This story is a part of one5c’s guide to sustainable fashion. Read more about how to ditch fast fashion, fast fashion’s climate impacts, if (and how) clothing rentals help, and the complexities of textile recycling.
If you’ve had the feeling that the 1980s sweater you thrifted is actually higher quality than a brand new one, you’re neither wrong nor alone. Many modern garments are flimsier and withstand fewer wear and washes than ones that were made only a few decades ago. The quality of our clothing has declined as companies try to churn out more options without increasing costs, sidelining quality fabrics and cutting corners in construction in the process.
Stores are saturated with poorly made blouses and dresses and pants that will fall apart after laundry day. That’s thanks to the rise of fast fashion. As the unsavory side of the industry has come to light over the past several years, consumers increasingly want things to improve. According to a 2020 survey from Fashion Revolution, more than half of shoppers want more transparency about how their clothing is made. They also are hungry for garments of a high enough quality to be handed down instead of discarded.1
One key way we can send that signal as consumers can is purchase fewer, better items. Think boots that you can walk around in for years or a coat that will keep you warm for a decade or longer. But telling the difference between a lifetime purchase and a dead-in-a-year find can be tricky. “Different brands, retailers, and consumers all apply their own lens to decide if they believe a garment is ‘good’ quality,” says Margaret Bishop, a professor at both the Parsons School for Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology. “Price does not always equate to quality. Sometimes the more affordable brands have better quality than some very expensive brands.”
No matter if you’re hitting the thrift or Rodeo Drive, there are a few telltale signs of a well-made garment you can look for before taking an item home.
Well-attached buttons
According to Bishop, buttons are a big tell for a high-quality garment. If you try an item of clothing in a store, look at how evenly the fasteners are attached: The front buttons should form a straight line and also align neatly with the corresponding button holes. It’s also important to note how neat and secure the threads attaching the fasteners are: A well-sewn button sits flat against the garment via a hearty shank (the little loop on the back of a button) or cross stitch. If the buttons feel loose and the thread looks like it is frayed and sloppy, they’re likely to fall off after a few wears.
Good quality zippers
A lot of cheapo brands will cut corners when it comes to zippers, says Bishop. Hefty items like denim jeans or thick jackets should have zippers with heavier metal teeth to keep a garment closed. Decent quality jeans or heavier garments are also more likely to have a sturdy pull tab for opening and closing.
Bishop cautions, however, that heft isn’t always a good thing. A very heavy zipper on a light fabric like cotton or linen may tug on the item of clothing and wear out the cloth, so it’s important to look at other factors, too. Similar to a button, how well the zipper is attached is also important. If the thread that affixes it to the garment looks frayed, crooked, or otherwise sloppily sewn on, chances are it won’t last the test of time.
Often the brand of the zipper itself is also a tell of quality. The YKK zipper, produced by Japanese company Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, is one of the most popular and high-quality options out there—and probably zips up some of your favorite garments already. Peek at the zipper pull for a little “YKK” mark.
Comfortable fabrics
Clothing made with high-quality materials also tends to feel comfortable to the touch. However this rule mainly applies to natural fibers like linen, cotton, and wool. “A cotton T-shirt that feels softer and smoother is better quality than one that the fabric feels rough,” Bishop says. “With wool, a garment that feels scratchy typically does not have the same quality fiber as a wool garment that feels softer and less scratchy or itchy against our skin.” This is often a function of a material’s thread count—the number of threads woven into one square inch of fabric—which generally changes in lockstep with a product’s quality and comfort product.
Synthetics like polyester can, of course, pass this test too. But it’s still wise to skip polyester or acrylics whenever possible: Globally, 14% of plastic pollution traces back to synthetic fabrics.2
Little evidence of pilling
Knitted items, even made of high quality fabrics, are prone to pilling over time, but on cheaply made duds it can start to happen in the store. Pilling occurs when the friction of wearing clothes breaks individual threads and gathers them into tiny ball-like knots or “pills.” If an item is sitting brand-new on the rack and already shows signs of pilling, that’s a red flag. But a vintage cashmere with a few pills just means it’s already been loved for many years, and it could be worth sprucing up.
One pro tip: Turn a garment inside out and check out the threads and knits to see if they are already showing signs of wear and tear before leaving the store. If the inside already looks rough, it’s only downhill from there.
In the case of a well-loved item—either from your closet or the secondhand store—it’s totally possible to avoid too much pilling or address it once it starts. It’s important to ensure clean clothes based on the instructions on the label, which includes using the gentle cycle or hand washing when called for. In a pinch, a disposable razor, lint roller, pumice stone, or even fine sandpaper can help get rid of clumps and breathe new life into delicate pieces.
Strong seams
Construction says a lot about how long a garment can hold up during regular wear. A lot of clothing manufactured today use what is called an overlock stitch, which is where stitching is done along the edge of a fabric to stop fraying. This works just fine for simple edges or lightweight fabrics, but there are other stitches that are more durable. A French seam (or a right left seam) is sewn twice, and is especially great for lightweight fabrics like silk and chiffon. They’re more common in menswear, but Bishop said they’re a great find whenever you’re shopping for durable clothing. Felled or welt seams are used for heavier, sturdier fabrics like jeans, and bound seams hide away edges to prevent fraying.
If you’re unsure of a seam’s quality, there are a couple things you can try. Hold it up to the light and see how much light gets through. Also check for puckering or obvious needle holes—both signs that a garment may have been made hastily. And, of course, if the fabric is patterned, details like florals or stripes should align at the seams instead of looking like a messy hodgepodge.
Tight hems
Like seams, a garment’s hems can tell you a lot about the quality of its overall construction. The neater and closer together stitches are, the sturdier a piece of clothing will be. If there are long stitches (meaning very few per inch) on a hem, that’s a sign that a garment was run quickly through a sewing machine and that the production may have been rushed. The more stitches in a small area for a hem, the better. “If it’s a hem, you really don’t want to be as low as four to seven stitches per inch. You want eight to 10 stitches per inch,” Bishop said. “That’s going to hold a seam.”
- Consumer Survey, Fashion Revolution, 2020 ↩︎
- Fashion’s Plastic Paralysis: How Brands Resist Change and Fuel Microplastic Pollution, Changing Markets Foundation, Sep. 2024 ↩︎