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Comment by brookside | Hacker News Reader

I would buy clothes with no distinctive marks if I could find them.

Uniqlo

I've worn a 'uniform' based around Uniqlo's long sleeved tees for about 15 years now and I've noticed the quality drop off remarkably over the past few years.

A shirt will barely last a few months now, whilst I still occasionally wear a [much be-holed] first generation from way back when and it's kept its size, shape and still feels soft. New ones shrink and feel crunchy after a few washes. Oh, and they're about twice the price. Inflation, I guess.

Haven’t bought clothes from them in a while because they last so long but the “line” matters too. My standard cotton ones are starting break but the suprima cotton ones are still going strong 4 years later.

Many comments here praise Uniqlo and for years I also bought all 'my uniform', my short sleeve shirts there (guess I live in a warmer climate). But now I got the same feeling as you have. The shirts that I bought a few weeks ago are really different and I finally decided I need to find an alternative.

one more drop in the uniqlo bucket.

i liked the free hemming on their jeans. and overall one-stop-shop for basics.

but jeans and shorts wouldn't last for a year in the seams. Even their pockets and buttons above the zippers would fail.

i haven't had that happen with other brands.

without making it a conscious choice, i just drifted towards other similar brands after consistently experiencing the quality of their materials.

Lands end has decent stuff imo. I like their "tailored fit" super-t. Some of the colors are bad but they fit me well I think. I don't know if their pants are any good. I just get Levis.

Agreed! The basic white tees get washed away within a few months. I think they used to be higher quality. That or they’re in cahoots with my maid.

Came here to make this comment.

More than 80% of my wardrobe is from Uniqlo, including 10 dry pique polos, 20 supima cotton tees, and 10 flannel button ups, all black. Makes getting dressed in the morning stress-free because I know I'm going to like how I look every day. The blacks do not fade — I have 5-year-old shirts that look practically as good as 6-month-old ones.

Their jeans, especially their selvedge jeans, are also high quality and priced well. Same for my winter parka, vests, fleeces, shorts, socks, underwear.

Best part: nary a logo in sight.

Uniqlo is too normcore for my taste.

Same for me. It took me some time to find a brand that doesn't dazzle everybody with their logo, uses the fabric and design that suits me, is durable enough and so on. I place a substantial order and forget about clothing for a few years.

What brand did you opt for over Uniqlo?

I don't believe my answer would make any sense for anybody beside me as I am a very peculiar person and chose the brand after trying dozens of others.

I'm definitely in full dad mode at this point. I've resisted New Balances thus far, but I can see them peeking out over the horizon, a massive iceberg into which I'll inevitably crash.

Fantastic shoes, you won’t regret it. Your Significant Other, on the other hand…

Some of the surfer brands like Volcom, Reef, Lost etc sell wovens with little tiny logos on the pocket you can remove with a thread-ripper. I think that's not rare, though. Pretty sure you can even remove logos from some of the jeans. I guess I should also probably plug the lightweight pants from Club Monaco that I'm wearing right now because I don't see a logo on them. MUJI is also nice and unlabeled, still Japanese sensibility but a little more eclectic (their linen pillowcases are great).

Their shirts are good, yes. I have several pairs of their chino shorts though and those do not hold up long term, to the point where I’m looking for alternatives that’ll last a bit longer.

Uniqlo selvedge denim is really good, I wear it a lot. Most US brand 'jeans' (Levis etc) are just cotton pants in a jeans cut. If you tear them on a nail or cut them the hole will spread and fray - real denim does not do this and the uniqlo pants are cut well for my body type, last for ages and when damaged the hole stays small.

You have to pay hundreds for genuine denim Levis which puts them in the fashion pretentious class imo.

Uniqlo's XXL is not true XXL so I can't wear any of their clothing :(

Old Navy / Gap have similar offerings as well. I haven't seen a Uniqlo store in the US, although their website seems to imply they exist.

Edit: ok, they seem to be in larger cities. I'm in the Wisconsin, I was able to find that there are stores in Chicago, for instance.

There's half a dozen of them here in LA. I'm a fan of their tshirts and hoodies. Not so much their jeans though

Quite a few in Washington and even in Florida. Flagship in Chicago, LA and NYC!

Also J Crew. They have great t-shirts made from actual cotton instead of plastic blends.

They also, crucially, have sizing beyond just S/M/L et c. but within each they have regular (fat) slim (kinda fat—this is me) and tall. I think I've even seen tall-slim and maybe one other size on there (do they have a Trim size for people who are actually skinny, or is that another brand I'm thinking of?)

That's a must for getting a decent fit for off-the-rack clothes. Even t-shirts.

Plus, they don't even put logos on their polos, which is the one place that actually-nice clothes can get away with a logo. They're not the best-constructed, but they're not terrible, and no logo. BB's polos are better-made and use nicer material but when I wear them I feel like a douche because of the stupid embroidered sheep logo. I think both favor tennis-tail though, which sucks if you like to wear them untucked.

I'm a huge fan of their hoodies, that's the first thing I ever bought! I probably would have mentioned it if it was hoodie-wearing season where I live but those have been tucked away for a few months already.

It's were I buy all my black V-neck tee shirts for work. H&M for my pretty pattern short sleeves when I am in that summer mood.

What about Asket in EU?

I am looking into buying stuff from them, I would also love some feedback. I just wants simple pants that fit, this seems to be a difficult requirement to fulfil.

The concept is good, checked them out some years ago, but afaik the execution should be better. Scandis don't have an eye for fabric, except Denim. Often too smooth / shiny / plasticky or bland.

I really wish there were affordable clothes in Asket spirit but with fabrics Italian premium brand would choose.

I’m a big fan. Used to only shop Uniqlo, M&S and gap but the quality of these brands have gone downhill massively.

Asker’s chinos are the comfiest trousers I’ve ever worn. The Egyptian cotton tees are also great.

Love their clothes but their american style boxy fit is horrible. And no tall options.

Nobody wants to sell clothes to lanklets, except maybe the scandis. Infuriating.

Also Target's Goodfellow brand. Last longer than Uniqlo and much better fit if you're athletically shaped.

Uniqlo means university toilet in German.

For no-logo t-shirts nothing come close to "forty five" in terms of quality and comfort

I tried it but they seem to be for people with longer torsos

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