Every time I go there I'm struck by how low their clothing prices are. For sure, it's generally not the best textiles nor the best construction, but they're functional and come with price tags...
Every time I go there I'm struck by how low their clothing prices are. For sure, it's generally not the best textiles nor the best construction, but they're functional and come with price tags which have somehow managed to ignore the last three years of inflation. I have noticed that their merino socks have steadily become less and less merinoey as the years have gone by to the point that I started to seek out alternatives a couple years back.
If you're looking for alternatives, Darn Tough socks are worth every penny, IMO. They're rather expensive, as far as socks go, but have an unconditional lifetime warranty (that I haven't had to...
If you're looking for alternatives, Darn Tough socks are worth every penny, IMO. They're rather expensive, as far as socks go, but have an unconditional lifetime warranty (that I haven't had to make use of yet because the socks are incredibly well made, but I've heard they actually do honor it). I have 4 pairs now, regularly rotate them, and plan on buying more eventually.
I also have a few pairs of Injinji, marino wool, toe socks as well. They don't have a lifetime warranty (it's only 1 year), and after a little over a year of using them they have started to frey a bit. But they're also a bit cheaper than Darn Tough, and are super comfortable, so still another good option if toe socks are more your thing.
Seconding the Darn Tough love. They're not just well-made and incredibly comfortable, they're stink-proof for days of travel reuse. The foot fetishist cat hasn't managed to snag holes in them. And...
Seconding the Darn Tough love. They're not just well-made and incredibly comfortable, they're stink-proof for days of travel reuse. The foot fetishist cat hasn't managed to snag holes in them. And they're (grits teeth) cute.
Darn Tough isn't my main brand of socks (I do have a few pairs) but another thing they have over Injiji specifically is that they are not made in China (they love to announce that they're made in...
Darn Tough isn't my main brand of socks (I do have a few pairs) but another thing they have over Injiji specifically is that they are not made in China (they love to announce that they're made in Vermont). So if that's important to you, as it is to me, I definitely recommend them for any kind of socks. I do tend to go for Balega (made in USA or South Africa) and Feetures (made in USA) for running socks. I have a few pairs of Darn Tough running socks, but I'm not sure what kind of features they have, if any (e.g. padding in specific areas, no stitches, compression to support your arch, etc.). I believe I also have a few pairs of their ski socks. They're one of my top choices for socks due to quality and manufacturing location (or really more where they are not manufactured).
I'm not a runner, but I've got two pairs of summerweight ankle socks and two pairs of winterweight hiking Darn Tough socks that probably have ~500 miles of walking in each, with no noticeable wear...
I'm not a runner, but I've got two pairs of summerweight ankle socks and two pairs of winterweight hiking Darn Tough socks that probably have ~500 miles of walking in each, with no noticeable wear and no particular care in laundering. Over the years, I've tried various manufacturers that offer compression or padding features. Plain knit, well-made without wrinkles or misplaced seams, at appropriate thickness for temperature, seems to give me the best results for comfort.
On topic for the thread, I've gotten a pack of the Costco merino-blend socks, and they're just meh. Thick and warm, but they pill badly, and there's just enough synthetic content to make them sweaty and foul if worn in boots all day. The knit shaping isn't great, and I've had them bunch up at the heel painfully on long walks. Yes, four pairs for less than the price of a single pair of Darn Toughs seems like a bargain, but they're probably going to get donated.
Darn Tough are still made in Vermont too, not outsourced to the lowest bidder in a country without labor protections. Happy to see people support the local economy of this small state.
Darn Tough are still made in Vermont too, not outsourced to the lowest bidder in a country without labor protections. Happy to see people support the local economy of this small state.
Haha. I’ve heard that many times when visiting Canada (not uncommon, it’s only 45 minutes away). Whenever our crazy national politics come up I hear that you all would be happy to adopt us. :)
Haha. I’ve heard that many times when visiting Canada (not uncommon, it’s only 45 minutes away). Whenever our crazy national politics come up I hear that you all would be happy to adopt us. :)
Just make sure to convince Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Maine (the other honorary Canadian states) to come along with you, and we'll call it good. ;)
Just make sure to convince Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Maine (the other honorary Canadian states) to come along with you, and we'll call it good. ;)
It seems that the majority of Trump’s rallies are held there these days. Live free or die motto is accurate, very libertarian in their politics. Vermont’s motto is freedom and unity, which also...
It seems that the majority of Trump’s rallies are held there these days. Live free or die motto is accurate, very libertarian in their politics. Vermont’s motto is freedom and unity, which also seems to reflect in the local politics. The two states appear similar at first, but feel very different.
Ah yeah, looking at it, it's not totally unconditional. Pet and fire damage, or if you lost them, is not covered by the warranty.... but that's totally fair, IMO.
Ah yeah, looking at it, it's not totally unconditional. Pet and fire damage, or if you lost them, is not covered by the warranty.... but that's totally fair, IMO.
Agreed. I got 9 pairs as a gift from my wife who does not understand why I would be so happy to have only identical, infinitely replaceable socks, and I've lost one to the dog. But that's really...
Agreed. I got 9 pairs as a gift from my wife who does not understand why I would be so happy to have only identical, infinitely replaceable socks, and I've lost one to the dog. But that's really only my fault, and will definitely buy more when they're lost to the ravening hund.
Yeah, they're not for everyone, I guess. But from a utilitarian perspective (which is how I tend to judge clothing), they're pretty much perfect socks! p.s. Thankfully my puppers doesn't seem...
Yeah, they're not for everyone, I guess. But from a utilitarian perspective (which is how I tend to judge clothing), they're pretty much perfect socks!
p.s. Thankfully my puppers doesn't seem interested in chewing socks (or shoes). He prefers to gnaw on stuffed animals, squeaky toys, and elk antlers. :P
I love darn tough too. I have a sticker on my bottle right in front of me. I have used the warranty before and they gave me the full value of a similar pair for each worn out set i sent in. (Value...
I love darn tough too. I have a sticker on my bottle right in front of me. I have used the warranty before and they gave me the full value of a similar pair for each worn out set i sent in. (Value in store credit).
As someone who shops both the men's and women's aisles at Costco for basics, I can say that the men's clothing consistently offers better quality for price. More natural fibers, better stitching...
As someone who shops both the men's and women's aisles at Costco for basics, I can say that the men's clothing consistently offers better quality for price. More natural fibers, better stitching and fasteners, more classic styles in wardrobe basics. Outerwear is sturdily constructed, often designed for serious use (winter construction work, hiking and hunting, etc.).
The women's clothing leans towards cheaper synthetic knits, though you can occasionally get good deals on merino or cashmere sweaters and branded jeans. The outerwear usually comes from the proprietary Kirkland house brand or low-end "32 Degrees" brand Chinese manufacturing. I've tried their cheap jackets a couple of times, and regretted it - water-resistant fabrics aren't, insulation is poor, the seam stitching fails, and zippers or other fasteners break. There's generally lower quality control for the women's items.
I may need to shop the men's clothing. They don't consistently sell my size in women's clothes anyway and I could use some cargo pants and a flannel or two. Women's clothing suffers in quality in...
I may need to shop the men's clothing. They don't consistently sell my size in women's clothes anyway and I could use some cargo pants and a flannel or two.
Women's clothing suffers in quality in general, I think, because of the stretch. Instead of sizing that actually accounts for curves - desired or otherwise - just slap some stretch fabric in there. The ladies love it. They definitely don't want or need pockets.
An archive link I'm not a super big fan of Costco. The way people talk about it makes it feel like a cult, and the process of actually shopping there is so stressful and upsetting that I don't...
I'm not a super big fan of Costco. The way people talk about it makes it feel like a cult, and the process of actually shopping there is so stressful and upsetting that I don't know how anyone feels like it's worth it, especially with how they're constantly overcrowded. When I was a member, the local place would often take 20 minutes just to go through the checkout line.
I'm also not a super big fan of Costco's business practices. Pretty much everything they sell is customized for sale there; even if it's not a private label good, it's not very likely that it's the same exact product you'll find in a store (even if the only difference is the packaging and quantities). Those tend to be really misleading, too, since it forces you to buy things in larger sizes that you might not need and it might not actually be clear how much you're getting. For instance, you might be able to get a 36 pack of the same brand of toilet paper, but the grocery store version will be "mega rolls" and the Costco version is "ultra rolls", which will be different sizes, different plys, or even be made with a different density. Some product manufacturers will cut corners in their products to meet Costco's seemingly arbitrary price points.
But at the same time, the fashion industry is the devil, so any time they lose a sale to Costco or any "non-fashion" clothing brand, I'm glad to hear it. My qualms about them are too numerous to list here, but the shortlist is that they are one of the world's most wasteful industries, the products they sell are incredibly low quality on average, and they have some truely dispicable business practices such as destroying their products so they don't "cheapen" their brands. Costco's clothing products may be arguably too cheap, but at the very least they aren't upcharging you by 1000%+ for you to have the privilege of becoming a living billboard for their brand.
But it's not like Costco is significantly better for the world than the rest of the fashion industry. Like the article mentions, they're incredibly opaque about where they buy their products from, so they very well could have come from sweatshops. All we have to prove that they're not being produced by coerced labor is "we promise". Durability is a huge plus, of course, but the article doesn't really address it very well outside of a quick quote from a sustainability nonprofit and two bizzare quotes from a person completely unrelated to the reporting. The random person says that their shirts can last 2-3 years, which I suppose is a lot better than a lot of fast fashion junk products out there, but that's still a relatively short amount of time - though they did mention that their pants lasted 10 years, which is pretty good.
I got some pants, shorts, and shirts from Costco. I almost never wear them, but they were some of the cheapest clothes I’ve found, so they certainly run a hard bargain. The pants that I got...
I got some pants, shorts, and shirts from Costco.
I almost never wear them, but they were some of the cheapest clothes I’ve found, so they certainly run a hard bargain.
The pants that I got actually aren’t that bad at $3 a pair, they’re just way too thermal for Florida weather.
It's never the best looking thing, but like everything Costco does their cloths tend to be durable and affordable. My dad gave me a flannel lined sweater last year and it quickly became my...
It's never the best looking thing, but like everything Costco does their cloths tend to be durable and affordable. My dad gave me a flannel lined sweater last year and it quickly became my favorite top. Warm, just professional enough, and dangerously comfortable. Kirkland brand isn't sustainable in the traditional sense (the sweater was polyester) but they do tend to last a looooong time.
It's basically where my entire casual wardrobe comes from and i've never had issues. I mostly wear solid color tshirts and jeans so it's not like i'm looking for much style. The jeans feel like...
It's basically where my entire casual wardrobe comes from and i've never had issues. I mostly wear solid color tshirts and jeans so it's not like i'm looking for much style.
The jeans feel like they probably get worn through in a couple of years, which is not ideal, but eh. They're cheap and the other brands i've found don't seem to do that much better. Pretty much everything else does fine?
That's just about every pair of jeans these days, sadly. There are some quality jeans to be found out there, true, but they're very expensive. It's rare now to find "true" jeans that are made of...
The jeans feel like they probably get worn through in a couple of years, which is not ideal, but eh.
That's just about every pair of jeans these days, sadly. There are some quality jeans to be found out there, true, but they're very expensive. It's rare now to find "true" jeans that are made of thick cotton and shouldn't be washed.
Levi's are still pretty good, but even they've gone down in quality over the past few decades.
Yeah that was kinda my take. I don't want to spend forever hunting good jeans when the costco jeans are "good enough" for the price. I can easily spend 2x or 3x as much and get the same quality,...
Yeah that was kinda my take. I don't want to spend forever hunting good jeans when the costco jeans are "good enough" for the price. I can easily spend 2x or 3x as much and get the same quality, so screw it. It's close, it's easy, and i'm there anyways. Neat.
Japan still has high quality Jean producers, and if you roll up the legs you can show off the signature selvedge lines. You can usually get something from like JapanBlueJeans for $200-$300, so...
Japan still has high quality Jean producers, and if you roll up the legs you can show off the signature selvedge lines. You can usually get something from like JapanBlueJeans for $200-$300, so it’s not that expensive.
Wut. Seriously, I’m old, but I feel like $75 is a lot for a pair of jeans. Kuhl, the highest quality I know about clock in at $100. I think I can score rustlers for less than $50.
$200-$300, so it’s not that expensive.
Wut.
Seriously, I’m old, but I feel like $75 is a lot for a pair of jeans. Kuhl, the highest quality I know about clock in at $100. I think I can score rustlers for less than $50.
Iron Heart are often lauded as some of the best selvedge denim. Made in Japan, high quality, nice fades (if you're into that), made by people making a living wage. The reason Japanese-made denim...
Iron Heart are often lauded as some of the best selvedge denim. Made in Japan, high quality, nice fades (if you're into that), made by people making a living wage. The reason Japanese-made denim is sought after is because they still make them with care on shuttle looms that were probably once owned by Levi's at some point. Like anything, hobbyists gonna hobby. Iron Hearts are on my 'wants' list, but I can't justify it right now because I have a very nice pair of Levi's Made & Crafted, selvedge, Japanese denim, that I got for 50% off. But even my Levi's, despite being made of Japanese denim, were probably constructed in some Chinese sweatshop. The thing about jeans is that you'll wear them all the time, so it's valuable to have a nice pair that's made well, by people who care and are paid appropriately.
Well, I suppose it depends on your frame of reference. Made In Japan stuff tends to be more expensive (but also more quality) because it is, actually, made in Japan, and that's the cost of first...
Well, I suppose it depends on your frame of reference. Made In Japan stuff tends to be more expensive (but also more quality) because it is, actually, made in Japan, and that's the cost of first world labor. There's cheaper sweatshop jeans around, but you get what you pay for. Generally I wouldn't say $200-300 is a lot for quality articles of clothing.
In all honesty, €200-300 is probably two years of my clothing spend, at least one. I cannot fathom spending multiple hundreds on trousers. Maaaaybe a really nice buy-it-for-life winter jacket, but...
In all honesty, €200-300 is probably two years of my clothing spend, at least one. I cannot fathom spending multiple hundreds on trousers. Maaaaybe a really nice buy-it-for-life winter jacket, but trousers? Nah.
I suppose I'm something of an outlier, but shoes are about the only thing I buy every year, because I wear out trainers from walking/cycling/football. I haven't bought any clothes at all this year, but I don't need anything, so that's worked out great.
It often isn't. What you find at Costco is actually clothing made specifically for Costco. What happens when a retailer sells clothing is, they say they want to buy these pants and they want the...
It often isn't. What you find at Costco is actually clothing made specifically for Costco. What happens when a retailer sells clothing is, they say they want to buy these pants and they want the pay this much for each pair. The company then makes this order according to these parameters. Often this means they reduce the quality or use lesser materials.
That's why there's a wild difference in quality in the same brands. The Levi's you buy from Costco is not the same as the Levi's you can buy from the Levi's retail store.
Lots of regular guys gush about clothes from Costco, and especially its private label Kirkland Signature, with the zeal fashionistas save for Prada. I’ve spoken to a dozen fans of Kirkland clothing, including several of the aforementioned commenters. Many commend Costco’s famously lenient return policy, and the convenience of updating their closet while grabbing groceries.
Above all, they claim Kirkland delivers the ultimate value-for-money clothing, a notable badge of honor during a cost-of-living crunch. Its $14 jeans and $25 shirts make a mockery of most other brands’ prices, yet devotees insist its wares don’t feel cheap.
...
With a couple of caveats, the clothes—sturdy and perfectly fine, if not quite handsome—pleasantly surprised me. In one case I was thrilled: Thick, plush and as comfy as hotel slippers, Kirkland’s white athletic socks knocked my socks off.
I buy a lot of clothes there since I have a pretty plain style, and I've been very happy with the quality, especially given the price. About half of my clothes come from there.
I buy a lot of clothes there since I have a pretty plain style, and I've been very happy with the quality, especially given the price. About half of my clothes come from there.
Every time I go there I'm struck by how low their clothing prices are. For sure, it's generally not the best textiles nor the best construction, but they're functional and come with price tags which have somehow managed to ignore the last three years of inflation. I have noticed that their merino socks have steadily become less and less merinoey as the years have gone by to the point that I started to seek out alternatives a couple years back.
If you're looking for alternatives, Darn Tough socks are worth every penny, IMO. They're rather expensive, as far as socks go, but have an unconditional lifetime warranty (that I haven't had to make use of yet because the socks are incredibly well made, but I've heard they actually do honor it). I have 4 pairs now, regularly rotate them, and plan on buying more eventually.
I also have a few pairs of Injinji, marino wool, toe socks as well. They don't have a lifetime warranty (it's only 1 year), and after a little over a year of using them they have started to frey a bit. But they're also a bit cheaper than Darn Tough, and are super comfortable, so still another good option if toe socks are more your thing.
Seconding the Darn Tough love. They're not just well-made and incredibly comfortable, they're stink-proof for days of travel reuse. The foot fetishist cat hasn't managed to snag holes in them. And they're (grits teeth) cute.
Darn Tough isn't my main brand of socks (I do have a few pairs) but another thing they have over Injiji specifically is that they are not made in China (they love to announce that they're made in Vermont). So if that's important to you, as it is to me, I definitely recommend them for any kind of socks. I do tend to go for Balega (made in USA or South Africa) and Feetures (made in USA) for running socks. I have a few pairs of Darn Tough running socks, but I'm not sure what kind of features they have, if any (e.g. padding in specific areas, no stitches, compression to support your arch, etc.). I believe I also have a few pairs of their ski socks. They're one of my top choices for socks due to quality and manufacturing location (or really more where they are not manufactured).
I'm not a runner, but I've got two pairs of summerweight ankle socks and two pairs of winterweight hiking Darn Tough socks that probably have ~500 miles of walking in each, with no noticeable wear and no particular care in laundering. Over the years, I've tried various manufacturers that offer compression or padding features. Plain knit, well-made without wrinkles or misplaced seams, at appropriate thickness for temperature, seems to give me the best results for comfort.
On topic for the thread, I've gotten a pack of the Costco merino-blend socks, and they're just meh. Thick and warm, but they pill badly, and there's just enough synthetic content to make them sweaty and foul if worn in boots all day. The knit shaping isn't great, and I've had them bunch up at the heel painfully on long walks. Yes, four pairs for less than the price of a single pair of Darn Toughs seems like a bargain, but they're probably going to get donated.
Darn Tough are still made in Vermont too, not outsourced to the lowest bidder in a country without labor protections. Happy to see people support the local economy of this small state.
And I'm not even American. But Vermonters are basically honorary Canadians anyways, so I'm still quite happy to support you all. ;)
Haha. I’ve heard that many times when visiting Canada (not uncommon, it’s only 45 minutes away). Whenever our crazy national politics come up I hear that you all would be happy to adopt us. :)
Just make sure to convince Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Maine (the other honorary Canadian states) to come along with you, and we'll call it good. ;)
I dunno whether you really want NH, they seem to be going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. :)
Ah, how so? The whole "Live free or die" thing has always weirded me out, but I don't follow individual State politics too closely.
It seems that the majority of Trump’s rallies are held there these days. Live free or die motto is accurate, very libertarian in their politics. Vermont’s motto is freedom and unity, which also seems to reflect in the local politics. The two states appear similar at first, but feel very different.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4187172-trump-support-at-47-percent-in-new-hampshire-poll/
There's a couple of conditions, in that if your dog eats them they're not going to replace that, but they will honor any damage through wear & wash.
Ah yeah, looking at it, it's not totally unconditional. Pet and fire damage, or if you lost them, is not covered by the warranty.... but that's totally fair, IMO.
Agreed. I got 9 pairs as a gift from my wife who does not understand why I would be so happy to have only identical, infinitely replaceable socks, and I've lost one to the dog. But that's really only my fault, and will definitely buy more when they're lost to the ravening hund.
Yeah, they're not for everyone, I guess. But from a utilitarian perspective (which is how I tend to judge clothing), they're pretty much perfect socks!
p.s. Thankfully my puppers doesn't seem interested in chewing socks (or shoes). He prefers to gnaw on stuffed animals, squeaky toys, and elk antlers. :P
I love darn tough too. I have a sticker on my bottle right in front of me. I have used the warranty before and they gave me the full value of a similar pair for each worn out set i sent in. (Value in store credit).
I only had to pay for shipping to them
As someone who shops both the men's and women's aisles at Costco for basics, I can say that the men's clothing consistently offers better quality for price. More natural fibers, better stitching and fasteners, more classic styles in wardrobe basics. Outerwear is sturdily constructed, often designed for serious use (winter construction work, hiking and hunting, etc.).
The women's clothing leans towards cheaper synthetic knits, though you can occasionally get good deals on merino or cashmere sweaters and branded jeans. The outerwear usually comes from the proprietary Kirkland house brand or low-end "32 Degrees" brand Chinese manufacturing. I've tried their cheap jackets a couple of times, and regretted it - water-resistant fabrics aren't, insulation is poor, the seam stitching fails, and zippers or other fasteners break. There's generally lower quality control for the women's items.
I may need to shop the men's clothing. They don't consistently sell my size in women's clothes anyway and I could use some cargo pants and a flannel or two.
Women's clothing suffers in quality in general, I think, because of the stretch. Instead of sizing that actually accounts for curves - desired or otherwise - just slap some stretch fabric in there. The ladies love it. They definitely don't want or need pockets.
An archive link
I'm not a super big fan of Costco. The way people talk about it makes it feel like a cult, and the process of actually shopping there is so stressful and upsetting that I don't know how anyone feels like it's worth it, especially with how they're constantly overcrowded. When I was a member, the local place would often take 20 minutes just to go through the checkout line.
I'm also not a super big fan of Costco's business practices. Pretty much everything they sell is customized for sale there; even if it's not a private label good, it's not very likely that it's the same exact product you'll find in a store (even if the only difference is the packaging and quantities). Those tend to be really misleading, too, since it forces you to buy things in larger sizes that you might not need and it might not actually be clear how much you're getting. For instance, you might be able to get a 36 pack of the same brand of toilet paper, but the grocery store version will be "mega rolls" and the Costco version is "ultra rolls", which will be different sizes, different plys, or even be made with a different density. Some product manufacturers will cut corners in their products to meet Costco's seemingly arbitrary price points.
But at the same time, the fashion industry is the devil, so any time they lose a sale to Costco or any "non-fashion" clothing brand, I'm glad to hear it. My qualms about them are too numerous to list here, but the shortlist is that they are one of the world's most wasteful industries, the products they sell are incredibly low quality on average, and they have some truely dispicable business practices such as destroying their products so they don't "cheapen" their brands. Costco's clothing products may be arguably too cheap, but at the very least they aren't upcharging you by 1000%+ for you to have the privilege of becoming a living billboard for their brand.
But it's not like Costco is significantly better for the world than the rest of the fashion industry. Like the article mentions, they're incredibly opaque about where they buy their products from, so they very well could have come from sweatshops. All we have to prove that they're not being produced by coerced labor is "we promise". Durability is a huge plus, of course, but the article doesn't really address it very well outside of a quick quote from a sustainability nonprofit and two bizzare quotes from a person completely unrelated to the reporting. The random person says that their shirts can last 2-3 years, which I suppose is a lot better than a lot of fast fashion junk products out there, but that's still a relatively short amount of time - though they did mention that their pants lasted 10 years, which is pretty good.
I got some pants, shorts, and shirts from Costco.
I almost never wear them, but they were some of the cheapest clothes I’ve found, so they certainly run a hard bargain.
The pants that I got actually aren’t that bad at $3 a pair, they’re just way too thermal for Florida weather.
Mirror/Archive for those hit by the paywall:
https://archive.ph/fJ5lH
It's never the best looking thing, but like everything Costco does their cloths tend to be durable and affordable. My dad gave me a flannel lined sweater last year and it quickly became my favorite top. Warm, just professional enough, and dangerously comfortable. Kirkland brand isn't sustainable in the traditional sense (the sweater was polyester) but they do tend to last a looooong time.
It's basically where my entire casual wardrobe comes from and i've never had issues. I mostly wear solid color tshirts and jeans so it's not like i'm looking for much style.
The jeans feel like they probably get worn through in a couple of years, which is not ideal, but eh. They're cheap and the other brands i've found don't seem to do that much better. Pretty much everything else does fine?
That's just about every pair of jeans these days, sadly. There are some quality jeans to be found out there, true, but they're very expensive. It's rare now to find "true" jeans that are made of thick cotton and shouldn't be washed.
Levi's are still pretty good, but even they've gone down in quality over the past few decades.
Yeah that was kinda my take. I don't want to spend forever hunting good jeans when the costco jeans are "good enough" for the price. I can easily spend 2x or 3x as much and get the same quality, so screw it. It's close, it's easy, and i'm there anyways. Neat.
Japan still has high quality Jean producers, and if you roll up the legs you can show off the signature selvedge lines. You can usually get something from like JapanBlueJeans for $200-$300, so it’s not that expensive.
Wut.
Seriously, I’m old, but I feel like $75 is a lot for a pair of jeans. Kuhl, the highest quality I know about clock in at $100. I think I can score rustlers for less than $50.
Iron Heart are often lauded as some of the best selvedge denim. Made in Japan, high quality, nice fades (if you're into that), made by people making a living wage. The reason Japanese-made denim is sought after is because they still make them with care on shuttle looms that were probably once owned by Levi's at some point. Like anything, hobbyists gonna hobby. Iron Hearts are on my 'wants' list, but I can't justify it right now because I have a very nice pair of Levi's Made & Crafted, selvedge, Japanese denim, that I got for 50% off. But even my Levi's, despite being made of Japanese denim, were probably constructed in some Chinese sweatshop. The thing about jeans is that you'll wear them all the time, so it's valuable to have a nice pair that's made well, by people who care and are paid appropriately.
Well, I suppose it depends on your frame of reference. Made In Japan stuff tends to be more expensive (but also more quality) because it is, actually, made in Japan, and that's the cost of first world labor. There's cheaper sweatshop jeans around, but you get what you pay for. Generally I wouldn't say $200-300 is a lot for quality articles of clothing.
In all honesty, €200-300 is probably two years of my clothing spend, at least one. I cannot fathom spending multiple hundreds on trousers. Maaaaybe a really nice buy-it-for-life winter jacket, but trousers? Nah.
I suppose I'm something of an outlier, but shoes are about the only thing I buy every year, because I wear out trainers from walking/cycling/football. I haven't bought any clothes at all this year, but I don't need anything, so that's worked out great.
It often isn't. What you find at Costco is actually clothing made specifically for Costco. What happens when a retailer sells clothing is, they say they want to buy these pants and they want the pay this much for each pair. The company then makes this order according to these parameters. Often this means they reduce the quality or use lesser materials.
That's why there's a wild difference in quality in the same brands. The Levi's you buy from Costco is not the same as the Levi's you can buy from the Levi's retail store.
From the article:
...
I buy a lot of clothes there since I have a pretty plain style, and I've been very happy with the quality, especially given the price. About half of my clothes come from there.