Help a girl out

[houseelf]

Over the last few years, I have noticed that my favorite retailers have started to cheapen their products. (Gymboree and Ann Taylor Loft, if your corporate bots are picking up this reference, I'm complaining about YOU).

FWIW, I'm ridiculously brand loyal when it comes to clothing and running gear. Lately when I shop I think that the stuff looks crappy and thin even while on display in the store. Meanwhile prices increased.

All of this has prompted me to think about the stuff that I buy. I've started to change it up a bit. Over the last year, I have gone out of my way to buy local, even though I know I'm paying a lot more than whatever the megastore would charge. I freely admit that I am ...uh...frugal and I still feel somewhat financially conflicted. Residency ingrained in me certain platitudes about the virtue of frugality.

Nonetheless, it is nice to finally be able to afford to patronize the local florist, gift shop, and bakery (yeah, I'm really forcing myself to eat 'local' cupcakes LOL). Anyhoo, I've started to think about back to school shopping and all I see is more....crap. This is where you all come in.

I need your typically fabulous iMSN recs on middle of the road clothing, for adults and kids. I love you all, but please realize that I'm not a haute couteur or $100 purse type of girl. Additionally, I'm interested in trying to buy more American made products, clothing or otherwise. After 20 plus years of running exclusively in Sauconys and Nikes, I'm going to buy a pair of New Balance shoes because they have 6 factories in the U.S. Living in S. Ohio serves as a stark reminder of the need to support jobs in the U.S.

So what do you all have for me? (To clarify, the question is two pronged: 1) Name your favorite mid tiered clothiers; and 2) Name your favorite American brands, clothing or other products.

TIA

[Meenah]

I applaud you and will now "think" about this.

[Deebs]

There is a really interesting/informative website and movement called the "Buy American Challenge." http://buyamericanchallenge.wordpress.com/
It also has links to information regarding products that are American made. DH and I found it so interesting that both "foreign" vehicles I am looking at are 75% USA made, while the majority of Ford vehicles are less than 75%. Even when you think you must be buying American (or that you are buying foreign, for that matter), it's not necessarily the case. I do agree that quality continues to decline, and it makes me crazy. I have really started to pick and chose where I spend money because sometimes it is worth paying a little more, but it's difficult to figure out where those extra dollars will result in higher quality.

[v-girl]

I don't think they are made in America, but if you buy Gap on sale or at the outlet, you can get good quality at a good price. The outlet in my town runs ridiculous sales -- we went a few weeks ago and the whole store was 50% off. And my friend and I had coupons for 10% off. They gave us 15% off the sale price. I bought 4-5 outfits for each of my girls as well as two for my niece for $125. Everything is modest enough for my preferences and has held up well to multiple washings already.

I am willing to spend more on my 13 year old's clothes and shoes because it will be handed down to her younger sister. I can't justify spending a lot on the 11 year old's clothing though.

I applaud you and will now "think" about this.

Ditto.

There is a really interesting/informative website and movement called the "Buy American Challenge." http://buyamericanchallenge.wordpress.com/
It also has links to information regarding products that are American made. DH and I found it so interesting that both "foreign" vehicles I am looking at are 75% USA made, while the majority of Ford vehicles are less than 75%. Even when you think you must be buying American (or that you are buying foreign, for that matter), it's not necessarily the case. I do agree that quality continues to decline, and it makes me crazy. I have really started to pick and chose where I spend money because sometimes it is worth paying a little more, but it's difficult to figure out where those extra dollars will result in higher quality.

Wow, who knew!

I heard about this website on the radio, you may find it useful to identify American brands: http://madeinusaforever.com/

As for the clothes.... I haven't done "real" shopping in a very long time, but I really love HM (for trendier items) and Banana Republic (for staple pieces like blazers- occasionally they have great sales like 40% off outerwear. Definitely took advantage of that). I also agree with the outlets suggestion!

[alison]

H&M is Swedish, but definitely great for fashionable items!

What about Anthropologie? I think they have some good sales. And Free People.

For children's clothes, I like Tea Collection. They have some great sales on the company's website, and occasionally Nordstrom has some of their items on sale. I also like See Kai Run for children's shoes. Sometimes their site has good sales, like last fall, they had a 40% off sale (including their new line).

See Kai Run is based in a suburb here and they have a warehouse sale every June.

I also like Flora and Henri clothes for children. It's a boutique here, but they have a website to buy their things online. It's something like $30 for a basic wrap shirt, but I've bought them for $10 when they've had sales! That particular style works well for my string bean, because I can wrap it as tightly as I want to get a snug fit.

[houseelf]

Debs- That is really good to know because our minivan has 170,000 miles. When something major goes wrong, we're planning on buying a new one. While price an important factor, it would also be nice to support American workers. I know there is a Toyota plant nearby in Northern Kentucky and another one in one of Columbus's exurbs. Additionally, there is a Honda plant in Marysville, Ohio. Meanwhile GM has shut down its major truck building facilty in Dayton. I agree that you can't just go buy what originated as an American made car and congratulate yourself for supporting the domestic economy.

I hope New Balance shoes work out. I'll give a report. (Did I mention I ridiculously brand loyal?)

I will check out H & M. At 38, I think I have "aged out" of Anthropologie's target audience. I do like Tea Collection and Hannah Anderson (call center based out of Louisville Kentucky and fabulously sturdy clothes but a bit pricy). I'm off to do some internet shopping... Keep these coming.

If you're out of Anthropologie's "target audience" (which I disagree with - you're not), then H&M is too young, too.

For kids clothes, Tea Collection, J. Crew, Boden (British) - they all hold up amazingly well, but are not cheap. My friend hands down her stuff to Mattie - sometimes having been through more than one of her kids, and it's still in fantastic shape. On the shoe front the same can be said for Keens and Stride Rites (but again, I do not know the origin).

[JaneDoe]

For my kids, I shop Hannah Andersson and Mini Boden for shirts, dresses, underwear, shorts, swim wear. They are pricier, but their quality is fantastic. I have noticed that quality in other brands; i.e., Gymboree, is crap. Gymboree shirts shrink after one wash and no longer fit my kids well. I'd rather spend more money for clothing that lasts. For kids shoes, I really like Nordstrom's Geox brand for my kids. Great shoes. I buy jeans for my son from Children's Place. I've had really good look with jeans from there - not much else though. Children's Place jeans have lasted an entire year on him. That is saying alot with him!

For athletic wear for me, I really like Lucy. The quality is top-notch and lasts forever. Love it.

For kids shoes, I really like Nordstrom's Geox brand for my kids. Great shoes.

For athletic wear for me, I really like Lucy. The quality is top-notch and lasts forever. Love it.

Same friend sends Geox shoes. Mattie refused to wear last year's offering at all -- they must have been uncomfortable for her somehow. This year's just arrived, and I decided to set them aside until closed shoes are required weather-wise.

For athletic wear for me, I've been in love with Athleta (owned by Gap, on ebates), and Title Nine. Title Nine also has a lot of cute, sporty dresses. I got several of my outfits for Hawaii from them.

[corn poffi]

I love New Balance shoes. My feet are just plain weird, so sometimes tennis shoes (especially Nike and Adidas) don't fit quite right. I also think they're extremely well made. I have a casual pair that I bought in 2005. They literally look brand new. I also have a pair I bought in 2001. I wore the hell out of them, yet (minus the soles) they still look pretty good.

My Honda (which I love) was built in Ohio. It's also awesome.

As for clothing, American Apparel is made in the USA. But it's also poor quality, and their CEO or whatever is a scumbag.

I love simple tanks and tees by Splendid, Lucky Jeans has some factories in the US, and Seven for All Mankind makes jeans here too.

[SuzySunshine]

I wear NB shoes and love them. I gave up on Gymboree not because of the quality as much as the price. I like Crazy 8 their sister store which is cheaper but just as cute. Costco has Hanna Anderson so I bought A some tights the other day as well as some pajamas for R. I think if I had more then one kid of the same gender I could justify their prices because I know they pass down well.

Deb, thanks for the car info website, we'll be replacing both of ours shortly after training and I don't think we did much supporting with our last two purchases.

I also like Title Nine especially for swimsuits that are cute, modest and don't ride.

[SoonerTexan]

Honestly, the brands are all over the place there so I don't know what is American made, but TJMaxx has always been my go-to for quality clothing at a decent price.

[Vishenka69]

As usual, I agree with Lily. My mom is 56 and we both love Anthropologie and shop there as much as their sales and our credit cards will allow.

The only suggestion I have is Seven for Mankind jeans. At least my two pairs state that they're made in USA and I got them for $80 a piece. It might sound steep at first but considering I wear them all the time for years, it's not a bad deal.

I agree that general quality of most chains has gone down significantly. I have items from 10 or so years ago that still look better than what I bought last year from the same store. I think outlets are the way to go. Since I don't have as much time to shop anymore, I go less frequently but buy more at each trip than I used to (averages out to about the same over the course of the year). However, beware that many brands make items specifically for outlets (J Crew, AT, Gap being some of them) and these are cheaper quality than what's offered in regular stores. I prefer going to department store outlets and getting high end brands at discounted prices. This takes more time and effort but also results in high quality items that last for years at ridiculous prices.