I was wondering, do you consider certain clothing brands low-end, mid-range, or high-end? Not in terms of quality, but in terms of price and/or prestige?

Here is what is how I rank a few brands:

Ultra High-End
Polo Ralph Lauren Purple Label
Burberry
Aquascutum
Dunhill

High-End
Polo Ralph Lauren Blue and Black Labels
Lacoste
Tommy Hilfiger
Calvin Klein

Middle-High
Lauren Ralph Lauren
Nautica
Under Armor

Mid-Range
IZOD
Chaps
Van Heusen
Greg Norman

Middle-Low
U.S. Polo Assn
Club Room
(Liz) Claiborne

Low-End
Hanes
Gildan
Fruit of the Loom
Amazon Essentials
All in-house brands of Walmart and Target

How would you rank certain brands, including those not listed here?

Back in the "old days" tailored clothing were graded by union standards. Generally a "6 Make" was the top standard of tailoring, but an Oxxford suit was clearly above that.

Whew I was in that business I generally wore H Freeman & Sons (a 5 make) That suit coat was a dream to wear. I would also wear a Corbin for coats, pants and suits.,Corbin. models had some of hate best designs at a reasonable price. They were a well made 4 make and had the best patterns in it's range Towards the end of my years in that retail sector we found that there were better and better fabrics coming on market, basically upgrading Itjhr products.

Sadly Corbin is no longer in business - a sad sign that the founding father has passed and the sons aren't up top the task of keeping the standards up to snuff.

764 everything you listed can be bought at Macy's and is not fancy clothes really. That said, what matters is if the clothes fit.

I wear really inexpensive clothes from H&M, Clarks, Dockers, Andrew Marc (a Macy's brand I guess) being primary brands. The fanciest is probably a couple of off the rack Hugo Boss suits.

Brand tiers are all how you arrange it, but the top widely distributed brands seem to be things like Chanel, Canali (true or not?), Gucci maybe, Prada. $2,500+ for a coat. Then you have expensive but still attainable clothes like Faconable, the expensive stuff Nordstrom might carry. $800 coat versus $300 coat at Macy's. Or how about Ben Silver of Charleston. Nothing outlandish, just really nice, very expensive clothes.

There are far better people here to discuss this than I. But I would call all the brands you listed either mass market fashion (low tier fashion) or else just bulk clothing in the case of Amazon Essentials. And that's fine - a good looking girl in a Target dress wins every time. Maybe some will say Ralph Lauren is a strong mid tier clothing brand. Experts?? Not high tier though, that is a whole other world.

Anyway, buying clothes as a man is criminally cheap and easy. So thank God for that.

Ultra High-end: Must be made in Italy or France
High-end: Must be made in Europe
Everything else: Usually made in either Turkey, Thailand, Bangladesh or China

As long as it looks good (as defined by my wife), fits well & correctly and has some level of quality, I couldn't care less what its cost or "prestige level" is.

Extravagantly expensive clothes are an indulgence I choose not to partake in too often. About the only thing I'll spend real money on are running shoes and suits.

Who cares, as long as it's pink?

Note that Ralph Lauren has different tiers within its lineup, with Chaps being its most basic tier and Purple Label being its most exclusive tier.

I don't want to wear expensive clothes (whatever expensive means to you) so I don't care, never heard of half the brands listed, and while I've heard of the others, I've not noticed people wearing them, outside of Lacoste and Ralph Lauren with their distinctive logos. One thing I pay attention to when buying clothes is I don't want any markings, especially not ones in English. Shops are full of T-shirts, polos etc. with markings of US universities (pretty sure it's infringing their rights), or random text, I avoid those.

Discretion goes with quality. Any labels should be small and preferably hidden, but in the right place for those in the know.

Those with both money and style would not dream of having any kind of label on show. At all. Ever, including with beach or sportswear. It's for the paparazzi or fashion police to find out what is being worn, not for the wearer to advertise it.

Those with money (real, serious money) but not chasing style or fashion buy for quality as typically fashion shopping is a waste of their time. So good quality Savile Row suits and shirts; all bespoke.

Me? I've always coveted a Vivienne Westwood suit.

Aesma wrote:

I don't want to wear expensive clothes (whatever expensive means to you) so I don't care, never heard of half the brands listed, and while I've heard of the others, I've not noticed people wearing them, outside of Lacoste and Ralph Lauren with their distinctive logos. One thing I pay attention to when buying clothes is I don't want any markings, especially not ones in English. Shops are full of T-shirts, polos etc. with markings of US universities (pretty sure it's infringing their rights), or random text, I avoid those.

I mostly wear IZOD, which I consider mid-range. The high-end brands are mostly out of my price range and I don't really notice any difference in quality despite their price difference (although I have at times bought stuff from Polo Ralph Lauren's outlets). I also prefer IZOD's styles to Chaps.

For medium-low, I have gotten a few U.S. Polo Assn shirts as gifts that I wear from time to time.

For low-end, I mostly buy those for basic needs such as T-shirts, socks, and underwear, as well as my hoodie (since those are the only brands that sell men's hoodies in pink).

La Croix, dahling!

I consider Levi's jeans in the mid range. They are expensive, IMO. American Rag (Macy's brand) would be mid range, too, but they are less expensive. Macy's has a couple of brands that are mid and upper level priced but I can not think of them at the moment.

seb146 wrote:

La Croix, dahling!

I consider Levi's jeans in the mid range. They are expensive, IMO. American Rag (Macy's brand) would be mid range, too, but they are less expensive. Macy's has a couple of brands that are mid and upper level priced but I can not think of them at the moment.

Based on price, I would consider Levi's middle-high and American Rag middle-low.

Wait, wait...Levi's are middle-high? Levi's? After Channex757 explained how labels are to be hidden, Levi's' label is on your ass. Literally. Might as well be those sweat pants with "cutie" or "ski bum" written across the buttocks. Next you will tell me Dickies is a high end brand (full disclosure, I'm poor and wear Dickies...they are comfy.......shut up).

meecrob wrote:

Wait, wait...Levi's are middle-high? Levi's? After Channex757 explained how labels are to be hidden, Levi's' label is on your ass. Literally. Might as well be those sweat pants with "cutie" or "ski bum" written across the buttocks. Next you will tell me Dickies is a high end brand (full disclosure, I'm poor and wear Dickies...they are comfy.......shut up).

Best pair of jeans I ever had were a Valentino pair I got cheap in a sale (for an arbitrary value of cheap). Very discreet branding but as comfortable as wearing angel wings on my arse, and lasted me years.

A similar brand would be those knocked out by Anderson Cooper's mom. Gloria Vanderbilt... she must be skint these days if she's reduced to making pants.

meecrob wrote:

Wait, wait...Levi's are middle-high? Levi's? After Channex757 explained how labels are to be hidden, Levi's' label is on your ass. Literally. Might as well be those sweat pants with "cutie" or "ski bum" written across the buttocks. Next you will tell me Dickies is a high end brand (full disclosure, I'm poor and wear Dickies...they are comfy.......shut up).

I have seen men's 501s at Macy's for $55 and the "store" brand jeans at Target for $25.

In the past 10 years the world of fashion has changed so much that custom made clothing and boutique clothing from small(ish) designers are available en-mass. There is a cool store in Warsaw where I buy clothes called Rejkjavik District (http://reykjavikdistrict.com/) and they import all of their clothing from mostly boutique designers in Italy. There is also Show Room https://www.showroom.pl/tag/dorosli/mez ... nia/swetry which mostly features Polish designers and other small designers from Europe. The quality of these clothes is unreal and will last years. You can wear amazing clothing which was less than 10 years ago the preserve of fashonista''s and the rich for not much more than some mid-high brand mass produced (in my humble opinion) garbage which everyone wears.

If I need some t-shirts or shorts and I'm in a bind then I go to H&M and expect them to last 1 season. That's being optimistic. lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBidLBtTfyg

This company wouldn't use IZOD shirts in their bathroom as toilet paper. £1600 for a single metre of suit material....and they don't skimp. That is the real high end.

Channex757 wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBidLBtTfyg

This company wouldn't use IZOD shirts in their bathroom as toilet paper.

Ewww.

High end wouldn’t appear in a Phoenix macy department store.

LV, Prada, Gucci, Bulgari, Georgio armani, Ferragamo, Bottega are the de rigour brands for a luxury lineup these days, followed by brands such as Kate Spade, Bally, Tory Burch, etc. Brands like Michael Kors, Boss, Kalvin, etc are division two, followed by the Lacoste of the world.

Brands like Izod that are mostly sold from racks and not from stand alone stores are for the masses, and considered fast fashion rather than luxury.

Channex757 wrote:

Those with money (real, serious money) but not chasing style or fashion buy for quality as typically fashion shopping is a waste of their time. So good quality Savile Row suits and shirts; all bespoke.

Me? I've always coveted a Vivienne Westwood suit.

I bought a made to measure Savile Row suit in December 96, if I remember correctly it cost £1200 and took about 6 weeks to trailer, I bought 4-5 shirts, cufflinks and pair of Church toe cap derby shoes, the shoes were around £160. The suit was beautiful, sadly I don’t have it anymore, the shoes lasted longer and were resoled several times. I’d like a couple more made to measure suits but my wife thinks they are an extravagance and won’t let me, so it’s boss suits since they all can get in my town, unless I lower standards and buy nasty cheap chain store brands.

Channex757 wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBidLBtTfyg

This company wouldn't use IZOD shirts in their bathroom as toilet paper. £1600 for a single metre of suit material....and they don't skimp. That is the real high end.

Yeah, yeah, but do they do it in fairy tail pink?

scbriml wrote:

Channex757 wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBidLBtTfyg

This company wouldn't use IZOD shirts in their bathroom as toilet paper. £1600 for a single metre of suit material....and they don't skimp. That is the real high end.

Yeah, yeah, but do they do it in fairy tail pink?

at the sort of money they charge, they will do it in any shade of pink you want with unicorn arseholes for buttons

1337Delta764 wrote:

I was wondering, do you consider certain clothing brands low-end, mid-range, or high-end? Not in terms of quality, but in terms of price and/or prestige?

Here is what is how I rank a few brands:

Ultra High-End
Polo Ralph Lauren Purple Label
Burberry
Aquascutum
Dunhill

High-End
Polo Ralph Lauren Blue and Black Labels
Lacoste
Tommy Hilfiger
Calvin Klein

Middle-High
Lauren Ralph Lauren
Nautica
Under Armor

Mid-Range
IZOD
Chaps
Van Heusen
Greg Norman

Middle-Low
U.S. Polo Assn
Club Room
(Liz) Claiborne

Low-End
Hanes
Gildan
Fruit of the Loom
Amazon Essentials
All in-house brands of Walmart and Target

How would you rank certain brands, including those not listed here?

I’ve worked for high end European fashion houses, including Gucci, which is the most well known. I think everyone’s definition of ultra high end differs. For me, none of the brands you mention fall into this category. Also, we need to establish that there’s a difference between high end and luxury. Brands that still make couture clothing are regarded as luxury. Chanel, Christian Dior are good examples of couture houses, but here’s a full list of official members.

Official members
Adeline André—Alexandre Vauthier—Alexis Mabille—Chanel—Christian Dior—Franck Sorbier—Giambattista Valli—Givenchy—Jean Paul G

Many more couture brands show in Paris, but these labels are the core group. Couture brands have to be invited to show in Paris as you can’t just show up and be considered couture.

As you can see, many brands considered the height of luxury are relatively unknown to most people and the exclusivity is strictly enforced. A Chanel couture jacket can cost up to $100,000 for example. A dress? We’re talking astronomical, making well known high end brands like Prada, Gucci, Burberry look relatively inexpensive. Most working people with a decent pay can purchase designer clothing if they save money, but to buy couture, you simply have to be wealthy.

That’s my two cents. I enjoyed this question very much

Hey guys,
Interesting discussion...
I prefer fewer items of clothing of higher quality from 'high end' brands than more items of lower quality. That said, if I like the colour or 'quirkiness' of a clothing item, I'll buy!!!
I will mix-and-match items of different 'quality' ... 'Lower' brand jeans for example (JAG or Mossimo for example) with a Hugo Boss shirt, Armani suit with Ben Sherman shirt....
The only clothing I do not compromise on are jocks/undies. Armani, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss only for me!
Cheers,
Bunumuring

... And shoes?
Julius Marlow dress shoes, Rossiters or Blundstone boots, Havianas thongs...
Cheers,
Bunumuring

Shoes? Alden is as good as you can find, and very traditional. They invented the Tassel Loafer in 1929 and the exact same shoe is still in their line. Alden does custom shoes and will retain the last for future purchases you might make.

One word: Costco

Tugg

When Burberry check became a "must wear" for low grade tv soap actresses, and subsequently available in a knock off form on market stalls for the chav community its downgrade to budget was very swift.

Tugger wrote:

One word: Costco

Tugg

Costco is great if you're a medium or above. Sadly it's difficult finding anything in a men's small there.

cranberrysaus wrote:

Tugger wrote:

One word: Costco

Tugg

Costco is great if you're a medium or above. Sadly it's difficult finding anything in a men's small there.

One size that it is difficult to find anywhere is men's X-Small. IZOD sells very few products in that size, and they are all in slim fit with fewer color options. I know with the Advantage Polo, they only offer the five Basic (year-round) colors - Black, White, Real Red, Blue Revival, and Peacoat. I did buy such polo shirts for my cousin in Puerto Rico before. The stores you are more likely find men's X-Small are stores like Forever 21 and H&M. Some suggest that an alternative to men's X-Small is boys' X-Large, but I have been warned that boys' clothing is cut boxier than men's clothing.

Bongodog1964 wrote:

When Burberry check became a "must wear" for low grade tv soap actresses, and subsequently available in a knock off form on market stalls for the chav community its downgrade to budget was very swift.

Fast going back upscale too. Burberry has been working hard to rebuild its image and also clamp down on cheap, tawdry imitations and knockoffs.

They do still retain their Royal Warrants. I think Betty and Jug Ears have a coat or two off them occasionally.

BestWestern wrote:

High end wouldn’t appear in a Phoenix macy department store.

LV, Prada, Gucci, Bulgari, Georgio armani, Ferragamo, Bottega are the de rigour brands for a luxury lineup these days, followed by brands such as Kate Spade, Bally, Tory Burch, etc. Brands like Michael Kors, Boss, Kalvin, etc are division two, followed by the Lacoste of the world.

Brands like Izod that are mostly sold from racks and not from stand alone stores are for the masses, and considered fast fashion rather than luxury.

Very well stated. You are spot on.