Is This Forum on a Downward Spiral?

It was good advice. Natural fibres last and you save money in the long run.

What drives me nuts is the half-arsed lazy advice seekers that are becoming more common on this forum to be honest who can't even be bothered to write a decent description of what they are after.

'Recommend something to go with these spangly pants.'*

For what occasion? What's your usual style? What's your budget? What style are you hoping to achieve? What's you build? You want shoes? Trousers? Lurex leotards?

There are even posts where the person asking for advice actually states that they are too lazy to look for themselves. Why should I be bothered to look if they can't be bothered to type a decent description or look for themselves?

Now if Pins asks for advice, I think I've got a reasonable handle to be able to recommend something he might like (just go to the Allsaints site is a good bet - although I think he owns every item of clothing they ever made), but if some Joe with their first post types all of 6 words stating 'Me want jumper. Me need cheap.' then it's just not going to happen.

*I made up the example, obviously.

I agree - but a great big open question can be a lot of fun :P
That chap who asked for advice on the Ralph Lauren shirt... I mean, where do you start?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pin Money

Sorry to bump this train-wreck but that was me that said that, and I feel the need to validate my position.

At the end of the day, a £50 chunky knit in a decent style is going to be made of polyester or similar, meaning it looks less good and won't last. If you bought one item for £100, you could get something truly fantastic that will last year after year and be a staple piece. I am confident that anyone would be happier with the latter, hence my advice. And it is just that; advice! No-one is obliged to take it!

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At the end of the day everybody knows you get what you pay for, and everybody would be happier if they could buy something with the quality of double their budget. That doesn’t mean its good advice to suggest everybody try to spend a little more.

Firstly, the person asking might only be able to afford cheaper clothing, so is it really fair for us to tell them anything they can afford is cr@p? No matter how impressionable a person, I still think this kind of comment will sit in the back of a persons mind. In my opinion this will either make them feel pretty rubbish about their purchases, or influence them into stretching their budget. A budget that might not have room to stretch, and that they might get into debt over. Personally I’d be happier buying a £50 jumper cash than to put a £100 jumper on a credit card, no matter how good the quality.

Secondly, where is the limit to a statement like this? Yes, a £50 jumper is better than a £100 jumper, but surely a £200 jumper is better than the £100 jumper? If you aren’t strict to your budget, it’s very easy to get carried away. I do it all the time. I’ll go out to spend £100 and see something for £130. I’ll convince myself that I should get it and then see something for £150, thinking “well that’s only £20 more”. Before long I’ve spent far more than I’d budgeted for.

Thirdly, we’re also assuming this person is going to get years of use out of it. What if the person doesn’t have a great grasp of their style, or is trying something new. Spending £50 on an item they might get bored of, or decide they don’t like is better than throwing £100 down the drain.

Basically I’m saying we know nothing about a person asking these questions, so if asked for things to suit a £50 budget, isn’t it worth suggesting the best of what they could get for that budget without belittling it before finding if they can stretch to more?

The suggestions weren't double the budget though. He had a budget of £50 per cardigan and wanted two. The suggestions were to buy one item at double the price, but still within budget (for the most part), especially as he wanted two thick knit black cardigans; I could understand it more if he wanted two items that were radically different, but he didn't (or we don't know if he did because he didn't say).

So can we stop this about telling him to double his budget? It simply isn't true. (Even if the budget might have been stretched by the Allsaints selection, nobody was suggesting £200 cardigans which would be double the stated budget of £50 per cardigan.)

I don't think anyone intends to have people run into financial difficulties through anyone's suggestions (although fashion websites in general tend to be aspirational and encourage overspend) and I still would stand by the fact that nearly all suggestions made are within budget where that budget is realistic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaulAnderson

At the end of the day everybody knows you get what you pay for, and everybody would be happier if they could buy something with the quality of double their budget. That doesn’t mean its good advice to suggest everybody try to spend a little more.

Firstly, the person asking might only be able to afford cheaper clothing, so is it really fair for us to tell them anything they can afford is cr@p? No matter how impressionable a person, I still think this kind of comment will sit in the back of a persons mind. In my opinion this will either make them feel pretty rubbish about their purchases, or influence them into stretching their budget. A budget that might not have room to stretch, and that they might get into debt over. Personally I’d be happier buying a £50 jumper cash than to put a £100 jumper on a credit card, no matter how good the quality.

Secondly, where is the limit to a statement like this? Yes, a £50 jumper is better than a £100 jumper, but surely a £200 jumper is better than the £100 jumper? If you aren’t strict to your budget, it’s very easy to get carried away. I do it all the time. I’ll go out to spend £100 and see something for £130. I’ll convince myself that I should get it and then see something for £150, thinking “well that’s only £20 more”. Before long I’ve spent far more than I’d budgeted for.

Thirdly, we’re also assuming this person is going to get years of use out of it. What if the person doesn’t have a great grasp of their style, or is trying something new. Spending £50 on an item they might get bored of, or decide they don’t like is better than throwing £100 down the drain.

Basically I’m saying we know nothing about a person asking these questions, so if asked for things to suit a £50 budget, isn’t it worth suggesting the best of what they could get for that budget without belittling it before finding if they can stretch to more?

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Not wanting to go on about it, but he said he wanted to buy two cardigans at £50 each. All I suggested is that he combine it. He already had a £100 cardigan budget lol

If he had just asked for a £50 offering I wouldn't have said it, and furthermore I didn't belittle cheaper options; we have all been in the position where more expensive garments aren't an option, but if you can have two mediocre & similar items or one great one, what's the difference if you're going to spend the money anyway?

Hi.
I cant afford labels like say A.P.C or Ted Baker as ive got a family and cant justify the spend. I have gone crazy and bought a suit for €700 and shoes for €250 but thesdays im loathe to pay full price for clothes as sales are so regular. I search tkmaxx here in Dublin where ive found odd items not available in chain stores. I get demorolised looking at forums where all "good" brands are very expensive and the cheaper stuff is basically for plebs. There has to be a medium where quality is close to the pricey brands. I fish and see the link between rod prices and clothes prices, like the 200 rod cant be as good as the 400 rod and so on. I wonder how many labels are made in the same factory in china. its late and im on my phone and dont know if i got a point across. Men want advice on good quality but not stupid prices that only the rich can afford?