Clothes

[Weezerfan]

I went mad yesterday afternoon and ordered three pairs of jeans from Diesel's website.  I don't know what came over me.

[AjAlexK]

Those jeans look like if The Pussycat Dolls crashed into B*Witched.
I'm going to Manchester this week and I plan on getting some clothes. Does anyone know any mens clothes shops which are good and relatively cheap?!

[Nunya B]

Those Cheap Mondays are horrid.

I like Cheap Monday but there is no denying that much like American Apparel, a good 95% of the stuff they make is geared toward a market with more disposable income than sense. The stuff that is good is good though. (…and cheap, which is important for me.)

[MOP]

TOPMAN IS SO SHIT THIS SEASON.

As is River Island. As is Primark. New Look Men's, however, is incredible.

[Pet Shop Boy]

Primark has "seasons"? As far as I can see they've been stocking the same shit since the 90s.

[James:D]

Primark is epic.

You've talked the same shit since the 90s.

[Daneeeboy]

I have ethical issues with Primark (ironic, I know).  I don't know that I like the values they bring to the highstreet.

[MOP]

Primark certainly do bring value to the high street. But how the fuck do they bring values?!?!

[AjAlexK]

How is what Primark does any different to any other high street shop though?

[Daneeeboy]

Well Primark clothes have a much shorter lifespan than those from certain other retailers.  That's not shocking, the way they keep prices so low is by using cheaper materials and manufacturing at a much faster rate.  If you compare their product development cycle from inception to binning, Primark's generally comes up shorter than most other highstreet brands.  This, of course, has also been their strength, and how they have become a major hightstreet force in such a short period of time.

The likes of Topshop aren't immune from criticism, but Primark have been the driving force behind a "wear it and bin it" culture.  Some call it democratization of fashion, but there is research to suggest that it's not those on low incomes who have fueled Primark's growth but women with a certain amount of disposable income who have gone a bit consumer mad.

In the end, it changes the idea of style, replacing it with something passed off as 'fashion'.  The idea of making considered investments in key pieces is what suffers, and we head towards a horrible, cheapened, homogenized culture.  After all, why buy a carefully designed coat at £80, when you can pick up a sort-of-alike from Primark for £30, wear it for a few months and then buy another?

There's alot more to both sides of this debate, however.

[AjAlexK]

Well Primark clothes have a much shorter lifespan than those from certain other retailers.  That's not shocking, the way they keep prices so low is by using cheaper materials and manufacturing at a much faster rate.  If you compare their product development cycle from inception to binning, Primark's generally comes up shorter than most other highstreet brands.  This, of course, has also been their strength, and how they have become a major hightstreet force in such a short period of time.

The likes of Topshop aren't immune from criticism, but Primark have been the driving force behind a "wear it and bin it" culture.  Some call it democratization of fashion, but there is research to suggest that it's not those on low incomes who have fueled Primark's growth but women with a certain amount of disposable income who have gone a bit consumer mad.

In the end, it changes the idea of style, replacing it with something passed off as 'fashion'.  The idea of making considered investments in key pieces is what suffers, and we head towards a horrible, cheapened, homogenized culture.  After all, why buy a carefully designed coat at £80, when you can pick up a sort-of-alike from Primark for £30, wear it for a few months and then buy another?

There's alot more to both sides of this debate, however.

Unfortunately I have been guilty of this too, I can think of times when I've been freezing and ran into Primark to buy a cheap hoodie/jumper with no intention of wearing it after that.
On a side note, have tshirts with contrasting/gaudy prints died out yet? It feels like that's all Topman's been doing for the last 3/4 years.

[Tribal Spaceman]

Primark and Topman clothes are usually of a similar quality.
I've noticed their women'swear is made a lot cheaper, though.
I guess because girls buy more?

I just looked them up...

...the company had an intensive annual advertising campaign each Christmas during the 1980s...

Really? I never heard of the place until about 5-6 years ago.

[It's Roxie, Bitch!]

Primark and Topman clothes are usually of a similar quality.
I've noticed their women'swear is made a lot cheaper, though.
I guess because girls buy more?

Hasn't Primark only been in Britain for the last 5 years or so though?

No, it's been around since 1969.

[Tribal Spaceman]

No, it's been around since 1969.

In the UK? All the stores I've been in are very new.
I guess they only went national during this decade.

[Daneeeboy]

No, it's been around since 1969.

In the UK? All the stores I've been in are very new.

They've had a rapid expansion over the past few years that has seen them buying up alot of new retail property and relocating older stores, but they have been in the UK for quite sometime.  They just changed what they did sometime in the past few years.

[It's Roxie, Bitch!]

No, it's been around since 1969.

In the UK? All the stores I've been in are very new.

Sorry, 1959 even, earlier in the year the bags read 'Celebrating 50 Years Of Primark, 1959-2009.'

[Tribal Spaceman]

Yeah, maybe they were mostly located in the south or east, or had really small unenticing stores.

[potatosalad]

I hate Primark.

Because:

1. The quality of their merchandise is diabolical.
2. The 8 year olds who make the stuff aren't very accurate with with the cutting and sewing making clothes either way too big or way too small making me feel REALLY FAT.
3. Fucking queues!

[It's Roxie, Bitch!]

I got my outfit for JLS now (even though it's in February.)

(The top will be underneath the skirt so it looks like a dress, if that makes sense. And the cardigan is SPARKLY.)








I just need shoes now.

[jamieluke]

the sizes at primark are always baffling. so i stay well away.

[AjAlexK]

While in England last week, I was suprised to see that Primark do XS and even XXS in menswear. They only do S,M,L,XL over here.Some shops like Topman do XS but I've never seen XXS before. Maybe I'm just sheltered from it, but I kept trying to visualise the size of a man who would fit into that.

[Daneeeboy]

While in England last week, I was suprised to see that Primark do XS and even XXS in menswear. They only do S,M,L,XL over here.Some shops like Topman do XS but I've never seen XXS before. Maybe I'm just sheltered from it, but I kept trying to visualise the size of a man who would fit into that.

Oh, it's easy.

[AjAlexK]

While in England last week, I was suprised to see that Primark do XS and even XXS in menswear. They only do S,M,L,XL over here.Some shops like Topman do XS but I've never seen XXS before. Maybe I'm just sheltered from it, but I kept trying to visualise the size of a man who would fit into that.

Oh, it's easy.

Not for me, I'm not against XS sizes, some people are naturally that size but XXS was a bit of a boggler.

[britneyrox100]

While in England last week, I was suprised to see that Primark do XS and even XXS in menswear. They only do S,M,L,XL over here.Some shops like Topman do XS but I've never seen XXS before. Maybe I'm just sheltered from it, but I kept trying to visualise the size of a man who would fit into that.

Oh, it's easy.

Not for me, I'm not against XS sizes, some people are naturally that size but XXS was a bit of a boggler.

I have a 33" chest and I just buy kids t-shirts, you get more for your money. I don't get why they don't make guys clothes smaller, I mean I see a lot of guys smaller than me. If I buy regular guys clothes, I look like I'm swimming in the shirts and it looks frumpy, the kids t-shirts look fitted but not tight.