higher quality materials (e.g. wools, leathers, etc.), and workmanship. No shortcuts, I'm afraid.

 

[lee_44106]



I am under the impression that there really is no such thing as a poor quality, fully canvassed suit. Correct?

INCORRECT.

Are there any other features in suits, shirts, shoes, ties, etc that 100% guarantee it is a quali item?

Don't expect a Cliff's Note version of something that requires time to learn. On the other hand, you can start by reading some books from the likes of Flusser.


By the way, object quality is only a SMALL part. FIT is king. I'll take Excellent fit/mediocre quality over poor fit/excellent quality any day.

 

[Grrtt780]

I appreciate the advice. I certainly look at many aspects of a suit to assess quality, buttons, material, stitching, etc but I have been operating under the assumption that if it is fully canvases it is a good suit. Thanks for setting me straight.

Oh yeah, I check fit first and don't bother any further if it doesn't fit well. (I made a few mistakes at first, never again).

 

[Nicola]



I have been thrifting a lot of clothes lately and have been enjoying it.

I assume you mean pre owned. With anything like that it's really up to you to notice all the things that may have gone wrong since it was new.

Was it altered?
Stained?
Worn?
Faded?

Some thing may have left the factory being perfect that doesn't mean you can trust it still is.

 

[mason]

I think you can say a lot about quality in terms of the fit and stitching of the for instance, a bespoke suit or shirt.