___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jao84ix wrote
Reply to comment by edhitchon1993 in Is there any hard evidence (not anecdotal) that "high quality" clothes actually last longer than their cheap counterparts? by bingworm
Where does one find this information to assess clothing before purchasing? Where do you get thread count info as well as the other metrics you listed?
maybenomaybe t1_jap7lxk wrote
I work in luxury clothing production. This sort of information isn't typically available to the public, but it exists. In terms of fabric, every textile we use has a technical data sheet we get from the mill that weaves it. That sheet has a ton of things on it including weight, colour fastness, warp and weft shrinkage etc etc. Construction details are in the tech pack for every garment, these are put together by the brand's product development/production team, people like me. It's a blueprint for how we want the factory to make the garment - seam types, fusing, linings etc. One of these documents is called the BOM or Bill of Materials and contains every little thing that goes into the garment right down to thread type. Some brands (good ones) have very detailed tech packs and BOMs and carefully control their garment quality, others are very basic and allow the factory to make a lot of decisions. Again, these documents are proprietary work product and not available to the consumer.
You can educate yourself on things like seam types and construction methods by looking at books on sewing and tailoring. Most of these are for home sewists and don't use industrial methods but will still give you some guidance on how to identify higher quality finishings.
A word on price. High price does not always indicate high quality but a low price always indicates either low quality materials/construction, or inhumane labour practices. It is simply not possible to make a tshirt for $5 with good materials and construction and pay people fairly to make it. We audit every supplier we work with and I visit our factories multiple times a year. They are clean, safe, decent places to work. We produce our own fabrics and I've been to the Italian mill that makes it. One of their print machines is literally the size of a small flat and cost €2 million. Quality costs money.
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_japeqqw wrote
Wow, I did not expect such a response. I appreciate the clarity very much.
edhitchon1993 t1_jaoc0qn wrote
Some manufacturers list these details (thread count or weight per area), some will answer if asked, but for most it's a case of making a personal comparative assessment based on known good items, or knowing specific tell tales for certain items.
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jaodrzg wrote
I was afraid of that lol. Based on your comment above, it sounded like there were actual, objective ways to determine quality vs. guessing…lol oh well.
edhitchon1993 t1_jaoi89r wrote
There are objective measures, but your requirements are different to my requirements and so you'll need to build on your experience to know what these are.
It's not quite guessing to take a known good item (I use my Rapanui t-shirts as a yardstick) and compare that to unknown goods to make a suitably assessment.
I wear moleskin trousers because I find them very hard wearing and their water resistant and tight weave qualities are good for cycling. An objective measure I use is to buy 250gsm or above fabric, it makes for heavy trousers but it suits my needs. If I were somewhere hot that measure would be useless because they would be too insulative to be fit for purpose, I'd be looking at lighter weight fabrics and need to find my own metrics.
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jaojrrx wrote
Ok but if the requirement is durability or “shelf life” so to speak…like what do you look at to guage quality and durability? Heavy vs light for different climates is much easier to assess so I’m not worried about that. I’m saying like, what do you look at to guage whether or not a piece of clothing is likely to fall apart after 3 dozen washes vs something that is likely to last many years? For example, I go through jeans like nobodys business. I’ve tried spending more for “quality name brands” and choose jeans that feel really thick and solid and go with what feels high quality, but they just fall apart and I’m tired of spending $60+ per pair of jeans every 4-6 months.
So what are the objective metrics I can look at to determine what is better quality and will last longer?
edhitchon1993 t1_jaoqz0m wrote
Sorry, I gave up on denim as I found it too susceptible to thorns and I grew tired of darning, although it is a very forgiving fabric to repair.
You'll be looking for a higher weight fabric and a high number of stitches per inch, but I don't know what numbers those should be.
If your wearing through in particular areas because your body shape isn't what jeans are designed around (I cycle so really struggle with thigh fit) you might benefit from buying a size up and getting them tailored to your actual shape.
I've been lead to believe that denim is particularly sensitive about how it's washed so you might want to look at that aspect too.
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jaovg8h wrote
But where do you get the info about fabric weight and stitches per inch? I could figure out which numbers suit me if I new where to find the numbers in the first place. I could just test higher vs lower numbers and find what lasts, but I don’t know how to get that information.
It’s not my body shape. I do alot of welding/grinding and mechanical work so my clothes take a beating, but more than anything, it seems my jeans always fail in the pockets. The worst is when they start coming apart right in the corner of the back pocket, leaving me with a hole in the butt of my pants, cause then I literally can’t wear them anymore lol.
edhitchon1993 t1_jaowkf5 wrote
Ask an expert. I got talking to a tailor in a beer tent which is how I stumbled into moleskins.
Welding and grinding are going to put a lot of strain on any material, I wear overclothes when I am metal working these days for that reason.
Arse pockets failing isn't something I have had with denim, but I've holed some chinos that way, for work clothes (actually for general wear to be honest) you can often darn holes like that pretty invisibily.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jap1yvm wrote
All good, just sounded like you maybe had something with the stitches per inch and whatnot. I appreciate you responding though.
CaptainSwaggerJagger t1_jas1cx0 wrote
Out of interest, have you watched project farms video on jeans? He does extensive testing on products (usually tools) but he did jeans recently and one test was which pair had the greatest resistance to back pockets tearing off and not all ripped a hole in the trousers when the pocket failed
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jasaapb wrote
No but that’s a great idea, I honestly never thought of that! I’ve seen a couple of his vids but never even thought to seek him out for this. I’ll have to look into that, thanks!
AlwaysQueso t1_japxf17 wrote
I would start internet searching “textiles for jeans”, “textiles for work pants”; “traditional textiles fabrics for workwear”. You’re likely to get apparel design resources / leads on the type of fabric and what characteristics a manufacturer of workwear is looking for and then you could narrow down brands.
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jaqmuhd wrote
Thanks, I’ll try that!
Ella0508 t1_jap2pca wrote
There are, but you need some knowledge of fabric, design and sewing/manufacturing techniques to be able to assess them. Get into conversations with salespeople in high-end stores. Or in a local boutique that features and promotes designers in the area. Many of those salespeople and shop owners have studied fashion (at least fashion merchandising), clothing design and/or textiles. They’ll share knowledge while, yes, trying to sell you designer goods. But “designer” doesn’t have to mean “label.”
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_jap7e3h wrote
Ehh I dunno that’s the route I’d go. I can’t trust anything a salesperson steers me toward. They’ll tell you anything to get you to buy. Their goal isn’t to sell you the objectively best, but instead whatever they make the highest margin on.
Ella0508 t1_japcm58 wrote
Not necessarily, and not if you engage them in good conversation. And you don’t have to buy anything, just ask them “You say this is a high-quality fabric/construction — how do you tell?
___PM_ME_YOUR_FEET_ t1_japgq4g wrote
I have a hard time engaging in good conversation with people that are so disingenuous and only talking with you to work an angle and get your money. I could ask how they can tell quality and I won’t know if they’re being honest or just telling me things that reinforce their pitch for the stuff they want to sell to me.
Maybe if I happened to already be friends with somebody that was a high-end clothing salesperson that I could just have a straight conversation with instead of being sold to, but yeah, you can’t actually trust anything a salesperson is telling you. Their entire job is to tell you whatever they have to tell you to make a sale.
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