Why is it that mens clothes are so much better than womens? A store will carry the “same” shirt in mens and womens, but the mens is invariably thicker, of better quality, less prone to losing its shape and will last 10 times longer. What, because I’m a woman I obviously must love shopping, so what a way to encourage me to come back to the mall every 2 weeks! Screw you “fashion designers”, I’m buying mens clothes from now on.
— Gender bender
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2009.
I honestly don’t blame you. Flannel is so fricken comfortable! I prefer my t-shirts and plaid, thank you very much.
I can tell you exaclty why men’s clothing are of greater quality. It’s because there are literally ten times as many womens clothing stores as mens. You get quantity, we get quality. In order to stay competitive with such a diverse market, womens clothing is made cheaper, so it can be sold cheaper. It also depends on where you shop. If something costs more, it’s usually better made. I used to cheap out on a lot of stuff, but not anymore. Paying a little more for quality is worth it in the long run. So instead of going out and buying a whole outfit (or two) for cheap, buy a couple of quality itmes instead.
Ehh, I’m gonna have do disagree with your last point NW. Girls I used to know would spend 30 fricken bucks on ridiculously thin, tearable baby tees with various prints such as ‘Redondo Beach’ on it. I always thought it was pathetic.
I’m not saying that ALL higher priced clothing is of better quality, far from it. What I meant was to spend the extra on an item that IS quality. Spending $30 on a shirt at the GAP or American Eagle vs spending $30 on a shirt from Sears or The Bay makes a huge difference in the quality you’ll get. I’ve always been a firm believer in the idea that it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it. I don’t fall victim to lables, except for my shoes.
Men’s clothes are SO much cheaper than women’s. When you go get basic fruit of the loom shirts for the gym, for example, the SAME shirt in the women’s section is always more expensive as the SAME shirt in the men’s section. It’s the SAME DAMN SHIRT, yet stores try to get away with charging you 5-10 bucks more. That’s why I get my basic tees for the gym in the men’s section…the men’s sizes are larger than women’s so just get a size or two smaller and you’re set.
Same here — I just get either men’s XS or smalls and it does the job.
I think the thing with me is, I’d rather spend a little more and get something I know will last and is of good quality than buy a bunch of cheap stuff. The shirts I bought this weekend, for example, were a bit on the pricey side, but in the end they’ll last me A LOT longer than some random old navy shirt that loses its shape after I wash it once. Sure I spent three times as much, but I won’t have to buy that shirt three times as often because it’ll keep it’s shape and is made of quality fabric.
The secret too is taking care of your clothes — washing them in cold water, using quality detergent like zero or woolite for delicate clothes and air drying them on a clothes rack and ironing them on low heat if need be. Honestly, doing that has extended the wear of my clothes twice as long and they look new twice as long. It’s like neverwrong said: it’s about how you wear your clothes. And, it’s about how you care for them. You don’t ahve to spend TONS on clothes, but don’t expect a $10 walmart hoodie to last as long as something you paid $50 for, no matter HOW well you treat it.
If it says “rayon” or “polyester” RUN. Best basic shirt fabric is cotton, pima cotton, or modal with a bit of spandex if it’s a jersey cotton to help it keep its shape. And like I mentioned: wash your clothes in cold and use a nice fabric softener and air dry (dry flat so it doesn’t go out of shape)! Shout works wonders on bad stains, but test on an inconspicuous part of your garment if the colour’s dark to make sure it doesn’t fade the colour. Your clothes will last twice as long at least.
I buy second hand and I NEVER purchase women’s shirts because of the reasons stated by the OP. Men’s shirts are much more comfortable, much better made and I don’t have to look through a ton of pink shit to find a gem. Women’s blouses are flimsy pieces of garbage meant to be replaced after each wearing, I swear to fuck. Plus women’s shirts are NEVER long enough – when you have twin torpedos like moi, a short blouse makes you look like a fucking Sherman tank.
Not all men’s clothing is is good quality. There have been plenty of times where I’ve spent 50 bucks on a dress shirt and have had to throw it out a year later because there’s a tear in the shirt. Not to mention too, most men’s clothing is strictly cotton (think jeans and t-shirts) or other heavy-duty fabrics like wool. Men’s clothing rarely if ever is strictly made of low-wear polyester like fabrics. When I look in the closet on my fiancee’s side; most of the clothing is pretty much either polyester or really thin cotton. Whereas my side is pretty much cotton dress shirts and wool suits.
Buy better quality pieces that will last longer. Think Club Monaco (always in style and classic. Plus if you are a student and show your student ID card you get 20% off!), Banana Republic or Esprit. Never put anything in the dryer. That will make anything last longer. Maybe OP you are not being careful enough with your clothing. If you are buying from cheaper stores only buy seasonal pieces. Try and keep your basics like dress pants to the higher end stores. Thats my advice. Take it or leave it.
GAH! I LOVE Banana Republic.
BR is my fave, too.
Banana Republic has some of the BEST shorts out there!! They’re durable, fashionable and not too pricey either. I agree with PK on the washing issue. I wash all of my clothes in cold water except my whites, which I wash in hot water with bleach (gotta keep ’em white). And yes, I know there are bleach alternatives that work just as well and won’t wear down the threads, but I LOVE the smell of bleach!! Makes me think of clean.
TTFN you are sooooooooo right about women’s shirts being TOO SHORT. I’m a shorty (5’3″!), but I’m very VERY long waisted and thank GOD the “in” style right now is longer shirts and tanks, etc…because I’d be fuk’d.
Plus my mom has the same problem as you — she’s very large chested and she can’t ever find shirts long enough. She’s the one who got me onto the idea of buying men’s t shirts. She gets larger ones that are nice and roomy to wear to the gym.
Also I *heart* BR too guys! I have no problem plunking down some coin for BR clothes because their style is typically more classic and quality made so they tend to last quite a long time. I know a few people who are still wearing BR clothes from 10 years ago and they look fabulous, still 🙂
NW: did you know that most whites are DYED white these days? I learned THAT little lesson when I put bleach in a load of whites a few years back and they came out splotchy (some creamy weird coloured splotches). I managed to fix it though by continuing to bleach them and the splotches eventually bleached out and all was well. But yeah, just FYI on the whites 🙂
PK: Funny thing is, the VAST majority of my whites are my socks. I can’t wear anything on my feet but white cotton socks (so yes I look super cool when wearing a tux with white socks 😛 ). I’ve got over 50 pairs of white socks. I have maybe 3-4 plain white Ts (all of which are FotL) and a couple of white towels, so I never have to worry about my whites turning funny colors.
You can also extend the life of your wardrobe by having more things that you wear less often. Especially with shoes, but also with clothes. My BF wears the same pair of jeans all the time, and gets mad when they wear out 6 months later. If you never have to wear the same pair of pants more than once every 2 weeks, you won’t wash them as often, or wear them out as fast.
At least this is what I tell myself when searching through my closets filled with clothes…
I COULD NOT AGREE MORE!!!
benefit to mens colthing->
Cheaper
More plaid
Larger sizing
no bedazzled crap
better quality
Everytime i go to buy jeans they ahve glitter or sparkles on them! and for button up shirts their hard to find with boobs and all..
Hey PK, I’m 5’3 too!
did someone say Banana Republic has decent prices?
uh…. ok…..
The only reason I have any of their clothes is because all the large stuff left goes on for 75% off.
I’m not paying $50 bucks for shorts… which are basically half pants. good god.
zZz: I consider Banana Republics prices to be decent. They make good quality shorts (that’s all I’ve ever bought from there) that last at least a few summers and only cost $35-50 for a pair. And if you hit the sales you can usually get them for half price. So two pairs of quality shorts for $50, yeah, I’d say that’s a great deal.
I LOVE mens pants pockets… let me clarify, because that sounded creepy. I can’t fit shit into womens’ pockets even if I buy baggy pants/shorts. It FORCES me to buy a purse or bag to carry shit around in all day. I HATE carrying a purse or a bag around. It sucks. So I spend lots of time and money looking for the perfect coat with nice big pockets. Then summer comes along and fucks everything up again.
I refuse to wear a fanny pack.