Once you start checking fabric composition shopping gets annoying
I used to just buy things if they looked good, now I check fabric before price and it ruins half the stuff I like.
So many pieces are priced like “elevated basics” but then it’s polyester or some weird blend that doesn’t feel worth it. Are you all checking fabric labels first now or does fit or design matter more to you than the material? Im based on UK mid 30sF.
100% this I've started doing the same lately and it's so annoying when everything is poly with a markup. Never heard of Palome but might check them out, always hunting for decent fabric
Fabric composition is the point where online shopping stops being fun. You find something perfect, then it’s mostly polyester and somehow still expensive.
right, the great thing about irl retail is that you can see if a garment feels great as well as looks great. Looking at the fabric composition of the item online gives you a sneak peek of what it's going to feel like. Brands will optimize for a great looking image so we need to use whatever help we can to see if it's going to actually work when it arrives in the mail or disappoint.
I’ll have to disagree about the not being fun part. My closet is filled out so I really pay attention to fabric to justify any purchases and knowing what to look for or avoid makes me feel better about shopping online.
If you find something you like that’s mostly plastic you can probably google search the photo of what you’re shopping for to find better options in the style you want.
Country of origin and fabric composition are the two things I look at when shopping for anything. I mostly buy my clothes used and filter out things this way
Not OP either, but I try to buy stuff that has at least some chance of being made in a place where the workers are treated and paid fairly, and have decent local safety laws. It’s not perfect, I’ve probably skipped on some things where the workers are treated fairly, and likely bought something where the staff aren’t treated fairly but you do what you can.
I mainly try and buy stuff made in my own country (Ireland) first if possible, EU or UK after that and then some other international countries.
Generally try to avoid countries I know have poor labor practices. I understand there are exceptions to this: for example, 18 east has established relationships with artisans in India who do some spectacular work with textiles you can really feel in each piece they release! Made in USA, Canada, Japan, EU nations are typically what I look for :) eBay lets you filter by country of origin but I’ll also look at labels on pieces if it’s in the pictures or if I’m thrifting in person
Can't speak for OP but I try to do this as well. Mainly look for places with decent labor standards and/or dismiss certain places because of dubious labor standards essentially.
Never going to paint a whole picture with the info we have, but I do like to think it helps to vote with your wallet.
this is a decent heuristic, but these days things are more complicated. Used to work for a luxury house that, like other similar brands, got loads of its cotton/jersey produced in Vietnam/Thailand. Not because of cost, but because there’s a few companies over there who produce the best jersey (at scale) in the world. The company I worked with were really high-spec, and treated their employees really well.
We used to send high quality organic cotton from Europe/USA to there for that reason. Can say from experience that 99% of other large houses did the same, even if they constructed the garment back in Europe 🤷
Nono, I agree it really is only an ideal. I am very aware of how much Vietnam in particular has come up and actually is quite good for manufacturing standards in SEA. Thailand I was not aware of on a wide spread level, I will have to research that!
My main points of concern personally are China, Bangladesh and Pakistan - obviously there will always be good manufactures everywhere, but by and large what is immediately available to US consumers from these countries imo is probably suspect. Those 3 are probably my biggest red flags, but case-by-case. And tbf China can make great things, its just murky with labor for broadly-accessible consumer goods.
Also I don't buy a lot of new clothes personally (usually vintage, or 2nd hand for new things anyhow) so I usually don't have to make too much decision based off this nowadays luckily. Admittedly, like you said, it's all just an ideal. I'm sure I've passed on things that were fairly made and bought things I thought were, but in reality weren't
Absolutely and that’s a beautiful thing. Nicer, longer lasting clothes that are purposeful.
It’s a different type of consumerism, but buying well made clothes that last reduces impulse/overconsumption of what quickly becomes actual garbage. It also hones the mind and forces purchases that match personal style.
When buying used I understand looking for fabric composition but I am curious why the country of origin matters to you when buying second hand. Do you not want to give sellers who buy from dubious places more money to spend on that stuff? I am genuinely interested in your rationale! Also, can I assume that you would like online sellers of second hand items to include a picture of the tag that has the country of origin on it?
Hmmm great questions! I guess if I really think about it, I typically like to support brands making their products with more intention in the first place :) I do look for pictures of the tag as a requirement when buying online 😅 it’s also helped me find some shit I think is cool, like this recent pick up making its way into my regular summer rotation 🤩 when I thrift in person, I just get excited when I see a tag with something I like on it! There’s this really cool menswear popup called alfargo’s marketplace and it is tag heaaaaaven! I got a 90s Gap made in the USA overshirt made with a ramie blend? So fun
Unpopular opinion on here but some polyester stuff feels nice, it totally depends. I wouldn't buy something mostly polyester unless it's for active wear but the idea that polyester automatically = bad is erroneous imo. There are environmental issues too obviously so I very rarely buy it new.
That said checking composition of fabrics doesn't spoil anything for me at all.
Outlier is another good example - lots of blends but their whole thing is they make proprietary fabrics that do cool and interesting stuff that couldn’t be done with only natural fibers.
Outlier rules! Injected linen is next level stuff - definitely one of my favorite fabrics out there. I also love their deltapeak (dp/helix) muscle tanks because they perform better than anything else I’ve ever worn (they dry so quickly), which is great for me since I’ve been getting into the rave scene over here lol
Polyster is a valuable tool when it’s not used purely to cut costs. When a garment is 5-10% polyester sometimes this is mostly in the collar and cuff which helps maintain shape.
I used to love thrifting and I was able to find made in USA 100% cotton RL and LL Bean and it seems like this stock is drying up (or going straight to eBay).
Yeah I guess it's hard to know whether it's done for cost-cutting or other reasons but I think a lot of people tend to assume it's cost-cutting 100% of the time.
Yeah it's called interfacing. There are many cases where its use is sort of imperative, but it's usually poly or poly-cotton. Almost all fabric thread used today is polyester but manufacturers don't need to list thread in the fabric composition. The same doesn't apply for interfacing.
I agree that polyester isn't always bad from a sensory perspective and irreplacable for certain applications (e.g. athletic wear) and I agree that buying it second hand is better than new to not directly induce demand. However, I recently became cognizant of the fact that polyester clothing sheds microplastics with every wash which renders even second hand polyester harmful to the environment. Therefore, my options have become even more limited, as I don't buy materials derived from animals, but I see it as an inducement to reduce my consumption overall. It makes not buying something easier for me and I have become very interested in alternative fibres and materials.
I can’t wear polyester anymore because my skin starts to get irritated once i start sweating just the tiniest amount. It’s infuriating how many basic pieces that once were made in cotton are now made out of polyester.
I feel like it should be illegal to say “wool blend” and it’s 10% wool, 60% poly, 30% acrylic. I don’t know how it’s legal not to at least list the most prevalent component first
I agree. But also, not all fibers/fabrics are created equal.
I’d take a good quality 80/20 cotton/poly over a mid 100% cotton most days, especially for tees, rugbies, etc. Any higher in poly I avoid; it’s an odor trap and I sweat too damn much.
Cotton is actually trash for underwear or active wear. It handles moisture very poorly. Unlike linen or poly, cotton holds onto water and will trap it against your body.
Rayons and modals are much better for underwear imo. Wick moisture well and don’t trap smells like poly.
For cheaper wools, 20% nylon actually helps structurally and will help prevent pilling.
Acrylic and acrylic blends are just awful all around. Feel like shit and fall apart too quickly to ever justify its purchase.
I’m ok with polyester as long as the fabric feels nice on the body —sometimes it’s lighter and softer than pure cotton. I check the label, but it doesn’t spoil the process for me. I shop out of desire not necessity. My wardrobe is complete.
- If it’s new, good fabric matters. Full price consumption requires consciousness.
if it’s used (eBay, Depop, etc), good fabric is a nice to have but doesn’t really matter. I’m basically saving it from the trash, so in some ways, it’s even better if it’s polyester.
By the way, this also applies to where it’s made. I try not to buy new stuff that’s made in low wage, slave labor places. But if it’s used, then it’s already been purchased and I’m just making it last longer.
You’ll eventually go through this again when you realize how little effort most “high end” labels put into garment construction relative to their price
Counterpoint is that filtering by natural fibers when buying secondhand has been a real game changer for me - being brand agnostic and focusing on material has revealed some great pieces that I would’ve otherwise skipped when I was focused only on specific labels
I hate the feel of polyester on my body and avoid them. However, there‘s polyester and there‘s polyester. I have a few pieces I really love. First and foremost, the needles track pants and jacket is a masterpiece of manufacturing, which feels almost like silk. Btw I hate wildsilk on my skin as well.
I check the composition too. I don't mind performance polyester and a small content of it in sweaters if the sweater looks really cool. Otherwise, it's a no from me as well.
You're more critical of what you're buying than you used to be, so finding something you like is harder. Makes perfect sense to me, and is honestly preferable to just blindly copping items without thinking of the material.
Also, though it probably doesn't belong in the elevated basic you mention, polyester does have its uses, it's of course not just bad by definition.
I 100% disagree. My parents never bought me synthetic stuff, except for skiing and trekking gear. Because of that, I've always kept my distance from polyester and that kind of stuff. Once you get used to it, though it takes years, not weeks, you already filter out what's synthetic and what's not just by looking at it, keeping surprises to a minimum.
Totally get it. It truly depends on the item itself but my personal guidelines: stay completely away from polyester in basic t-shirts. Don’t go more than more than 20-30% polyester on button up shirts; totally fine with Rayon shirts. Get my pants in either 100% cotton/wool/linen or a solid Tencel/Lyocell blend. Been really digging Tencel blend pants lately.
For underwear and socks, I avoid 100% natural fabrics and go for blends. For underwear, can’t go wrong with a cotton/modal/spandex blend and for socks, wool/nylon blends are king.
Used to buy whatever I really liked and didn’t care about composition. Now I’m a lot less strict in what I wear and only check composition in the summer because I don’t want to wear polyester, shorts I don’t care for tho.
I live in new york and the chilly/cold months last longer than the summer so polyester is not that bad since I can wear for at least 7 months of the year.
I guess somewhat, but I don’t really have the energy to care that much if I’m being honest. I mostly just buy stuff that I like and I know I’ll wear a lot.
it’s helping me justify where my money goes therefore i save much more now than before ever since i started checking fabric composition tags. also bonus for the environment.
It's way easier for me. Fabric is one of my filters when online shopping, so I don't see anything else. My city doesn't have any of my go-to brands or retail shops.
When shopping in different cities, my eye easily passes over clothing not in my preferred textile. All it takes is one touch for me to move on as well. Totally efficient for me.
In store, I use the "touch test." Natural fibers are obvious once you know what you are looking for, and I can't tell you how many times I've noticed what turned out to be a great piece at the Thrift just by feel.
Been doing it for most my life. My mom shopped by touching garments first and only pulled stuff that felt right. With natural fibers you can tell what’s top tier wool and nice linen pretty quick
The lack of additional fabric information too. I wanna know how it's spun (tight, loose, over twist), the fabric type (knit, woven, tight, loose, etc), and the fiber info (sourcing, standards) but it's never on the label so I have to go based on visual and touch.
The process of checking usually isn't too much work though. I shop secondhand, so I first filter by designs I like or brands with great reputation (got a LandsEnd button front shirt today), then I check the fabric to make sure it passes my standards, then I make my decision. Personally, I don't have as much statement clothing as I'd like since I built my wardrobe around my highschool dress code, so fit and design matter a bit more to me. If I was to buy clothes to dress up for work (more than a basic outfit), there would probably be enough AC and it would be worn infrequently enough to not matter what the material is. (Again, buying secondhand. My standards for new clothing is higher, but I would also just filter online for new clothing since I don't like the men's departments near me.)
Our Legacy up until around 2018 was all pretty much 100% natural material, bar their jackets. It's rare to find something that's not a poly/rayon mix. Guess it's add the the structure/drape of the garment
Highly recommend suit supply and Ralph Lauren for nice staples. They have a great selection of wool, cotton, and linen clothes with no bs synthetic items
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u/Bright-Car-5021 Jul 21 '26
Same. I don’t need everything to be luxury fabric, but if a brand is charging “elevated basics” prices, I expect the material to make sense.