LEATHER
Leather is not technically a fabric but a material. The quality of a leather piece mainly depends on what type of ‘grain’ it has. Full-grain leather is generally considered the highest-quality type and refers to leather that has not been sanded, buffed or corrected to retain the skin’s natural fibre strength and durability. Top-grain (also called corrected grain) and split grain leather have been more heavily processed (the top layer of the skin is usually removed) and are therefore not as durable as full-grain leather; they also won’t develop that coveted natural patina of high-quality leather over time. Here are some more notes on leather quality:
• Look closely at the tiny grains on the fabric. Do they look natural or printed? Brands that use corrected leather will sometimes print marks back onto the sanded leather to add authenticity. Up close these printed grains will look much more uniform than full-grain leather – won’t contain any of the natural imperfections that full-grain leather would have from the animal from which it came.
• A major downside of leather is that it can be permanently creased. When you buy a new piece, make sure it does not already have any scratch marks. On unworn pieces, those usually signify that the leather is either brittle or very high maintenance.
• Check how the individual pieces of leather are attached. Were they sewn together or glued? Stitching takes longer than gluing and is therefore more expensive for brands, but it creates a stronger hold between the pieces. Any visible remains of glue are a definite no-go.
VEGAN LEATHER
A great alternative to real leather is faux (or vegan) leather, which usually consists of a polyurethane coating on a fibrous layer. High-quality faux leather can be just as durable as real leather, is generally more affordable and easier to maintain, won’t lighten as much in the sun, and doesn’t involve the death of animals.
• Just like real leather, faux leather should feel supple, not have any obvious scratch marks, and the individual parts of the item should be sewn rather than glued together.
• Low-quality faux leather will often have an obvious plasticky, shiny look to it; higher quality pieces are almost indistinguishable from animal leather, at least to non-experts.
• So, avoid shiny; go for soft and supple and, when in doubt, know that thicker tends to be better. Faux leather can be lightweight, but it should never feel thin or flimsy.
SYNTHETICS: IS NATURAL ALWAYS BETTER?
The short answer is no. Although many people will consider even small amounts of manufactured fibres in a fabric’s composition a negative, synthetic or semi-synthetic fibres do have their advantages and can make a great alternative or addition to natural fibres. Here’s why:
• For starters, there is a huge difference between synthetic materials (usually polyester or viscose) that are commonly used by budget fashion brands and the high-quality synthetic materials used by designers or higher-quality brands. In the fast-fashion industry, synthetic materials are often used to replace natural fibres. It’s about cutting costs, so these types of synthetic fibres typically won’t have a high quality and are mainly chosen for their resemblance to natural materials, their price or their look. On the other end of the spectrum there is the designer who chooses a synthetic material over a natural one for its specific properties (it’s particularly lightweight, the way it drapes, its texture), in order to enhance the final garment. Many designers and brands specifically formulate fabrics to get the exact type that’s right for their design or to improve things like breathability and other functional properties.
• Oftentimes, a small amount of synthetic fiber improves the fit of an otherwise natural fabric. Spandex, polyester or Lycra especially, mix well with cottons or wools to add stretch and elasticity and make sure the garment keeps its shape after washing. For fitted items that you want to curve around your body (such as jeans or T-shirts), look for a fabric composition that includes about 2 to 5 per cent of a stretchy synthetic material.
• Synthetic fibres are often the best choice for activewear because they are lightweight, super stretchy (and therefore form-fitting without being restricting), dry fast, or are able to wick sweat away from the skin.
Seams
The seams of a garment are generally a fail-proof indicator of its quality, because, although they are hugely important for the durability and shape of a garment, the average shopper will typically pay little attention to them. That’s why low-budget manufacturers like to save money and time by skipping the extra seam work it takes to turn a garment from something that holds up and looks fine on the rack into a durable garment that will retain its shape and structure over time. Here are a few ways to check the quality of the seams on a garment.
GENERAL PROPERTIES
• First, look over the main seams of the item. Are they straight or crooked, neat or messy? Stray threads, loose stitches or areas that have been stitched over multiple times are all bad signs. There should also not be any obvious needle holes in the seams. A needle that is too large for the fabric, a basic manufacturing mistake that weakens the seam over time, likely created these. To check the strength of the seam, try pulling on the fabric a little on either side. If the seam separates, it was poorly manufactured.
• Second, make sure that all seams on the fabric lie completely flat without puckering. The seams of a garment should never break up its silhouette and should ‘seamlessly’ integrate into the piece.
• Third, if a garment is patterned, check whether the patterns line up at the seams. High-quality brands will make sure a patterned garment looks as though it consists of one piece of fabric; low-quality brands will usually skip that extra step to save money.
TYPES OF SEAMS
Another indicator of quality is the type of seams the manufacturer used to connect the individual pieces of fabric. As a rule of thumb, you want neat, secure, reinforced seams instead of a few flimsy stitches. However, depending on the item and also the role of the seam within the fabric, you’ll need to look out for slightly different things:
• Start with the inside of the garment. A very common way to sew seams is to serge them. A serged seam has a distinct zigzag pattern and is one of the fastest, cheapest ways to seam a garment. Now, even though serged seams are not particularly strong, they are completely fine for finishing edges on garments like T-shirts and lightweight shirts, particularly when the edge is folded under first. What they are no good for is load-bearing seams, that is, any seam that connects two pieces of fabrics, like side seams on trousers, shoulder seams, and also the hemlines of items made from heavier fabrics. Because load-bearing seams are under constant tension, they should be created using a more secure method, such as using double stitches (two rows of stitches close to each other), French seams (the edges of each piece of fabric are folded under and then sewn together), or bound seams (the edges are each folded under and then enclosed in a strip of fabric).
• Now, on to the outside of the garment. In general, high-quality manufacturers will want to hide outer seams as much as possible (unless they are a part of the design). Load-bearing seams should all be neat, secure (do the pulling test), and not too noticeable. A stable, secure hemline is also crucial for the shape of a piece, so finish off your seam inspection by checking out the lower edge of the piece. The hemlines of lower-quality garments will usually just be folded under and sewn in place. In that case you would be able to clearly see a line of stitches on the outside and serged zigzag lines on the inside. Like I said above, this type of seam is fine for lightweight items, but for things like jackets, trousers and skirts, which depend on a strong hemline to retain their shape, you are better off with a bound seam or an invisible finish (which uses a blind hem stitch to attach the hemline to the garment and is barely visible from the outside).
Tailoring
Our bodies are not two-dimensional; that’s why almost every garment needs a little tailoring to make it fit the contours of our shape. To what extent a brand takes the extra time to do this says a lot ab
out the overall quality of its collection. Now, more than any other point in this chapter, tailoring obviously has a strong individual component. Although a number of things are universal (there should always be a back seam in jackets, for example), a major portion of what ‘good tailoring’ means to you will depend on your body’s proportions. What works for you might not work on your friend and vice versa, so make sure you always assess the tailoring of a garment from both an objective (best practices of tailoring) and a subjective (whether it works for your body) perspective. Chapter 20 is dedicated to that subjective perspective, to assessing how well a piece fits the individual contours of your body. In this section, we’ll look at a few objective properties of good tailoring:
• Items like shirts, blouses, jackets and non-stretchy dresses and tops should have darts on the front and under the bust to pull in the bottom of the item to your waist and make sure the fabric underneath the bustline does not bulge or hang.
• The seams on the shoulders of jackets and tailored tops should be reinforced to prevent them from becoming stretched out over time.
• Something that many budget manufacturers skip is a seam down the centre of the back. Your back is not flat, which is why a square piece of fabric will never look as good as a piece with at least one if not multiple back seams that follow the curve of your back. Stretchy tops do not necessarily need a back seam, but definitely look for one on jackets and coats.
• Many high-quality shirts and blouses have a shoulder yoke, which is an extra piece of fabric that sits on your shoulders and around the neckline, connecting the front and back piece of the shirt. A shoulder yoke is not a must, but it does allow for a neater fit around the shoulders and a smoother drape across the front and back.
• Another way cheaper brands save money is by skipping facings and interfacings. An interfacing is an extra piece of fabric sewn in between the outer layer and the lining of a piece to support its structure and keep it from stretching out, for example along the shoulders or button placket. The only way to figure out whether a garment includes an interfacing is to feel it with your hands. A facing is a piece of fabric that encloses the raw edges inside a garment opening (such as around the waistband, sleeve opening, neckline or collar) to protect the seams and help the garment keep its shape.
Lining
• Any garment with a high-quality lining should get major bonus points! Linings are great for a lot of reasons: they give the garment a neater finish on the inside by hiding (and protecting) seams, interfacings, padding and all that stuff; they add an extra layer of warmth; and they protect the outer shell of the garment from skin oils and sweat, which greatly prolongs the lifespan of the piece. They also allow you to slip more easily into the garment, which reduces the tension on the outer layer and keeps the fabric from becoming baggy or stretched out. For items like fitted skirts, a lining also greatly improves fit because it prevents the outer fabric from clinging to your thighs and thereby creates a more streamlined silhouette.
• Linings are a must for some types of garments, but not all of them. Items that should be lined include anything that is very constructed or tailored, difficult to clean, or delicate. Think lighter, see-through fabrics as well as jackets, coats, structured dresses, loosely woven fabrics, suedes, leathers, knits and tailored skirts.
• Assess the fabric of the lining as you would any other fabric and make sure you like how it feels on your skin. In general, linings should be made from a thicker, sturdier material that is antistatic. Whether you prefer cotton, satin or a wool mix is up to you, but always make sure that the lining has the same care code as the upper fabric, otherwise getting it cleaned is going to be a huge hassle. On many pieces from more affordable brands, you’ll often find linings made from acetate, a synthetic fabric that is made from wood pulp. Acetate is soft, biodegradable, absorbs moisture, and drapes well without clinging to your skin, which makes it a good lining fabric. Unfortuately, it also tends to shrink in the wash and should therefore be dry-cleaned, which makes ‘affordable’ pieces with an acetate lining not so affordable in the long run.
Details
Reinforced buttonholes, flat zips, real pockets: The finishing touches of a garment are telltale signs of its overall quality. Here’s how to inspect the buttons, zips, pockets and label of a potential new wardrobe addition.
BUTTONS AND ZIPS
• Check that the buttons are spaced out evenly and secured by multiple threads to keep them in place. There should also be at least one extra button included with every item. High-quality labels will usually attach these to the care label or the hemline.
• Even more important than the buttons themselves are the buttonholes, which should always be reinforced to keep the button from pulling on the fabric unevenly or even ripping through. Ideally, buttonholes should be bound or reinforced by very densely stitched thread. You should not be able to see any raw edges of the fabric through the stitching.
• Buttonholes on jackets and cardigans (or any item that depends on a clean silhouette) should be of the ‘keyhole’ variety, which means that they include a round hole on one side. This allows the button to sit comfortably in the buttonhole without distorting the fabric.
• Always assess the quality of a garment’s zip while you are wearing it; that way you will get a better idea of how the zip holds up under pressure. Make sure it moves smoothly and lies flat against your body, without puckering. The zip should also completely lock at the top and not move down if you pull on the sides a little bit.
POCKETS
• High-quality jackets should have real pockets with an adequate length. On fitted or very tailored pieces, pockets may be closed by a line of stitches to keep the silhouette smooth. That allows you to decide whether you would like to use them (by opening the stitches) or not. Another thing to look out for when inspecting pockets is whether the opening is reinforced by a line of neat stitches.
LABELS
• In general, brands that care about the comfort of their garments will use woven, not printed, labels, and place them somewhere it won’t feel uncomfortable to the wearer. Avoid anything with a huge, obnoxious plastic label. Even though they can be cut off, it’s a pain to remove them completely without tearing the fabric or leaving a tiny but itchy remainder.
Finding great-fitting clothes doesn’t have to be so hard. Use this two-step method to instantly assess the fit of a potential new piece. Plus, learn thirty easy fixes to common fit problems.
The sizing across brands is all over the place. We all know that. We’ve all heard of vanity sizing; we know that what it says on the tag is nothing but an arbitrary number. And just because you are size 6 at one store doesn’t mean you can’t very well be anything from a size 0 to a size 10 at another store.
If a great fit was just about picking the right size, finding clothes would be easy, and all I’d have to say in this chapter about fit would be, just try on a bunch of different sizes – one of them is going to fit! But it’s not quite as easy as that. Because the size of your body is just one of two factors that determine how well a garment will fit you. What’s the other one? Your proportions.
Your proportions include everything from the width of your shoulders and rib cage to the length of your legs and arms and the curve of your waist. Your proportions may be similar to those of another person, but they won’t be exactly the same. And sure, we may not be talking about more than a quarter of an inch here or there, but when it comes to a great fit, that extra quarter of an inch makes a big difference.
Life is too short for uncomfortable clothes.
Finding clothes that match your body’s size and proportions is no easy feat. Most people, except for a lucky few, can’t just pick out whatever from a rail of clothes and expect a great fit. Our bodies are too unique and complex for that. A little trial and error is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in dressing rooms just to find a single good pair of jeans.
Here’s how to speed up that process:
learn how to spot common fit issues and their causes.
That way, instead of blindly trying on a bunch of stuff in the hopes of eventually hitting a jackpot, you can try on just one or two pairs, assess it based on a clear set of criteria, and figure out what the problem is. Based on that, you can then decide your next step – when a piece doesn’t fit, you have four options:
1. Try a different size.
2. Try a different style or silhouette if available (for example, a lower-waisted pair of jeans).
3. Have it tailored (more about that here).
4. Skip that piece entirely (when it’s poorly constructed, does not work with your proportions, cannot be altered, or isn’t worth having altered).
On the next few pages you’ll learn all about the most common fit problems, their causes and how to fix them (using one of the four options above).
As a first step though, you need to know what to look for.
What do good and bad fits look like?
A piece with a GOOD FIT
• hangs on your body just as the designer intended it to
• feels comfortable and allows you to move freely
• stays put without having to be readjusted
A piece with a BAD FIT
• looks distorted and may be too tight in some places but too loose in others
• digs into your skin, feels uncomfortably tight, and restricts your movement
The Curated Closet Page 15