Discussions about the fashion industry thread

[Zamb]

Good.

THERE is going to be a reckoning

im watching all of these trends and i have my assumptions. i may be wrong, but well.....

1. the selling of secondhand clothing and buying it as being virtuous is bullcrap. to me it actually masks a greater problem that is a concern on several fronts.
we want to end fast fashion, but the price of designer clothing has gotten too high. the second part of that problem is that there are a number of companies, making products intentionally expensive, as a way of saying its "luxury" is luxury synonymous with price?

2. A lot of young people, especially in major cities like NY, simple CANNOT afford the price of new designer clothing on any consistent basis. their income is decimated with HIGH RENTS. I know of people, paying 70 to 80 of their income on rent alone. Where the hell is the disposable income going to come from to go to dinner, to take a lover out to eat? to buy nice gifts and to buy New designer clothing at current prices?
the powers that be are aware if this Dilema, so selling people that its virtuous to buy seconmd hand (cheaper) because they have less to spend, is a way of masking a real problem

Wages have stagnated while cost of living has increased significantly. a lot of younger folks now are in a bad position financially because of forces outside their control and something is gonna have to give

I dont mind thrift shopping, but surely id not wan to be in a position where almost all my clothing is second hand cast offs.

 

[zissou]

^I agree completely. The other issue with buying second hand as a virtue is that it masks another real problem of overconsumption. Case in point, my stepdaughter only buys secondhand but has enough clothes for about 8 people.

 

[Mariokartfever]

I know of people, paying 70 to 80 of their income on rent alone

This is insane to me. I lived in NYC for a decade and was close to 50% when I was starting my career, that felt very tight.

 

[ValidusLA]

Demographics have plummeted and value add have plummeted and plateaud respectively in SEA and more so in China.

If it weren't for the sunk cost of the industrial plant, thered be even less production going on there now than there is.

 

[sftiger]

^I agree completely. The other issue with buying second hand as a virtue is that it masks another real problem of overconsumption. Case in point, my stepdaughter only buys secondhand but has enough clothes for about 8 people.

Where do people living in NYC store all this stuff? I'm always surprised that isn't more of a forcing function.

My wife does Rent the Runway as we seem to have enough dinners and other events to go to that she can mostly make good use of it. But I will never totally get the need to have a new dress at every event.

 

[zissou]

Where do people living in NYC store all this stuff?

Well, my stepdaughter just stores it all in a pile in the middle of her bedroom floor.

 

[breakaway01]

THERE is going to be a reckoning

im watching all of these trends and i have my assumptions. i may be wrong, but well.....

1. the selling of secondhand clothing and buying it as being virtuous is bullcrap. to me it actually masks a greater problem that is a concern on several fronts.
we want to end fast fashion, but the price of designer clothing has gotten too high. the second part of that problem is that there are a number of companies, making products intentionally expensive, as a way of saying its "luxury" is luxury synonymous with price?

2. A lot of young people, especially in major cities like NY, simple CANNOT afford the price of new designer clothing on any consistent basis. their income is decimated with HIGH RENTS. I know of people, paying 70 to 80 of their income on rent alone. Where the hell is the disposable income going to come from to go to dinner, to take a lover out to eat? to buy nice gifts and to buy New designer clothing at current prices?
the powers that be are aware if this Dilema, so selling people that its virtuous to buy seconmd hand (cheaper) because they have less to spend, is a way of masking a real problem

Wages have stagnated while cost of living has increased significantly. a lot of younger folks now are in a bad position financially because of forces outside their control and something is gonna have to give

I dont mind thrift shopping, but surely id not wan to be in a position where almost all my clothing is second hand cast offs.

I agree with the issues of wage stagnation and deepening economic disparity. But why is this a dichotomy between fast fashion and “designer” clothing (do you mean Gucci/Versace/LV or something else)?

Isn’t another way of looking at this simply that instead of owning three $15 T-shirts made in Asia you can instead buy a $45 MiUSA T-shirt?

 

[Mariokartfever]

I agree with the issues of wage stagnation and deepening economic disparity. But why is this a dichotomy between fast fashion and “designer” clothing (do you mean Gucci/Versace/LV or something else)?

Isn’t another way of looking at this simply that instead of owning three $15 T-shirts made in Asia you can instead buy a $45 MiUSA T-shirt?

Sumptuary laws

 

[double00]

THERE is going to be a reckoning

im watching all of these trends and i have my assumptions. i may be wrong, but well.....

1. the selling of secondhand clothing and buying it as being virtuous is bullcrap. to me it actually masks a greater problem that is a concern on several fronts.
we want to end fast fashion, but the price of designer clothing has gotten too high. the second part of that problem is that there are a number of companies, making products intentionally expensive, as a way of saying its "luxury" is luxury synonymous with price?

2. A lot of young people, especially in major cities like NY, simple CANNOT afford the price of new designer clothing on any consistent basis. their income is decimated with HIGH RENTS. I know of people, paying 70 to 80 of their income on rent alone. Where the hell is the disposable income going to come from to go to dinner, to take a lover out to eat? to buy nice gifts and to buy New designer clothing at current prices?
the powers that be are aware if this Dilema, so selling people that its virtuous to buy seconmd hand (cheaper) because they have less to spend, is a way of masking a real problem

Wages have stagnated while cost of living has increased significantly. a lot of younger folks now are in a bad position financially because of forces outside their control and something is gonna have to give

I dont mind thrift shopping, but surely id not wan to be in a position where almost all my clothing is second hand cast offs.

that expensive housing is also mostly secondhand .

i will say that basically all of my clothing is either secondhand or self-made . ditto with most of our furniture / housewares . virtue has nothing to do with it .

 

[Mariokartfever]

that expensive housing is also mostly secondhand .

i will say that basically all of my clothing is either secondhand or self-made . ditto with most of our furniture / housewares . virtue has nothing to do with it .

Where do you get your furniture?

Kaiyo and AptDeco have been helpful but the discount isn't substantial since you're essentially buying from a store that takes overhead.

 

[double00]

Where do you get your furniture?

Kaiyo and AptDeco have been helpful but the discount isn't substantial since you're essentially buying from a store that takes overhead.

a variety of places ! but , in-person only , so it does take time .

nowadays i live in a retail desert , honestly thrift and resale stores are sort of the only places to shop especially for clothing , if you actually want to see what you are buying . we do have furniture stores but my cat is just going to eat the couch anyways so it doesn't really make sense to pay msrp for furni . i just try to find things that i can reupholster if i decide i love them in spite of the cat damage .

i do miss the retail experiences that were available in the city , the thrifting was better too .

 

[sushijerk]

I think 90% of my clothing is 2nd hand/thrifted. I probably paid avg 5% of retail or less so this way when I really get the itch to splurge on a new item I don't feel bad at all.

 

[smittycl]

In this week's New Yorker.

"People who’ve been invited to fancy parties sometimes buy expensive outfits or accessories, then return them the next day, caviar stains and all—a practice known as “wardrobing.” Brick-and-mortar shoppers also return purchases. “Petco takes back dead fish,” Demer said. “Home Depot and Lowe’s let you return dead plants, for a year. You just have to be shameless enough to stand in line with the thing you killed.” It almost goes without saying that Americans are the world’s leading refund seekers; consumers in Japan seldom return anything."

What Happens to All the Stuff We Return?

Online merchants changed the way we shop—and made “reverse logistics” into a booming new industry.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Zamb]

In this week's New Yorker.

"People who’ve been invited to fancy parties sometimes buy expensive outfits or accessories, then return them the next day, caviar stains and all—a practice known as “wardrobing.” Brick-and-mortar shoppers also return purchases. “Petco takes back dead fish,” Demer said. “Home Depot and Lowe’s let you return dead plants, for a year. You just have to be shameless enough to stand in line with the thing you killed.” It almost goes without saying that Americans are the world’s leading refund seekers; consumers in Japan seldom return anything."

What Happens to All the Stuff We Return?

Online merchants changed the way we shop—and made “reverse logistics” into a booming new industry.

www.newyorker.com

because we are conditioned to make poor and irresponsible decisions and pass the consequences on to other people. its crazy

 

[Omega Man]

Haven't read the article yet, but a few questions / observations.
Can retailers simply refuse to take back the items if they can "prove" the clothing has been worn / soiled / stained? They don't do this because they don't want to piss off a "high value" client?
To deter this behaviour, can we impose a restocking fee for these items?
Different culture/mentality at play here - buy more (and buy often) than what you need vs buy exactly what you need.