How to assess the quality of garments: A Beginner’s Guide {Part I} — Anuschka Rees

1. what is quality?

Before we get into all of the different criteria that you can use to assess the quality of a garment, let’s go back to basics for a moment: What is quality? And, more specifically: What distinguishes a low-quality garment from a high-quality one?

In general, when we say quality, we mean quite a few different, but related things :

We want our clothes to be durable, to last more than a couple of seasons. We want sturdy clothes garments that we can move in without having to worry about ripping seams or popping buttons. We want our clothes to keep the same shape they had when we bought them, and to neither stretch out nor shrink over time. We want things that fit the shape of our body, not distort our silhouette or restrict our movements. We don’t want fabric that pills or fades after wearing or washing it a couple of times. We want our clothes to feel good on the skin, so we can enjoy wearing them instead of taking them off as soon as we get home. And lastly, we also want our clothes to look like high-quality garments. A smooth fabric, neat seams, beautiful detailing. Not something that is about to fall apart.

Whether a garment ticks these boxes or not depends on all of its different components and how they work together: the fabric, the seams, the lining, the tailoring and even smaller details like buttons and pockets.

What distinguishes high-quality from low-quality manufacturers are the extra steps they took to make sure a garment not only looks the part now, but will continue to do so after multiple wears and washes, that it feels comfortable on the skin and is well-fitted. All of these ‘extras’ take time and money. That’s why it’s so easy to find pretty pieces at budget stores that end up falling apart after a week: To cut costs the manufacturer chose to focus on making the garment look good on the hanger instead of its quality, because that is what brings in the sales. Pretty much every shopper makes purchasing decision based on what a garment looks like, only very few will take the time to assess the seams, quality of tailoring etc.

Now, what’s important to note is that the quality and the price of an item are not always related. Some types of items are easier to manufacture and get right than others, which is why it is totally possible to find certain well-made items at affordable shops. At the same time, just because an item is very pricey, that sadly does not always mean that the manufacturer used all of that extra money to up the quality of the garment.

So … how can you make sure you are buying quality? My number one tip is to always look at the item in the flesh, i.e. not online. You might be able to decide whether you like an item visually just by seeing images, but to really assess its quality you need to be able to inspect it up close, to feel it, check the seams and try it on.

In the following two posts I’ll give you lots of pointers on what to look for when assessing a garment, but before you start, you should do one thing: set priorities. Not every single thing in your closet needs to last 20 years. Not every single sock you own needs to be made from merino wool. Going overboard is never practical so make sure you first decide on your general approach/strategy to quality. Decide which items you do want to invest a bit more time (and money) in and which you don’t mind replacing after a couple of seasons.