In search of value: How to buy clothing that lasts

Mar 6 2017

There are few things worse than spending hard-earned coin buying a lemon. And there are plenty of lemons in men's fashion.

Woollen knits that pill within the first few washes. Suits that fall apart at the knees, elbows or groin. Shirts that discolour, or develop the dreaded yellow ring about the collar.

With fashion retailers selling an almost-infinite range of styles at different price points, how can the discerning consumer pick the deal from the dud?

How menswear is made

To pick quality from junk, it's important to understand what goes into a piece of clothing's sticker price.

A typical $100 business shirt costs about $20 to make, according to industry insiders. The fabric costs $10, the labour costs another $10, and the rest is sweet, sweet profit (of which the retailer takes $50 and the designer $30).

So, what are you paying for?

The basics

For basic shirts, you're paying for two materials – the shirt cloth and the yarn used to stitch it.

Cheaper shirts generally use cheaper yarn and fewer stitches per inch along the seam; however, that likely won't mean a shirt will tear as even cheap machine stitching is of a reasonable quality these days, says Oscar Hunt general manager Chris Edwards.

"Generally unless it's really poor quality it shouldn't fall apart. Even your quite cheap numbers should probably tick the stitching box."

Quality check

Fabric is another matter. Fabric quality is determined by thread length and type.

Shorter threads in the material of cheaper clothing look fine when you first purchase a shirt, but will quickly become displaced in the wash – leading to the dreaded pilling. Longer threads resist this problem. This affects cotton in shirts and wool in suits, says Mr Edwards. Expensive fabrics should have long threads that won't fray.

Putting in the hours

The other input is labour – both assembly and creative. It's here that price really matters.

Garment factories can only make garments based on the pattern from the designer.

"Pattern making, if done by someone inexperienced, they treat our bodies like they look like a piece of flat cardboard," says Julia Van Der Sommen from fashion manufacturing consultancy Sample Room.

"That as a skill in the industry is being lost rapidly."

How to stop buying junk

There is no one generic male figure that suits and shirts are based on – each clothing label uses a slightly different model, says Van Der Sommen. That means some labels will fit different shapes better than others. (as a tall, thin, long-limbed man, I find Jack London suits almost tailor-made). Der Sommen even mentions a now-defunct mid-range fashion label that had lucked into a great model to fit its clothes onto - meaning the clothes fitted as well as much more expensive brands.

The only way to find out how well something fits is to try it on. Don't fall into the trap of buying online, otherwise you can end up with a high-quality but ill-fitting garment. And if it does not fit perfectly, it won't ever look good. Of course, once you've found a shirt that fits, go mad with repeat online-ordering.

Picking quality fabric is trickier.

The touch test

Oscar Hunt's Edwards recommends feeling a piece of fabric between your fingers.

"Even if you're an amateur you can generally put the cloth between thumb and index and get a reasonable feel for quality", he says.

Longer, higher-quality threads will feel smoother. Another tell-tale sign is fabric "fuzz" as the ends of the cotton come apart, says Leonie Rutherford, creative director at Melbourne jeans manufacturer Denimsmith.

"Lower grade fabrics often have shorter staples in the fibre – which means the fabric can appear quite fluffy on the surface."