this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2023
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Is there a good simple clothes place? (lemm.ee)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/minimalism
13 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hello! I have an issue:

TLDR: I live in E Europe and would just like a site or app where I can shop for good quality, consistent, reliable, brandless, fashionless, timeless, standard, printless, good material, fairly priced clothes.

I usually like to buy bulk (2 long house jogger pants, 5 t-shirts of the same brand and form, just different basic colours, 2 black jeans, 7 pairs of socks of the same kind, 7 pairs of undies for example) and get it over with.

The closest i have found are C&A and H&M so far. I'd like even more simplicity and a bit better build quality.

"Fashion" conglomerate apps both second hand and new, contain the opposite of what i want in clothes: overpriced, varying quality, brand heavy, print/logo heavy, exotic cuts, weird colors, dated, impractical clothes.

I dont like needing to visit many generic online shops and flip the coin on build quality, and i dont like going to many online stores and finding the simple, honest clothing i like scattered one-three items on each brand.

I specifically want to avoid popular labels because that costs extra and the price is high for the label, not for the actual item of clothing.

Is there one app to unify this for me, or is there a company that just has fair prices and no fuss? And by no fuss, I also mean, i don't want some brand that sells me a white plain t-shirt for 100$ and makes this precious pageantry out of minimalism.

Sorry if i come off as bitter, but it's really difficult for me to just find simple stuff, and i am already fed up with it being such a chore after half a life. Simply because i have such simple requirements, its very difficult to find what i want.

Thank you in advance.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I like Decathlon. I get everything there except jeans. Plain black or white t-shirts are a bit over 3 euro a piece. Socks are good, shoes are good, training pants and hoodies too and all of them have plain colors without much branding. For undies I get under armor and the elastic is branded unfortunately, but the comfort was more important. Good luck. Also since you said Eastern Europe check if you have a Waikiki store available, it's dirt cheap. Also Pepco is even cheaper. I've found plain clothes in both.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

i like decathlon too tbh. my only gripe is sometimes its a bit too primary colors for my taste. i like muted colors.

btw h&m has very good unbranded undies that last the most if you take care of them well (out of what i had so far)

on waikiki and pepco, i have encountered quite a few quality issues a few years back and stopped trying. might give them another shot - but see, we're already discussing 6 stores, each with SOME simple stuff, and i dont like to keep seeking out those few items that are simple and good.

(also Lidl but you gotta always keep an eye out there)

[–] kamenlady 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

(also Lidl but you gotta always keep an eye out there)

Surprisingly true - my last Lidl visits had me looking into their clothing-isle longer than expected.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

YES! exactly. But that's also half my point: Lidl, C&A, H&M, Decathlon, waikiki, underarmour, sinsay, salomon... thats already a lot of places we need to either digitally or physically go to browse through.

If you think about it, most minimalists either

  1. hate shopping and would love a one stop shop for their needs. currently you end up visiting more places because you know exactly what simple things you want, than some shopaholic who will just buy whatever is at hand wherever they randomly find themselves shopping and wear it for a while. (here the minimalist hates the way he has to spend his time)

  2. are addicted to shopping and is their main struggle trying to become minimalistic - and browsing 10 shops instead of 3 like they used to - which will only make it harder for them to step away. (here the striving minimalist will hate the way they feel because they're basically investing even more time in shopping than they used to)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

i found black shirts are actually harder to maintain than white ones. a good spot remover can easily save a white one, whereas a black one needs careful washing on 30 degrees, no heat drying to not lose color, no sun drying to not bleach etc. Besides if you pair black pants with black shirts, one will be darker than the other, and look washed out and old in comparison. whereas, if you have a white shirt and black jeans that might or might not be a bit discolored, the contrast will make them look a lot darker and therefore newer.

[–] kamenlady 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm afraid it will be very difficult to find a company that produces clothing with the expected amount of quality, practicability, good design that will distribute it brandless, cheap & with high availability.

I've been on he same Quest, with similar requirements.

It's not for everyone and some brands don't really have minimalism in mind, but i've been very satisfied buying some clothes from the Hiking-Corner. Salomon for example - they have a good design, mostly muted colors and the materials are awesome.

And they hold back with too much Logos on their pieces.

The climate change is getting to a point where the kind of material your clothing is made of, really makes a difference.

They have some ultrathin materials that feel you are wearing nothing and that's a treat on hot summer days.

This is not an ad for salomon lol - it's just that functionality & durability have gotten more important when i choose new clothing and have been happy to compromise a little bit on the "pure" minimalistic aspect of it all. But the thing is, some hiking focused brands have evolved to a point, where i don't feel like making too much of a compromise, because i really like their designs.

[–] mean_bean279 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Have you tried Express?

I buy lots of their plain shirts which don’t have any branding and have great muted color choices (I like layering with flannels). They have great quality (I’ve owned most of mine for 4+ years), the colors maintain after washes, they don’t shrink, you can buy them in multi packs, they offer them in materials like performance tech, or my favorite linen. The sizes are also consistent I’ve found.

My jeans from them are INCREDIBLY comfy and have been very reliable and don’t tend to rip or break at seams.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Aren't they an american shop? It would be like $25 postage plus the customs charge and VAT, plus the import admin charges for schnitzelbub to get anything.

[–] mean_bean279 2 points 1 year ago

Hmmm, I had looked quickly to see if they were available there before I had commented, but upon googling and mapping further it does look like they’re state side. Which is frustrating because I figured they were based out of London since they post about European sizes and wares frequently.

For people state side they’re definitely a great option and hopefully there’s something like it over in the UK. Although IMO their clothing is worth the extra cost… it’s like Hugo boss without the history and for a bit less and with less logos.

[–] MintyAnt 2 points 1 year ago

Maybe see if https://www.primary.com/ can do some of it. It's primarily for kids clothing (and it's amazing) but I've got several adult sized clothes since they are just a nice bright simple color

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Uniqlo and Muji are my go tos. Eastern Europe might not have (m)any though. I know they don't in Turkey or Georgia at least..

[–] doneinajiffy 1 points 1 year ago

Muji or Uniqlo are good go to shops.

[–] Astroturfed 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Gustin has some good stuff sort of like you are looking for. Their fits run a bit small/thin compared to sizes in the US not sure about compared to European size comparisons. I have a ton of plain Ts and sweaters from them I adore. Good quality not real branding. Some of the sweaters I bought are 6-8 years old at this point and still in great shape.

Most of their stuff is a bit too pricey (for my taste anyway), but if you find multi-packs of the shirts and sweaters it's more reasonable. Like these:

https://www.weargustin.com/store/knits-organic-cotton-t-shirt-classic-pack

https://www.weargustin.com/store/knits-heavyweight-pigment-dye-t-shirt-3-pack-turtle-moss-highlands-moss-slate-blue

https://www.weargustin.com/store/knits-waffle-crewneck-2pk-burnt-orange-deep-red