Hello there. In the next couple of weeks, you are definitely going to hear many buzzwords. Words like heritage or craftsmanship are going to pop up until your head explodes. But do not get lost in all this marketing jargon. Today we are going to focus on the technical aspects of the business. Why is the price of a coat is $50 and another coat is $300?
Well, first of all, it is not magic. It all comes down to physics and thread counts. In order to succeed in this business, you should know the product. Retailers hope that the customer will be so mesmerized by logos that they won’t look into the seams. And your job is to catch those small nuances before they are overlooked.
Denim
Everyone loves raw denim. However, the true pride of a customer is selvedge. Take the famous Levi’s 501s or high-end Momotaros, turn up the cuffs, and there you’ll see the white edge with red line – that is selvedge. Selvedge literally means “self-edge”.
This fabric is made in the old factory loom and it is not capable of unraveling. It is more expensive and time-consuming than regular jeans. The modern projectile loom cuts and serges the edge in order to keep it from unraveling. That is why selvedge is a sign that the manufacturer has not chosen the cheaper variant.
Canvas
You will see this fabric used in bags produced by Filson and jackets by Carhartt. Alongside with checking the weight of this fabric (12 or 18 ounces), you should pay attention to the most important thing – the weave of this material. The weave should be tight and grid-like. In addition, the good fabric cannot be seen through when held against the light. The best canvas is as hard as cardboard in its natural state and it only gets broken in with wear and becomes a lifelong investment.
Horn Buttons
This is the easiest way to identify whether the garment is genuine or fast fashion imitation. The last uses plastic buttons that are dyed to resemble the nature, while horn buttons are made of animal hooves and/or horns. In this particular case, they are made of water buffalo horn.
Just take a close look at those beautiful buttons. You will definitely notice swirls, gradients and unique patterns in each of them. None of these buttons are alike. While the plastic tries to imitate natural horn buttons, it still stays flat and homogeneous. In addition, it does not have the warmth of natural horn buttons. The latter feels warmer.
One of the tips of the week is the check of the stitching of the shirt. Those little bumps that you will feel are lock stitches. This way, the whole seam will not tear just because one of the stitches has torn.
While the fast fashion manufacturers use chain stitches because of the speed, the tearing of one thread will make the entire seam unravel as if it was a zipper. It is the disaster in waiting. The products of quality brands are reinforced by the points of stress with bar tacks – those clusters of dense stitching that you can see on the pockets of jeans.
You can probably question the relevance of discussing the rope on the hoodie. It may seem petty. However, in a good hoodie you will find flat-woven cotton laces, not the round and stringy ones that you can purchase for 2 cents at the dollar store. Aglets, the little plastic tips, should fit properly.
If the aglet falls off the first time you try to pull it, the quality of the product is really poor. It means that the brand does not care about saving money even on tiny details. If they have skimped on a two-cent piece of plastic, imagine what happened to the lining.
Do not be afraid of all the science behind all this. All you need to do is slow down and feel the texture. Compare the quality of the jacket from The North Face and some unknown brand on Amazon. The difference is palpable. One is heavy and dense, the other one is not planned.
Your clients are looking for you for interpreting this information. They are not asking for a lecture on textile history. They want to know why their money is worth spending. Tell them that it is the difference between buying a new coat every year and buying the coat for a lifetime.
In fact, it is rather funny once you understand it. You begin to spot bad stitching even on other people’s clothes in the grocery store. You become a textile snob. Welcome to the club.
Thanks for reading this post! – MyPlugin