How do you guys feel about "fast fashion" like H&M?

I only buy items from H&M that seem to be of decent quality, and I've mostly rid myself of the old **** I bought from there. HOWEVER, items with a black H&M label seem to be of much higher quality. I have a slim-fit dress shirt and a suit with the black label and both are very, very nice garments for the price.

Originally Posted by Jared

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If they did a major expansion or offered online ordering, it would be a big deal.

Does anyone know if/when this will ever happen? It's inconceivable to me that my (relatively small) city now has a Saks, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Coach, Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom, and every half-rate mall brand conceivable, yet no H&M within a thousand miles. Can't we trade just one BR or Gap for this?

Also, the lack of online ordering still blows my mind. Wouldn't they literally rake in a fortune if they did this?

I buy basics there.

I like the fact that the clothes actually fit me how I like, and that the prices are low and allow me to purchase two or three of the same item in either the same color or different colors.

I'll buy multiples of the pique polo shirts for $10 and the L/S lightweight cotton button-up shirts in white and sky blue for $15.

They also make decent patterned shorts, and linen shirts. The tailored jackets fit me well but half the time are made out of some terrible synthetic fabric.

Originally Posted by SWB

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Does anyone know if/when this will ever happen? It's inconceivable to me that my (relatively small) city now has a Saks, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Coach, Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom, and every half-rate mall brand conceivable, yet no H&M within a thousand miles. Can't we trade just one BR or Gap for this?

Also, the lack of online ordering still blows my mind. Wouldn't they literally rake in a fortune if they did this?

Where do you live? I don't have a Nordstrom within 200 miles of where I live yet I have two H&M stores in the area.

I don't think online will happen. It's absolutely ridiculous to see how many pieces H&M has floating all over. For example, I found a S/S button-up at one H&M in over eight colors, while another one only 15 miles away had nothing remotely like it. Likewise, the number, color, quality, and styles of M65 jackets at H&M in Fall/Winter is insane. The point is, H&M is so completely unregulated in terms of what they carry that it would be impossible to keep an online store.

Originally Posted by apocalypse later

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Where do you live? I don't have a Nordstrom within 200 miles of where I live yet I have two H&M stores in the area. I don't think online will happen. It's absolutely ridiculous to see how many pieces H&M has floating all over. For example, I found a S/S button-up at one H&M in over eight colors, while another one only 15 miles away had nothing remotely like it. Likewise, the number, color, quality, and styles of M65 jackets at H&M in Fall/Winter is insane. The point is, H&M is so completely unregulated in terms of what they carry that it would be impossible to keep an online store.
I live in Portland, OR. Surprised there isn't an H&M in Seattle, at least. I do see the point about the online store, but as recently posted in the S&D forum, yesstyle.com carries a similarly ridiculous amount of items that are sourced from a variety of manufacturers / distributors, so it seems conceivable that H&M could use the same "as available" ordering setup (once you order from yesstyle, there's a 10-14 day wait while they determine whether what you've ordered actually exists or is available to be sourced from one of their distributors; maybe not the most flawless system, but it does alleviate the issue of constantly changing stock). Either way, an IKEA is finally opening here on Wednesday, it only seems appropriate that H&M would follow suit. I think Portland is finally becoming an established "major city" in national economic terms, and the market is certainly there for it.

I go there every so often and get some cheap "basics" which would look similar whether they were $20 or $200. Things like solid color shirts, Ts, sweaters, things like that. Do you think anyone who isnt a clotheswhore notices the difference between Band of Outsiders and an H&M shirt on sight? Nah

I'm also surprised that there's no H&M in Portland, OR.

Their slim-fitting button-up shirts and dressy pants are cut extremely well for thin guys.

What about the idea that H&M cheapens real fashion by just ripping it off and selling it to people who normally wouldn't have their taste developed to that aesthetic without it shoved in their face and their mall?

Do you really want to see people walking around in stuff that's practically the same stuff you pay up to a grand for and most people will never know the difference?

What if you were walking around wearing Yohji and someone said "oh I almost bought that shirt, I saw it at H&M."

Not saying I advocate this point of view, but playing a bit of devil's advocate here.

H&M aside, I think most of us here deal with this with jeans. People see arcuates and tags and assume we paid $30 for some Levi's knock-offs.

No slow-down of people buying the good stuff...

Originally Posted by whodini

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H&M aside, I think most of us here deal with this with jeans. People see arcuates and tags and assume we paid $30 for some Levi's knock-offs. No slow-down of people buying the good stuff...
Yea but there's widespread recognition for fine denims on places like SF and SuFu. Post up a WAYWT pic with your canes or ricksons or sams, receive mad props, and its no problem. The degree to which jeans are fetishized is higher than sweaters, collared shirts, polo shirts, etc., thus they are much more recognizable. I think denim is an entirely seperate beast. I can think of an outfit I saw recently which was composed off artisanal labels and probably cost a good 4 or 5k at retail, none of that leather except for the shoes, and it looked absolutely atrocious. This phenomena has been discussed before ad nauseum. If the guy had said it was all H&M stuff, I wouldn't be surprised at all. I would think there would be some level of discomfort in paying thousands for something that another company is doing for less than a hundred. There are tons of differences in details and fits, etc. but these people are obviously looking for props and recognition, but on a computer screen its indistinguishable from what are essentially knock-offs. You can bet that these people aren't getting credit for their lurking/spending irl as they are when they list out the brands underneath their WAYWT picture, and it's obvious they're doing it for the props, or they wouldnt be posting their fits in WAYWT. Im having a hard time arguing this point, as its kind of cyclical.

If I'm understanding the argument, Brian -- which I'm quite sure I'm not -- wouldn't the solution be to buy cheap knock-off stuff from H&M for $30 rather than for a grand elsewhere?

Originally Posted by Brian SD

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I would think there would be some level of discomfort in paying thousands for something that another company is doing for less than a hundred.
You have actually hit upon a point which is much bigger than just this topic, and its an interesting one (it's also come up in threads about outright couterfeitters, rather than just off-knockers). It comes down to free market supply and demand (wherein h&m is feeding off the popularity of dior fits, for example) vs. a kind of learned, curatorial apprecation for and patronage of forward-looking fashion (like how France has governmental bodies deciding which wines and cheeses qualify for which artisanal niche names). I'm pretty sure I've heard designers in interviews bemoan the effect h&m has had on their profitability. On one level, it's a pure commerce vs. art issue. But then again, it's more complicated than that. In some ways, h&m gives exposure to "dior fits" the same way as Canal St. does for LV purses. This maybe too local for many people to know about it, but here in boston there was much hay made of Urban Outfitters copying Johnny Cupcakes t-shirts. he'd submitted some designs, they said no thanks, then printed them anyway. It ended up probably being the best exposure he ever got, and now, at 23, he has a boutique on Newbury St. An argument could be made that the major retailers do the dirty work of making the Genuine Article a coveted item, rather than just a forgotten runway still.

i love it

I miss it. I still frequently wear things I bought there a couple of years ago. I wish I had access to the cheap basics like their knitwear, it's hard to find anywhere that compares at a similar price, especially with fit (as most jumpers swamp me).