Are More Expensive Clothes Actually Better Quality?

Hand knitter here with a data point on fiber content. When knitting a sock, even the most premium yarn manufacturers will put about 20%-25% polyester fiber into their wool sock yarns. This increases the durability of the yarn which is especially important when it comes to socks. They take a lot of wear. If you use 100% wool, that sock you spent hours knitting is going to wear out much faster. I have no inside knowledge into why the luxury brands are going for synthetic/natural fiber blends, but its possible that they could be making similar calculations as sock yarn manufacturers.

I work in the textiles industry, to be specific I own a fabric mill that manufacture and sell fabric to brands like zara, h&m, arket, massimo to haute couture that sell around 3,000 usd per piece. To be honest, on the material side, yes to lower the cost we tend to use either cotton or polyester yarns. However, i can use some the most expensive yarns such as merino wool, but this rarely reflects as “quality” on the final garment. What really makes the difference is after wash shrinkages and construction. To increase the output garment makers work with shops that basically haphazardly sew the pieces together which lowers the quality. Shrinkage is not necessary something that you can buy with more money. It occurs when the dyehouses fuck up. And they up alllll the time. I mean like 5/10 orders, there are issues with shrinkages. No matter how attentive you are or how slow you are.

Simple answer: Yeah expensive clothes do have better quality but it does not justify 10 times increase in price. This however only makes sense for common folk. If someone is loaded, this whole discussion is pointless.

I still have in my closet two rugby polo long sleeves from Ralph Lauren that I bought 18 years ago. They still look great and there are no signs of wear on them. On the other hand I’ve had a lot of H&M clothes and they barely survived 1 or 2 years. Very interesting video. I never thought of analyzing my clothes in that way I just buy them.

I happily ignore all care instructions and look only at the fabric content and the construction. For example, I just bought a high-end 100% cotton dress and saw that the label says “dry clean only”. I laughed and, before wearing it, threw it in a warm wash to get the packing creases and sizing out, hung it dry, and it looks beautiful. I wash everything except structured items like blazers and coats, which often have unwashable construction elements like interfacing in them. I have over six decades of experience and never ruined a single garment this way. (The book Laundry is great for those who don’t have wide knowledge and experience of fabrics and clothing). That said, I don’t wash my clothes until they need it and never put them in the dryer. They last a long, long time. Everything needs to be checked for spots, grime and odors after wearing, then a good airing and possibly or steaming or ironing before being put back into the closet. I also spot-clean coats and jackets a lot as needed. Putting unnecessarily and ridiculously conservative care instructions on a garment is called “low-labeling”. Brands do it to reduce return claims.

I like the mention of the ethical supply chain on more expensive brands. Besides lower fabric quality or shortcuts in the production of garments, I think it is important to also mention that for the cheaper brands, the costs are pushed elsewhere: Exploiting workers, poor quality of life of workers, harming the environment, etc.

Something that I truly admire and appreciate from this video, is that you gave the obvious, intuitive result; but in the process, you explained your reasoning, and gave very useful insight into how to choose a garment with a good quality-price ratio. The final answer was expected, but I take away a lot of good information, and an amazing guide into how to buy good clothing. In summary: I noticed the dedication in the video, and it's highly appreciated. Good work, and thanks a lot!

I have been sewing pants out of pure wool fro 40 years. Up to 20% of nylon or polyester is an improvement in wool for pants or skirts. Wool tends to stretch and bag, just like denim does. For knits I would prefer pure wool. Bought some merino wool Tshirts a couple of years ago. Cheap at Aldi. Wore them every day for two winters. Still look new.

Polyester isn't always all bad! Even the holy grail wool coat, the Loro Piana Vicuña has Polyester, it cost $20,000 btw. Polyester, combining with wool prevents fray and maintains structure, results in a higher durability.

Great tips! Now I'll check materials and stitching instead of just buying for the brand name. Quality over quantity when shopping - love it!

I really appreciate the fact that you re-uploaded the video, as I greatly enjoyed the first one! Keep up the good work, Tim. Much love from Italy.

As someone who’s totally ignorant about luxury brands, some friends of mine commented after awhile about how I never even noticed their several hundred dollar designer accessories, jackets, or shirts. I just didn’t see them as so stunning to have been worth that much (nor did I really care). And after awhile, they started realizing that when the appeal of an item is its brand name and price tag rather than the actual style appeal, to the average person with an untrained eye, this flex completely falls flat… Most people will pay the same amount of attention to a $700 shirt as a $17. What they really notice is how your overall look comes together, not how much you overpaid for a marginally better quality item

Don't be afraid of synthetic fabrics in clothes! For the last year I have been working for a premium clothing brand in Russia. And I talked a lot with designers and the department that deals with clothing prototypes. And more than once they said that warm, woolen, or simply “complicated” clothes, for example, jackets, cannot be made comfortable to wear if only natural materials are used. Synthetics allow the fabric to stretch and not shrink after washing, making things light and warm. If you make a jacket from only 100% wool, it will be heavy and not very warm. And most importantly, it will not stretch so well, and it will be very easy to damage it during putting on/taking off. Often, this is not even economical, because nylon fibers need to be sewn into wool fibers, and this is a separate procedure on special fabrics. And the cost of this procedure will be included in the cost of rolls of fabric. I can tell you more if you're interested. But in general, the main idea is this - do not be afraid of 10% to 40% synthetics (especially in jackets) in clothes. Simply, feel the clothes well before purchasing, try them on to see if you like the fabric on your body. (sorry if anything is not clear, I am writing using Google Translate)

1:42 that truck swipe transition was smooth bro 👏👏👏

Great video. About the material, actually Polyester is not always bad, rather a bit of polyester in clothes makes it less likely to wrinkle and actually increase the durability of your clothes. And also, not all cotton is the same. Some fast fashion brands do have 100% cotton T-shirts but they break down really fast (I’m talking like 1-2 washes) so feel it before you buy and choose your clothes wisely. If you don’t live in super hot climate, like tropical countries, I would say a bit of polyester in your T-shirts doesn’t hurt and honestly, it saves you lost of time ironing your clothes. Look for the good mix of polyester and cotton and your clothes will last for a good amount of time!

Really good video. The use of polyester or other synethics into blends- Wool/Cotton for instance is an interesting one. The reason they are added according to the makers is usually something along the lines of "to increase durability" because polyester or nylon is strong. So therefore good right? But the only reason that they are being added in the first place is because even if the company has used luxury materials like high end wool, cotton, silk etc. they have skimped out on the production methods. Before the days of fast fashion when clothing manufacturing was considered and a time consuming task, they had production methods which prevented pilling and increased fabric durability in the way cotton and wool was milled and woven. But these methods have died out and fewer exist because it's easier for companies to do things quicker to make more stuff to be pumped out for us suckers to buy- hence why you can still buy quality clothing in good condition from the 60s and 70s before the advent of mass synthetics. It's all a con- except for sportswear and socks, i can see very limited argument for synthetics to be added to clothing but unfortunately that ship seems to have sailed.

Hurts me that you piled Uniqlo alongside H&M. I´ve never been dissapointed by Uniqlo, but H&M has had some misses with me

I appreciate this video and the points you highlighted. Someone who has bought a lot of inexpensive because I have a wide interest in styles, I’m finally settling down to higher quality items and buying with intention for long term.

You forgot about the tier above (fake) luxury brands. The tier contains things like Brunello, Loro Piana, Canali, Kiton, Zegna, Brioni and many more. Funny how they're mostly Italian brands, but it makes sense. These are brands that don't make you walk around wearing advertisements. Instead of paying $750 for a one-fit Gucci shirt covered in branding and made in Bangladesh, I'd rather spend $350 for a fully custom-fit hand finished shirt from one of those niche luxury brands.

Really appreciate you putting this video together. Insanely informative for someone that has always struggled with knowing where to draw the line for new garments in terms of price. I've bought some expensive things in the past that haven't exactly correlated with what I paid. So this video helped me a huge amount. Cheers brother!!