Cheap clothes get a bad name, sometimes, don't they?
Mass produced items (sold at rock bottom prices) are bad for the environment, exploit low paid workers and are generally something to be ashamed of, right?Well, not always.
And...
Unless you are buying couture, vintage, (small-scale) handmade or recycled clothes, you are buying mass produced clothing.
There is no getting away from it.
At what point does a piece of mass produced clothing become acceptable?
Is it when the retailer adds an enormous mark up on the price tag?
When your mass produced jacket costs £10, it is distasteful, but price it at £200 and it is okay?
The truth is that most of us are wearing mass produced items, it is just a question of how much you are willing to pay to do so!
This whole train of thought came about when the people at everthing5pounds got in touch with me to ask if I would be interested in featuring their clothes on my blog.
I must admit that I initially dismissed the idea.
Retailer snobbery kicked in.
The website looked like it was designed for young girls, and if everything is a fiver, surely it must be a pile of rubbish, right?
This is when I got a bit of a surprise.
I recognised an item that looked very similar to something I had spotted on the high street a couple of seasons ago.
Was it a copy?
Was it a factory second?
How do they do it, for £5?
Curiosity go the better of me, and I agreed to feature some of their products.
I really wanted to see this green coat in the flesh and find out what was going on.
I was not being paid to review the items, so if the clothes were awful I was free to say so!
The E5P people kindly sent me enough items to create a whole outfit (plus extras) and the first thing I took out of the box to have a good look at was this green trench coat.
I could hardly believe the quality for the princely sum of £5.
I easily assembled an entire outfit for £20.
Including a coat and shoes!
You probably have figured out by now that I like a bargain (who doesn't?).
I love rummaging through a sale, and trawling the charity shops.
But, I have to admit that £20 is my best price yet, for whole outfit!
The coat is great quality (I have paid £60-70 for worse).
The top is good enough, not the best finish, but no shabbier than the usual high street shops charging 6x the price.
The jeans are perfect, decent quality and a good fit.
The shoes are chic, well fitting and comfortable.
Okay, so they are not leather...but neither are a lot of the high street shoes.
I added my favourite necklace, a cluster of brooches, metallic socks and a trusty old bag to finish my look off perfectly.
Have you tried any bargain-tastic websites?
Please share in the comments, or contact me.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject.