Shoddy craftsmanship

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Grossenschwamm, Jun 25, 2014.

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  1. Grossenschwamm

    Grossenschwamm Well-Known Member

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    I'm noticing a lot of things with a manufactured life-span. Computers, ok - the hardware doubles in effectiveness in regular periods. Cars, fine - though I wouldn't mind being able to buy a car and just do regular maintenance on it for as long as I want.

    But I draw the line at clothes.

    I may just be someone who can't give a single shit about fashion, but there is no consumer benefit to clothes that fall apart after 6 months or less. I've noticed this much more in women's clothes than in men's, but I do know when I get a pair of cargo shorts, I expect the pockets not to rip open when I put things in them. It took someone running up to me in the grocery store saying, "You dropped this!" for me to realize the 4 month old shorts I had on were one rough fart away from splitting in half.

    In general, my clothes are fairly durable. I do a decent amount of outdoor work around my house, and in my workshop. The clothes I wear for those things are normally between 5 and 10 years old - mainly the newest stuff I wear is on my feet, considering I need a new pair of shoes each year. I have a pair of canvas work pants I can use for blacksmithing. For the amount of sparks that have showered those pants, I have a grand total of zero holes burnt into them.

    However, my wife needs to get new clothes every few months. And it's really not a fashion thing for her...her clothing just ends up falling apart. And I see there's a trend in women's clothing where things like shirts are translucent and have to be worn in layers, and pants are just thin "wont even keep your legs warm in fall" pieces of craft store fabric. How the hell can a company inspire brand loyalty if their clothes only look good?

    Wait. I think I answered my question when I tried to make an analogy with fast food.
     
  2. Jojobobo

    Jojobobo Well-Known Member

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    The main thing that annoys me is shoes - I have exceptionally flat feet so I normally get through a pair in about 4 to 6 months due to me distributing pressure differently than you average person. Recently I forked out £30 on a pair on Vans that was on sale, because a previous pair of Vans I'd bought lasted me more like 8 months which is practically a record for me. However within two weeks of owning them I have a hole my big toe had worn through the canvas of the right foot; granted I had visited a family member, got locked out their house, and had to walk the valleys of Bath Spa for several hours in the rain trying to find somewhere to stay - but that's no excuse, they should be harder wearing.

    It annoys me now because now I look like a tramp who has no self-respect when it comes to how they present themselves in public, but I flat out refuse to spend that price again when these shoes aren't even three months old yet. It also doesn't get any better if I buy supermarket brand shoes, as they tend to only last a month for about £10 - so there really is no happy medium to be found. It would be nice to be able to wear shoes that didn't make me look like I was ready to go on a 10 mile hike in public (and even then, I'd be looking more towards the £70-£100 for anything that would last me), that also didn't fall apart in under half a year.

    So yes, I feel your pain. However for t-shirts and the like I usually go for plain, coloured t-shirts that - so long as they've been made in a sweatshop somewhere and exploited poor Asian children - are incredibly cheap so I don't feel the financial pinch so much. Jeans can be a bit of a pain as they still wear out, showing brain through loose fitting boxers to all and sundry, but even they aren't half as remarkably expensive as shoes.
     
  3. Jungle Japes

    Jungle Japes Well-Known Member

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    When I used to wear combat boots every day, the outer quadrant of the heel would wear away to nothing long before the rest of the boot wore out. Not so much a workmanship issue as an issue with my inefficient gait, probably due to my flat-footedness.
     
  4. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    It would appear my car is the exception to the rule. 410,000+ kilometers, made it through the annual vehicle inspection flawlessly.

    Apart from that though, I share Yoyoboob's sentiment with regards to shoes. Someone ought to vow to destroy the economic basis of the footwear industry by making indestructible pairs of shoes from unicorn skin and unobtainium.
     
  5. Vorak

    Vorak Administrator Staff Member

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    Buy properly made shoes that can be resoled.

    I have shoes that cost me hundreds initially but I just look after them and polish them regularly and when I do wear the heel or sole out its cheap to get a cobbler to replace them. I had one pair that finally died about a month ago because I wore a hole in the leather near the toe of one but considering I bought them in Nov 2009 and wore them to work at least 5 days a week I feel I got my $280 purchase price out of them.

    The greatest secret to making shoes last is cedar shoe trees, the less moisture in the threads in a shoe the better. Ideally only wear a pair every other day and leave it with shoe trees for a full day to dry out. Just don't be a chump and buy expensive shoe trees all you need is a hunk of cedar and a rasp.

    As to built in obsolescence in clothing; Are you really surprised that a culture that encourages people to buy new clothes for each season makes clothes that last for exactly one season. There is definitely some cost cutting and shoddy workmanship involved but I would not be surprised at all if a short lifespan was actually planned and engineered. Just look at Levi jeans they realised that moving production overseas and lowering quality would equate to more sales and greater cost savings, for them it was a double win.
     
  6. Jojobobo

    Jojobobo Well-Known Member

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    Yoyoboob - I think that's the cruelest variation of my name I've heard here.

    In regards to shoes, I appreciate that I do have an inefficient gait but I still don't see why I should pay out the nose for it - that's plenty of other weird crap accommodated for by consumerism I don't see why flat feet shouldn't be added to the list. In terms of leather shoes that could be cobbled, the trouble there is for completely flat feet they have little to no arch support - so much so that when I use leather shoes the nerves in my feet get trapped and I get an unpleasant stinging sensation when I walk in them for a decent length of time.

    Obviously there's insoles that can be bought to rectify this, but I've yet to find an exceptionally comfortable and breathable pair that fit any type of shoe I'd wish to buy - which seems to be a must with how quickly they wear out. I'm beginning to think flat-feetism is the worst kind of prejudice this world has to offer.
     
  7. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    You do get +1 Strength and slight bonuses to Melee and Bow though.

    Sorry Jojo. We still bros, bro?
     
  8. Jojobobo

    Jojobobo Well-Known Member

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    I could never stay mad at you DE, and even though I said it was cruel it did not offend. Besides, I think whatever horrible variation people think up I brought on myself by having that's offensive to both eye and ear. I really can't remember what made me pick it back it the day, apart from having possibly already used it elsewhere and feeling incredibly uncreative.
     
  9. Grossenschwamm

    Grossenschwamm Well-Known Member

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    I generally don't have a choice in the cost of my shoes - as someone with feet above US size 14 (price scales up above the average sizes), I have to buckle down and spend upwards of $120 for shoes that are comfortable to walk in, and won't fall apart during use. I own a pair of heavy duty boots I tend to work in or wear most of the winter, which I've had for 6 or 7 years and haven't let me down yet. You're right about regular maintenance, considering what happens to dry leather. When it comes to sneakers, though, it takes me between one and two years to take the grip out of the treads. But, I don't mind getting new sneakers that frequently at all.

    I'll keep that in mind, though I've been getting more creative since I got my table saw.

    Well, if you replace the word "surprised" with "annoyed," you'll know how I feel about it.
     
  10. Vorak

    Vorak Administrator Staff Member

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    Re:

    Again, forget cheap crap and buy real shoes.

    Properly made shoes have a welt that enables the inner leather of the shoe to properly conform to your feet and better distribute weight. I have high arches and don't need any orthotics because I wear properly made shoes. Orthotics are just a way of making shoddy shoes do what they were not made for.
     
  11. Jojobobo

    Jojobobo Well-Known Member

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    I'll have a look into it and see what I can find, if they last like you say and were comfortable it'd be worth the price.
     
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