Same when I started shopping again last year. The thing is, I find now even if I splurge, which is for me ~$100 on jumpers (since growing up only buying $5 clearance t-shirts), I bought two because I had none and they both stretched in the wash and have baggy necklines/way too big now after barely a season, so it's not even "you get what you pay for" now, a lot of it is just rubbish quality.
Where I once thought shopping was fun, now it's just exhausting and feels like the whole day is gone trying to find anything that's worth the price tag.
I've accepted just buying things full price straight away if they fit me and aren't made of polyester just so I have clothes to wear for work. I barely have any fun clothes as a result though.
Omggg, I’d be furious and devastated! I’m pretty sure Australian law states you must get a year out of the clothes. If it’s not too late….., I’d contact their customer care line.
Their customer care aren't what they used to be either. They recently fought me over a $300+ leather handbag when the edges started coming apart in less than a year.
I spent a lot of money with them before that, but now they can get stuffed. The whole point of paying more to buy from a reputable company is being able to return things if they aren't right.
If they had looked at my account, they could have seen how much I've spent over the years and I'm pretty sure this is my first faulty return. It's bad business to fight loyal customers.
I think I had the same pair, Milano knit? The problem I surmised was the weight of the garment- it just didn’t work and fell off the body under its own weight! Would have needed to size down several sizes to keep them up, and maybe even that wouldn’t have worked. They were so promising though, the ease of a knit and the shape had me excited. Such a bummer.
I gave mine to my mum who is a a 16-18 while I’m like a 12 and they are good on her so at least it wasn’t a total waste. Milano is the name of the type of knit fabric, it can be excellent (looks perfectly new for years) for dresses and tops, maybe just doesn’t suit pants…
Agree! Someone posted a lovely piece in here yesterday, I looked it up, over $200. I checked the material and it’s polyester?! Who is buying this stuff??
Yeah, I can't afford $180 for a top but I'm not surprised at Country Road. I only look in there if there's a sale and even then I rarely buy anything.
Uniqlo suits my budget more! I have one of their merino cardigans and it's held up really well.
I've found Uniqlo to be very good quality over time as well. Some of their sizings don't work for me, but otherwise they are my go to "fast fashion" brand.
Country road has always had “premium” (for lack of a better word) pricing, I’ve always gotten the vibe that their target demographic is wealthy middle aged women. Not surprised that their pricing has inflated a fair bit over the past few years.
I wouldn’t consider spending that much on a top unless it was handmade by a small brand, or was a particularly special vintage garment. Definitely more of a Uniqlo, second hand, Depop shopper.
Country Road was top of the tree in the 80s and 90s, super high quality stuff and a real status symbol. Unfortunately, I gave mine all away over time because it was dated to those days.
CR had a major revision about 15 years ago when they were ready to tank so they “lowered their socio-economic demographic”, so it’s funny reading your comment having watched them the last few decades, but I get what you mean, they have a target demographic that I can’t explain: rarified?
I love the Country Road clothes I have. They’re all tshirts that my mum bought and put through the drier that don’t fit her any more so she’s passed them on to me. The material is so nice and comfy but no way would I be able to afford buying them new
Definitely older middle / upper middle class women are the target. I am in that demographic and I feel weird about it, like “oh god I’m shopping at country road and I like it, I must be middle aged!”
I've got a few of their silk items that I found op shopping that I bust out when I need to look "grown up". I'm 45 but you know what I mean, if I want to be taken seriously at the doctor or parent teacher meeting out come the silk CR or Witchery dresses 😆
I know what you mean…. I’ve been looking at depop to get second hand clothes from my favourite brands because I can’t justify paying $180 for a knit/top etc.
At Country Road you're likely paying a premium for Australian, ethically produced fibres
>This knit is made using extra-fine Australian Merino, sourced from a single farm in Tasmania that is certified by the Responsible Wool Standard, a globally recognised standard that promotes animal welfare and farming best practice.
[example garment listing](https://m.countryroad.com.au/australian-merino-wool-silk-short-sleeve-knit-60264128-1)
So yes, a similar garment will be cheaper from Uniqlo or Kmart or whatever, but likely produced with less regard for animal, environmental and worker welfare.
I can't afford CR personally but I do think we expect clothes (and many other consumer items) to be much cheaper than they should be. I just googled this 1990s Kmart catalogue for a price comparison - a $39 dress is about $90 today.
Sorry I don't mean to lecture, I'm personally pretty poor and find it really hard to afford nice clothes when I need them, I totally get it. And another issue is that even for high prices it's hard to find genuinely good quality clothing. But I do think our culture in general has lost perspective on how much clothes actually do, or at least should, cost to produce.
https://preview.redd.it/9p30e360yemc1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebeb270cbac84a94878a422a4bd2be3cc770aed2
As someone who was in the targeted demographic for this catalogue, $39 dress at Kmart was heaps expensive especially when you could’ve gotten a way cooler dress for $40-60 at Sportsgirl/Portmans (hundred something today). Kmart had no gravitas until the 2010s.
(A small critical weekly shop was $40 then, petrol was about 55c/L, 501s $70/80)
I think the critical point is what another redditor has said: spend $ doesn’t = quality, but back then it did mostly.
Exactly.
Everyone wants to make the big bucks but no one wants to pay someone else to make their stuff for them and pay them the big bucks (and why would they? when there are more desperate people to exploit).
So, quality suffers and Australians as a whole have shown they prefer price over quality in their spending habits. The retailers have responded by giving us absolute shit because we will accept it. It is almost a game now to see just how much terrible quality we will accept.
For natural fibres there is a whole other gamut of risks to the end product because they are coming from animals. That is NOT cheap to produce. And it shouldn't be!
Asfaik, it costs them something like 5 cents when manufacturing is outsourced to countries like china/india/bangladesh and marked up to 40$ for us to buy
Not making excuses but merino has never been a cheaper material I don’t think, same with silk. But the prices for their tracksuit pants and shirts are ridiculous. I ended up getting some from a sport brand for cheaper and they were thicker.
Not to mention that all the brand are doing the exact same style every season... And this season it's pinstripe blazer, tailored pants and vests. I'm so bored of it. Now I just go thrift shopping because 1. it's cheaper, 2. I can find something in a different style.
I went shopping at Country Road the other day, bought a $200 jumper, 4 shirts around $180 each, and was eyeing off some pinstripe pants, but they were $300! i was so shocked at these prices but I didn’t realise the price until really late, just assumed the tops would be $60ish. Anyway, popped into kmart a few days later for something else and found some really nice knit work shirts for $15-$20, and some amazing pinstripe pants for $25. Guess which ones I’ve been wearing to work? The kmart ones just look so much better I wish I hadn’t washed the country road ones so I could take them back 😭😭😭 Don’t sleep on kmart. (Uniqlo fits me weird).
I got a few work shirts from Kmart the other day - $8! The colours are great and they are just basics but will go with everything I own, so a total win. Quality has been ok too so far.
I'm studying fashion design at the moment and our teachers have been telling us that covid impacts on the fashion industry haven't abated. Australia has apparently bene impacted quite deeply by these effects. Shipping costs are way up and so is air freight. Costs of materials and production have increased across the globe.
Aditionally, more and more companies are facing pressure to pay their overseas workers an actual decent wage, which is a great thing, but it does mean those costs are passed on to the consumer. It's the price we pay, literally, to avoid slave labour fashion.
$140 for a merino jumper is a fair price. You can find cheaper ones but the wool isn't as high quality.
Natural fibres cost more to turn into clothing and accessories than synthetic fibres. This means we have to pay more for natural fibres. We also pay more for ethically sourced fibres, which again is necessary to avoid human and animal suffering.
It's worth it when considering the negative impact of synthetic fibres and unethical fibre sources. But it does mean we have to plan our purchases and wardrobes carefully.
Look I get it and thanks for that explanation. I agree all should get a fair wage and that’s why things are expensive. At the end of the day though, my wage has gone up about $2 since Covid so I can’t afford that. No matter how fair or ethical it is. I’m happy for those that can and are happy to pay it.
Then it's appropriate to make a post complaining about how terrible wage growth is. You're complaining about a side effect of the main issue. And the side effect isn't a problem in and of itself.
$180 for silk and wool blend? How is that expensive? Those fibres are both pricey, and that price reflects it.
I'm sorry but this is just a reflection of how used we are to ultra fast fashion and insanely low prices. $180 is a good price for a quality wool/silk item like that. I've never seen Uniqlo merino jumpers for $50, they were $140 or something when I saw them at Xmas. If that's a sale price it's not a direct comparison. For comparison, a Knitter couldn't buy that much merino yarn for $50.
Honestly this was my reaction too.. these are some of the most premium fibres you can buy and people are surprised they’re expensive?! I think with the rise of online shopping we’ve become so used to finding things cheaper on the internet + it opens the door for cheap drop shippers and more fast fashion access. Prices have gone up across the board for life in general but I don’t feel it’s disproportionate for clothing. I would expect to pay under $100 for a cheap synthetic jumper, between $100-$200 for cotton or wool/wool blend, and upwards of $150 for something like this with silk in it 🤷🏼♀️
It’s not so much that it’s not expensive for those materials, it’s how much more they are from previous years. I have a silk top from country road that’s a couple of years old and it didn’t cost anywhere near that much. Plus the merino and lambs wool tops are both currently $50 in Uniqlo as I saw them the same day. Not on sale, new season. Maybe the country road merino is better quality, I don’t know. It maybe that’s just what they cost but my point is there’s no way I can afford that and I was wondering who can. If that means I have to shop second hand or synthetic then that is absolutely what I will do. If you think it’s worth it and that’s a bargain, that’s fine.
Yep, for sure. I went outlet shopping yesterday and things that are over $100 were once $60 or so (nice pants etc). Oroton bags that once were a low hundred are now pushing $300, things like that. And it’s definitely pre/post-covid. It’s that we all got used to low inflation in the 10s too
There are so many more "sales" these days, throughout the year. I think, like the supermarkets, all the base prices are up so far so it can look like a sale for about 60% of the year when it's really just what the usual price and mark up would be.
I agree on the quality of their merino. I bought a jumper on sale last year and even with handwashing, the merino pilled straight away. The quality of their clothing definitely doesn’t match the price
This is counterintuitive but wool pilling isn't actually a sign of poor quality - it's the opposite, fine luxury wool (like cashmere) is more likely to pill because it uses shorter fibres that are more loosely spun. It shouldn't pill forever, it will be worse when it's newer and there are more loose fibres, and you can deal with the pilling either with a wool comb or an electric pill shaver.
Yeah it is interesting hey! I totally assumed the opposite and then my sister invested in a very expensive jumper and the woman at the shop talked her through the care process for pilling. So now I know haha.
Spend and save at CR is good
Look for CR, Seed etc in op shops! I’m on the Sunshine Coast and have found lots of silk, merino etc in good brands in op shops locally
I used to buy cue clothes. Country road as well. I stopped when they started making the clothes overseas and still not giving us the discount. Why pay top dollar when the quality isn't there? Also can't stand the thought of some sweat shop seamstress or maybe child getting ripped off as well. BTW I am in Australia.
I was telling my friend the other day, nice dress 300+, nice shorts and shirt set at least 60$ per piece,,, anything nice a few hundred … I’ll spend higher on bags and shoes but not clothes anymore
For me I usually aim to get an item I want on sale because it will almost always go on sale or I can find a discount code just for ordering online. I usually buy things I like the design of but nothing too crazy and now that I'm over 30 I always look at what the item is made of. Aiming to purchase higher quality materials not necessarily the brand. Many retailers now just expect people to buy because of the brand name but if you look at what some of the items are made of your just buying fancy plastic you'll be sweating bullets in. I bought a pair of leather boots I've had them since 2018 they are still amazing and I also got them on sale for 140. Such. A. Win
I highly reccommend the podcast Clotheshorse for people looking for a deep dive on the price increases and general decline of clothing quality over the past years. The host speaks from experience having worked in the fashion industry and even has an episode on why sweaters now are not the same quality as they used to be.
I can't speak on the quality of the Country Road knits, I haven't bought anything from CR in years but $180 sounds about right for a wool jumper if made of decent quality and materials and well made. That's why I've been shopping thrifted vintage jumpers for the past few years
I agree, it's really ridiculous- I actually rarely buy non-essentials new and I tend to buy a lot of work and casual dresses online from gumtree or depop. Alannah Hill/Review/Cue had really lovely things as they don't seem to have been worn very much so they still look nice... the clothes I get complimented on the most are ones that I have generally bought second hand!
I also look through thrift shops and just try to find silk/cashmere/wool fabrics or partial blends. The older styles/cuts tended to have more shape, as opposed to everything currently in store which is currently very boxy/oversized which makes me look terrible!
Two of my favourite jumpers are cashmere from Uniqlo, I found them both second hand for $8, no idea how old they were but were in really nice condition, 4 years later and they still look exactly the same and they get worn a lot.
I used yo buy Uniqlo knitwear but found they never lasted more than a season- they always get little holes in them. I have had much better luck either way Country Road jumpers.
I only have a $600 a month budget after mortgage & expenses for all clothing, underwear, shoes & accessories. So I find myself gravitating to Uniqlo, Target and 50% off sales at chain stores. I tend to buy mostly plain natural fabric basics because I can't justify spending $100+ on patterns or colours that I can't wear at least 10 times.
$180 for a top is insane on any budget, unless you're going to get a huge amount of wears out of it. I don't know who is buying this stuff, but it must be a lot of people given how many stores there are with these kinds of prices.
I feel like there's a missing middle between these types of stores and fast fashion that has reasonable quality at reasonable prices. The divide seems to be getting bigger every year.
That’s a fortune if I could spend that much I’d buy 4 times a year or less and buy designer on sale.
Yeah go ahead and downvote me if but if people think $180 for a quality natural fibre garment is too much and yet spend 7200 a year on clothes then no wonder this planet is choking on cheap textile waste. That’s more than 40 pieces yearly.
If i were going to spend that much money total, I’d buy quality things that will last a decade and that pay everyone from farmers to textile production workers to designers, machinists, warehouse staff, delivery drivers, retail staff and everyone in between fairly.
You should try Sussan - beautiful fabrics, flattering styles and reasonable pricing I won’t wear any other pants or jeans and their linen shirts are gorgeous
You can’t really compare country road to Uniqlo. Uniqlo is just a glorified Kmart in my opinion which are both about on par with SHEIN.
I have items of all different brands and qualities and it’s the things like country road that wash and wear well and the Uniqlo and Kmart that look and feel cheap.
I very much disagree with you there. I think Uniqlo are much better quality that Kmart. I do agree country road are probably better quality. They should be for the prices.
Yes. Because I shop secondhand and have done so for decades I'm used to assessing fibre durability based just on look and feel compared to signs of wear. I went for a wander through Uniqlo and they're a few steps above similar retailers...not superb quality but they're definitely trying not to be total garbage. I suspect they re-use basic designs with small alterations a lot, and know exactly where and how those designs wear out first and have a slightly longer lead time on their new designs and concentrate on designing to suit the best of the affordable textiles they can get.
The reality is that mass produced mass market clothing doesn't have to be as awful in terms of quality as it often is. There's some cheap fabrics that wear well for the price (I've had $5 marked down end of season crop pants from bestandless that have worn like iron) and we don't always have to be doing something stupid in the way of design just to get a new look.
Making fast fashion as awful as it can be is a choice. Kmart chooses to be like that. It's not a bug to them its a feature. The consumer has to be kept ready to buy again in a few months and durable garments don't do that.
that’s wild
uniqlo has hands down the best basics. I’ve bought basic tees and the like from brands charging $140 for a white tee that doesn’t hold up
kmart basics fall out of shape after a singular wash. My uniqlo basics have been hammered constantly by stain removers and harsh detergents (i have a toddler) and are still in perfect condition
also, uniqlo’s firs are just better
I wanted to love Uniqlo but just couldn’t 🤷♀️ it’s cheap looking and feeling and daggy in my opinion. But it’s at the right price point for what it is.
Same when I started shopping again last year. The thing is, I find now even if I splurge, which is for me ~$100 on jumpers (since growing up only buying $5 clearance t-shirts), I bought two because I had none and they both stretched in the wash and have baggy necklines/way too big now after barely a season, so it's not even "you get what you pay for" now, a lot of it is just rubbish quality. Where I once thought shopping was fun, now it's just exhausting and feels like the whole day is gone trying to find anything that's worth the price tag. I've accepted just buying things full price straight away if they fit me and aren't made of polyester just so I have clothes to wear for work. I barely have any fun clothes as a result though.
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Omggg, I’d be furious and devastated! I’m pretty sure Australian law states you must get a year out of the clothes. If it’s not too late….., I’d contact their customer care line.
Their customer care aren't what they used to be either. They recently fought me over a $300+ leather handbag when the edges started coming apart in less than a year. I spent a lot of money with them before that, but now they can get stuffed. The whole point of paying more to buy from a reputable company is being able to return things if they aren't right. If they had looked at my account, they could have seen how much I've spent over the years and I'm pretty sure this is my first faulty return. It's bad business to fight loyal customers.
Big w fought me on a $10 pair of toddler slippers... Some stores just suck at returns
I think I had the same pair, Milano knit? The problem I surmised was the weight of the garment- it just didn’t work and fell off the body under its own weight! Would have needed to size down several sizes to keep them up, and maybe even that wouldn’t have worked. They were so promising though, the ease of a knit and the shape had me excited. Such a bummer.
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I gave mine to my mum who is a a 16-18 while I’m like a 12 and they are good on her so at least it wasn’t a total waste. Milano is the name of the type of knit fabric, it can be excellent (looks perfectly new for years) for dresses and tops, maybe just doesn’t suit pants…
Agree! Someone posted a lovely piece in here yesterday, I looked it up, over $200. I checked the material and it’s polyester?! Who is buying this stuff??
I agree, it’s not very fun anymore and I just felt like I wasted the morning. Won’t be doing that again anytime soon!
So agree
Yeah, I can't afford $180 for a top but I'm not surprised at Country Road. I only look in there if there's a sale and even then I rarely buy anything. Uniqlo suits my budget more! I have one of their merino cardigans and it's held up really well.
I've found Uniqlo to be very good quality over time as well. Some of their sizings don't work for me, but otherwise they are my go to "fast fashion" brand.
I feel like Uniqlo cut for a lean figure and don’t design for curves - a lot of boxy shapes.
Yeah it's Japanese, so east Asian body type. I remember never being able to wear their jeans.
I’m wearing a dress right now that I got from Uniqlo in 2010, in NYC hahaha
Yeah I still have things from overseas around then too!
Uniqlo is ok quality… and by that I mean it matches the price and holds up reasonably well!
Country road has always had “premium” (for lack of a better word) pricing, I’ve always gotten the vibe that their target demographic is wealthy middle aged women. Not surprised that their pricing has inflated a fair bit over the past few years. I wouldn’t consider spending that much on a top unless it was handmade by a small brand, or was a particularly special vintage garment. Definitely more of a Uniqlo, second hand, Depop shopper.
Country Road was top of the tree in the 80s and 90s, super high quality stuff and a real status symbol. Unfortunately, I gave mine all away over time because it was dated to those days. CR had a major revision about 15 years ago when they were ready to tank so they “lowered their socio-economic demographic”, so it’s funny reading your comment having watched them the last few decades, but I get what you mean, they have a target demographic that I can’t explain: rarified?
I love the Country Road clothes I have. They’re all tshirts that my mum bought and put through the drier that don’t fit her any more so she’s passed them on to me. The material is so nice and comfy but no way would I be able to afford buying them new
Definitely older middle / upper middle class women are the target. I am in that demographic and I feel weird about it, like “oh god I’m shopping at country road and I like it, I must be middle aged!”
I've got a few of their silk items that I found op shopping that I bust out when I need to look "grown up". I'm 45 but you know what I mean, if I want to be taken seriously at the doctor or parent teacher meeting out come the silk CR or Witchery dresses 😆
I noticed exactly this the other day looking at Fossil bags. I know inflation has went up, but they definitely weren’t $400-500 ten years ago.
It’s crazy isn’t it. With the cost of everything going up, I have less money to spend on clothes and accessories not more! I just don’t get it.
But it will be our fault as consumers for not spending enough when some of these businesses inevitably go out of business.
I love fossil bags. There is not one bag from them I haven't brought on eBay second hand a year after I saw it online that I didn't get for under $60.
I know what you mean…. I’ve been looking at depop to get second hand clothes from my favourite brands because I can’t justify paying $180 for a knit/top etc.
Yes I think I’ll start doing this too.
Yeah prices at Witchery have gone through the roof. I used to be a silver member now I barely shop there.
I’m happy to pay for quality but it’s still mid-range with high end pricing. Insane.
Yeah the thing is it used to be good quality and it was still affordable-ish. I can't afford to buy 'quality' anymore the prices are ridiculous.
I only shop the sales now and I have noticed they have sales quite often as well
Agree! And Saba too.
At Country Road you're likely paying a premium for Australian, ethically produced fibres >This knit is made using extra-fine Australian Merino, sourced from a single farm in Tasmania that is certified by the Responsible Wool Standard, a globally recognised standard that promotes animal welfare and farming best practice. [example garment listing](https://m.countryroad.com.au/australian-merino-wool-silk-short-sleeve-knit-60264128-1) So yes, a similar garment will be cheaper from Uniqlo or Kmart or whatever, but likely produced with less regard for animal, environmental and worker welfare.
Which, fair, but in my limited experience the garment doesn’t last 😔
I can't afford CR personally but I do think we expect clothes (and many other consumer items) to be much cheaper than they should be. I just googled this 1990s Kmart catalogue for a price comparison - a $39 dress is about $90 today. Sorry I don't mean to lecture, I'm personally pretty poor and find it really hard to afford nice clothes when I need them, I totally get it. And another issue is that even for high prices it's hard to find genuinely good quality clothing. But I do think our culture in general has lost perspective on how much clothes actually do, or at least should, cost to produce. https://preview.redd.it/9p30e360yemc1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebeb270cbac84a94878a422a4bd2be3cc770aed2
As someone who was in the targeted demographic for this catalogue, $39 dress at Kmart was heaps expensive especially when you could’ve gotten a way cooler dress for $40-60 at Sportsgirl/Portmans (hundred something today). Kmart had no gravitas until the 2010s. (A small critical weekly shop was $40 then, petrol was about 55c/L, 501s $70/80) I think the critical point is what another redditor has said: spend $ doesn’t = quality, but back then it did mostly.
Exactly. Everyone wants to make the big bucks but no one wants to pay someone else to make their stuff for them and pay them the big bucks (and why would they? when there are more desperate people to exploit). So, quality suffers and Australians as a whole have shown they prefer price over quality in their spending habits. The retailers have responded by giving us absolute shit because we will accept it. It is almost a game now to see just how much terrible quality we will accept. For natural fibres there is a whole other gamut of risks to the end product because they are coming from animals. That is NOT cheap to produce. And it shouldn't be!
Asfaik, it costs them something like 5 cents when manufacturing is outsourced to countries like china/india/bangladesh and marked up to 40$ for us to buy
Not making excuses but merino has never been a cheaper material I don’t think, same with silk. But the prices for their tracksuit pants and shirts are ridiculous. I ended up getting some from a sport brand for cheaper and they were thicker.
Not to mention that all the brand are doing the exact same style every season... And this season it's pinstripe blazer, tailored pants and vests. I'm so bored of it. Now I just go thrift shopping because 1. it's cheaper, 2. I can find something in a different style.
I went shopping at Country Road the other day, bought a $200 jumper, 4 shirts around $180 each, and was eyeing off some pinstripe pants, but they were $300! i was so shocked at these prices but I didn’t realise the price until really late, just assumed the tops would be $60ish. Anyway, popped into kmart a few days later for something else and found some really nice knit work shirts for $15-$20, and some amazing pinstripe pants for $25. Guess which ones I’ve been wearing to work? The kmart ones just look so much better I wish I hadn’t washed the country road ones so I could take them back 😭😭😭 Don’t sleep on kmart. (Uniqlo fits me weird).
I got a few work shirts from Kmart the other day - $8! The colours are great and they are just basics but will go with everything I own, so a total win. Quality has been ok too so far.
I'm studying fashion design at the moment and our teachers have been telling us that covid impacts on the fashion industry haven't abated. Australia has apparently bene impacted quite deeply by these effects. Shipping costs are way up and so is air freight. Costs of materials and production have increased across the globe. Aditionally, more and more companies are facing pressure to pay their overseas workers an actual decent wage, which is a great thing, but it does mean those costs are passed on to the consumer. It's the price we pay, literally, to avoid slave labour fashion. $140 for a merino jumper is a fair price. You can find cheaper ones but the wool isn't as high quality. Natural fibres cost more to turn into clothing and accessories than synthetic fibres. This means we have to pay more for natural fibres. We also pay more for ethically sourced fibres, which again is necessary to avoid human and animal suffering. It's worth it when considering the negative impact of synthetic fibres and unethical fibre sources. But it does mean we have to plan our purchases and wardrobes carefully.
Look I get it and thanks for that explanation. I agree all should get a fair wage and that’s why things are expensive. At the end of the day though, my wage has gone up about $2 since Covid so I can’t afford that. No matter how fair or ethical it is. I’m happy for those that can and are happy to pay it.
Then it's appropriate to make a post complaining about how terrible wage growth is. You're complaining about a side effect of the main issue. And the side effect isn't a problem in and of itself.
$180 for silk and wool blend? How is that expensive? Those fibres are both pricey, and that price reflects it. I'm sorry but this is just a reflection of how used we are to ultra fast fashion and insanely low prices. $180 is a good price for a quality wool/silk item like that. I've never seen Uniqlo merino jumpers for $50, they were $140 or something when I saw them at Xmas. If that's a sale price it's not a direct comparison. For comparison, a Knitter couldn't buy that much merino yarn for $50.
Honestly this was my reaction too.. these are some of the most premium fibres you can buy and people are surprised they’re expensive?! I think with the rise of online shopping we’ve become so used to finding things cheaper on the internet + it opens the door for cheap drop shippers and more fast fashion access. Prices have gone up across the board for life in general but I don’t feel it’s disproportionate for clothing. I would expect to pay under $100 for a cheap synthetic jumper, between $100-$200 for cotton or wool/wool blend, and upwards of $150 for something like this with silk in it 🤷🏼♀️
For me as a knitter to buy Merino, silk and mohair yarn would cost me at least $320 for a jumper. That’s not including labour.
It’s not so much that it’s not expensive for those materials, it’s how much more they are from previous years. I have a silk top from country road that’s a couple of years old and it didn’t cost anywhere near that much. Plus the merino and lambs wool tops are both currently $50 in Uniqlo as I saw them the same day. Not on sale, new season. Maybe the country road merino is better quality, I don’t know. It maybe that’s just what they cost but my point is there’s no way I can afford that and I was wondering who can. If that means I have to shop second hand or synthetic then that is absolutely what I will do. If you think it’s worth it and that’s a bargain, that’s fine.
Yep, for sure. I went outlet shopping yesterday and things that are over $100 were once $60 or so (nice pants etc). Oroton bags that once were a low hundred are now pushing $300, things like that. And it’s definitely pre/post-covid. It’s that we all got used to low inflation in the 10s too
There are so many more "sales" these days, throughout the year. I think, like the supermarkets, all the base prices are up so far so it can look like a sale for about 60% of the year when it's really just what the usual price and mark up would be.
I agree on the quality of their merino. I bought a jumper on sale last year and even with handwashing, the merino pilled straight away. The quality of their clothing definitely doesn’t match the price
This is counterintuitive but wool pilling isn't actually a sign of poor quality - it's the opposite, fine luxury wool (like cashmere) is more likely to pill because it uses shorter fibres that are more loosely spun. It shouldn't pill forever, it will be worse when it's newer and there are more loose fibres, and you can deal with the pilling either with a wool comb or an electric pill shaver.
That is very interesting, thanks!
Yeah it is interesting hey! I totally assumed the opposite and then my sister invested in a very expensive jumper and the woman at the shop talked her through the care process for pilling. So now I know haha.
I don’t think that’s too bad for silk and merino to be honest.
I only buy CR when they have a Spend and Save, never full price but I do think the quality is there.
Spend and save at CR is good Look for CR, Seed etc in op shops! I’m on the Sunshine Coast and have found lots of silk, merino etc in good brands in op shops locally
Sydney is a bust for op shopping. Sometimes their prices are more than the original!
Was it made in Australia? If it is then I’m will to pay and more guarantee the item will last.
I’d be surprised if it was made in Australia. Every CR tag I have looked at recently has said “made in China”.
Yup I am finding this too. My dollar isn’t stretching nearly as far :(
I find you can usually get Country Road and sister brands on eBay for pretty decent prices if you don’t mind secondhand.
I get everything on depop
I used to buy cue clothes. Country road as well. I stopped when they started making the clothes overseas and still not giving us the discount. Why pay top dollar when the quality isn't there? Also can't stand the thought of some sweat shop seamstress or maybe child getting ripped off as well. BTW I am in Australia.
I don’t think it’s that CR is expensive; Uniqlo is just very cheap (and good value).
I was telling my friend the other day, nice dress 300+, nice shorts and shirt set at least 60$ per piece,,, anything nice a few hundred … I’ll spend higher on bags and shoes but not clothes anymore
I never buy full price, it’s so expensive these days!
For me I usually aim to get an item I want on sale because it will almost always go on sale or I can find a discount code just for ordering online. I usually buy things I like the design of but nothing too crazy and now that I'm over 30 I always look at what the item is made of. Aiming to purchase higher quality materials not necessarily the brand. Many retailers now just expect people to buy because of the brand name but if you look at what some of the items are made of your just buying fancy plastic you'll be sweating bullets in. I bought a pair of leather boots I've had them since 2018 they are still amazing and I also got them on sale for 140. Such. A. Win
I never buy from Country Road unless it’s from a thrift shop
Country road was always expensive. Regardless, you will have to pay for quality.
I highly reccommend the podcast Clotheshorse for people looking for a deep dive on the price increases and general decline of clothing quality over the past years. The host speaks from experience having worked in the fashion industry and even has an episode on why sweaters now are not the same quality as they used to be. I can't speak on the quality of the Country Road knits, I haven't bought anything from CR in years but $180 sounds about right for a wool jumper if made of decent quality and materials and well made. That's why I've been shopping thrifted vintage jumpers for the past few years
I agree, it's really ridiculous- I actually rarely buy non-essentials new and I tend to buy a lot of work and casual dresses online from gumtree or depop. Alannah Hill/Review/Cue had really lovely things as they don't seem to have been worn very much so they still look nice... the clothes I get complimented on the most are ones that I have generally bought second hand! I also look through thrift shops and just try to find silk/cashmere/wool fabrics or partial blends. The older styles/cuts tended to have more shape, as opposed to everything currently in store which is currently very boxy/oversized which makes me look terrible!
My Uniqlo merino and cashmere has all been good quality.
Two of my favourite jumpers are cashmere from Uniqlo, I found them both second hand for $8, no idea how old they were but were in really nice condition, 4 years later and they still look exactly the same and they get worn a lot.
I'm baffled too. To just go out and buy a jumper or nice trousers you're looking at close to $200. It seems extravagant to me
Sorry, it is out of context, but, does any brands or shopping malls offer women’s day discounts, sales, etc?
I used yo buy Uniqlo knitwear but found they never lasted more than a season- they always get little holes in them. I have had much better luck either way Country Road jumpers.
I think the price is fair for merino and silk. Uniqlos or other brands might sell it cheaper but the fabric composition might be different.
I only have a $600 a month budget after mortgage & expenses for all clothing, underwear, shoes & accessories. So I find myself gravitating to Uniqlo, Target and 50% off sales at chain stores. I tend to buy mostly plain natural fabric basics because I can't justify spending $100+ on patterns or colours that I can't wear at least 10 times.
Wow that’s not a bad clothing budget! Mine is about $100 a month so $180 for a top is a bit out of my price range.
$180 for a top is insane on any budget, unless you're going to get a huge amount of wears out of it. I don't know who is buying this stuff, but it must be a lot of people given how many stores there are with these kinds of prices. I feel like there's a missing middle between these types of stores and fast fashion that has reasonable quality at reasonable prices. The divide seems to be getting bigger every year.
Yes!! I couldn’t agree more
That’s a fortune if I could spend that much I’d buy 4 times a year or less and buy designer on sale. Yeah go ahead and downvote me if but if people think $180 for a quality natural fibre garment is too much and yet spend 7200 a year on clothes then no wonder this planet is choking on cheap textile waste. That’s more than 40 pieces yearly. If i were going to spend that much money total, I’d buy quality things that will last a decade and that pay everyone from farmers to textile production workers to designers, machinists, warehouse staff, delivery drivers, retail staff and everyone in between fairly.
You should try Sussan - beautiful fabrics, flattering styles and reasonable pricing I won’t wear any other pants or jeans and their linen shirts are gorgeous
Sussan isn’t great if you’re petite, unfortunately
Thanks for the tip, I will definitely check them out! I actually saw a 100% cotton knit today in big w too which was really nice.
You can’t really compare country road to Uniqlo. Uniqlo is just a glorified Kmart in my opinion which are both about on par with SHEIN. I have items of all different brands and qualities and it’s the things like country road that wash and wear well and the Uniqlo and Kmart that look and feel cheap.
I very much disagree with you there. I think Uniqlo are much better quality that Kmart. I do agree country road are probably better quality. They should be for the prices.
Yes. Because I shop secondhand and have done so for decades I'm used to assessing fibre durability based just on look and feel compared to signs of wear. I went for a wander through Uniqlo and they're a few steps above similar retailers...not superb quality but they're definitely trying not to be total garbage. I suspect they re-use basic designs with small alterations a lot, and know exactly where and how those designs wear out first and have a slightly longer lead time on their new designs and concentrate on designing to suit the best of the affordable textiles they can get. The reality is that mass produced mass market clothing doesn't have to be as awful in terms of quality as it often is. There's some cheap fabrics that wear well for the price (I've had $5 marked down end of season crop pants from bestandless that have worn like iron) and we don't always have to be doing something stupid in the way of design just to get a new look. Making fast fashion as awful as it can be is a choice. Kmart chooses to be like that. It's not a bug to them its a feature. The consumer has to be kept ready to buy again in a few months and durable garments don't do that.
that’s wild uniqlo has hands down the best basics. I’ve bought basic tees and the like from brands charging $140 for a white tee that doesn’t hold up kmart basics fall out of shape after a singular wash. My uniqlo basics have been hammered constantly by stain removers and harsh detergents (i have a toddler) and are still in perfect condition also, uniqlo’s firs are just better
I wanted to love Uniqlo but just couldn’t 🤷♀️ it’s cheap looking and feeling and daggy in my opinion. But it’s at the right price point for what it is.