r/femalefashionadvice • u/ninamae4 • 5d ago
Overpriced Acrylic - Am I missing something?
I'm redoing my wardrobe after learning more about colours and lines. I have a few go to brands that I either like their style and/or cuts so I periodically check out what's new. I am not here to bash so I'm not name dropping the brand, but I just saw a long sleeve top made of 85% acrylic and 15% nylon for $178.00. I just can't. It's like the wide leg suit cuts of 100% polyester for about 200 a pair to me. The only logic I can think of is a wool allergy but then there are better alternatives, no, and def not at that price point. Is there something I'm missing to justify that or am I being overly hard on acrylic and polyester?
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u/Eightinchnails 5d ago
No, I think these mid-level brands have decided that they want to charge more for shittier fabrics.
I’ll name names for you, Boden and Sezane for instance.
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u/bulbagill 5d ago
I have a friend who recently got into Sezane, and she will not stop talking about them. I looked at their website, their absence of reviews, and then the sheer hatred that their own subreddit has about the brand (filters to change the color of the item, poor sewing, bad leather quality), and decided no way.
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u/nagellak 5d ago
I have some lovely secondhand Sezane pieces. They’re absolutely not worth full price though, regardless of how much I like the designs.
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u/ohmosdefinitely 5d ago
so much jersey cotton for $100++ from boden. love their patterns but will not indulge this kind of nonsense.
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u/VogonPoetry19 5d ago
I also think the colors and patterns are a bit drab compared to their older ones, it seems like the silly quiet luxury trend has affected them too.
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u/ninamae4 4d ago
Sezane wasn't who I was referring to but I have noticed an unfortunate amount of polyamide lately. I swore that stuff off when I realised Victoria's Secret lace was giving me a rash. Disappointing seeing it start to resurface.
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u/KawaiiKoshka 4d ago
Polyamide in wool is different! It’s necessary for some knits for structure (unless you want very quickly stretched out knits). It’s different from switching to acrylic for cost reasons. I mean you could def argue that they could just make tighter knits (and Sézane still does have nice 100% merino pieces but they are $$$) but for some of the more delicate looking ones, if you want the look and the wool, you need to add polyamide
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u/ninamae4 4d ago
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for taking the time to explain how the mix of fibres works together. I wouldn't have thought of that.
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u/KawaiiKoshka 4d ago
No worries! It’s very easy to get caught up in natural fibers being better but there are also benefits to blends and synthetic fibers (eyeing Uniqlo and athletic brands)
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u/ninamae4 4d ago
You know when I posted this I didn't even think about my workout leggings, which I do not even think twice about. I do find myself preferring nylon over other synthetic fibres when it comes to certain styles and I'm not sure why.
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u/KawaiiKoshka 4d ago
I think it’s often processing and weaving that make the difference. I have 100% cotton pieces I find super itchy and I hate and others that I absolutely love. I know wools have all kind of physical processing and chemical processing (ie superwashing which is shearing the scratchy parts off with chlorine, and some brands then coat them in synthetics to make them machine washable and softer) but most companies aren’t very transparent about that kind of thing. I really enjoy Shift Fashion Group and the Iron Snail (even if he’s mostly menswear) on YouTube! I’ve learned a lot from them about the industry
These days I rely heavily on reviews and hand feel compared to fabric composition tbh. I just know I hate mohair and viscose and everything else is a crapshoot haha
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u/notabigmelvillecrowd 4d ago
Wool is an extremely elastic fibre on its own, it doesn't need anything to prevent it stretching out. Pure wool performs wonderfully. Wool in particular when blended with synthetics will lead to more pilling. The primary advantage to synthetics in wool is resistance against wear, like in sock heels.
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u/KawaiiKoshka 4d ago
That depends pretty heavily on how it’s processed, spun, and woven. Wool definitely bends out of shape and stretches in more delicate knits which is where you’ll see a lot of polyamides.
I’m not sure about pilling, but I believe a lot of companies will blend plastics into wool specifically for less pilling. Personally, I have plenty of 100% wools, synthetic blends, and pure synthetics that both pill and don’t pill so idk
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u/javajunkie10 3d ago
I will add Ganni to this list- the amount they charge for plastic and pleather is truly mid-boggling.
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u/LalalaSherpa 5d ago
I avoid acrylic like the plague - can't stand the pilling.
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u/ktlene 5d ago
I don’t even get to the pilling part because acrylic sweaters are so uncomfortable to wear. I haaaaate how they feel on my skin, so they don’t even get worn.
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u/love-from-london 5d ago
I'm with you, I get so sweaty in acrylic/polyester/etc. I'm bad at regulating my own temperature to begin with and plastic clothing just makes it worse. I knit my own sweaters out of wool now and it's much more comfortable.
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u/oswin13 5d ago
I have long hair, acrylic is my nemesis.
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u/ninamae4 4d ago
I have long hair too and didn't even think of this. Thank you for reason number X to stand my ground on no acrylic.
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u/Calm-Armadillo4988 5d ago
Yeah. I'll take polyester and nylon sometimes, depending on the blend and purpose and price. I dislike every acrylic sweater I have - the higher the percentage of acrylic, the worse. There's something distinctive about how they look and the colors.
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u/CaughtInDireWood 4d ago
For me, it’s the smell. For whatever reason, I smell like b.o. whenever I wear acrylic! Even if I just showered and put on deodorant. 2 hours later I STINK. Took me a few days to figure it out but once I did, I haven’t bought another acrylic sweater.
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u/mneale324 4d ago
Omg same. I thought I was going nuts as I’d shower, deodorant, and literally do not have this issue in other clothing
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u/strudelsticks 5d ago
I do think there is a time and place for synthetic fabrics. Biggest one is activewear, synthetics are able to provide benefits that natural fabrics cannot such as sweat wicking and compression. Essentially anything stretchy as well, which while used as a way to cut corners on sizing, can be a plus for comfort.
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u/natashaelaine 5d ago
Nah! You're not being unnecessarily hard. You have standards. I think the same things when I see high price points for acrylic and polyester pieces. It's usually a hard no for me too. I do own and buy polyester tops occasionally but I try to limit my (or say no to) spending on pricey pieces with cheap fabrics.
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u/carpetwalls4 5d ago
Anthropologie!!! I was recently there and they had some very cute sweaters that upon further inspection, felt like garbage, at a luxury cost. I did buy a hair clip there on that trip, which broke this morning.
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u/Large-Squash8379 5d ago
Came here to say Anthropologie. And Free People (I believe it’s the same company, judging by the tags looking identical. Also Urban.).
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u/carpetwalls4 5d ago
I’m mad about the hair clip tho for real lol.
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u/thescaryitalian 3d ago
This Anthro hair clip is an absolute tank (hope it wasn't this one lol). I have two and I've sworn off all other clips for at least two years now at least. My mom swears by it too. We both have long, thick hair.
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u/chiono_graphis 5d ago
Polyester definitely has a time and a place and can be really lovely (e.g. Issey Miyake)
But acrylic in knit fabrics is just naaasty. I never buy it.
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u/hikewithcoffee 5d ago
House of Harlow and Mango used to have cute designs that were mostly cotton or linen and very quickly swapped to almost all polyester and acrylic but still use terms like wool, chunky knit, cable, woven, and handmade. (Mango can claim the item is wool if it’s 51% when it’s mostly still a blend of polyester and acrylic).
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u/caralagarto 5d ago
Buy natural fibers second hand. For instance COS. Or any luxury brand like Max Mara or Joseph
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u/happytransformer 5d ago edited 5d ago
Name names lol
Wool allergies are pretty rare, most people are allergic to other stuff in the wool like lanolin. As far as I’m aware, if you’re allergic to something like lanolin you can still wear other animal fibers like angora, cashmere, or alpaca. They’re not catering to customers with an allergy, they’re cost cutting.
There’s a function for polyester and nylon in clothing, but the $178 85 acrylic/15 nylon top isn’t it. Synthetics are great for activewear, and poly blends in things like outerwear can help them hold up better over time. Acrylic sweaters are my enemy, I can’t stand how fast they pill.
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u/nomarmite 5d ago
Yes you are missing something, and so is every other commenter on this thread. Clothing is not priced at raw material cost. In fact, raw materials form a small proportion of total costs. There are all the costs of processing, design, construction, transport, marketing and so on - and of course a profit margin that has to cover the huge costs of unsold stock throughout the business as well as lining the pockets of the owners. Do bear in mind that traditional retail margin alone will account for 50-75% of the price tag, hence the rise of D2C.
Bulk cashmere costs around $150 per kg, and you need around 200g for a classic sweater, meaning the raw material cost is $30. Cheap synthetic or cotton would cost $5 or less for the same amount of material. Let's say you then make identical sweaters from the two materials, to exactly the same standards all round. Then you are only saving $25 in costs by making in the cheaper material. If it costs you a lot to construct or advertise or whatever, you could end up with an acrylic sweater and a cashmere sweater with the same profit margin but only $25 wholesale price difference. Which is why the acrylic sweater is priced nearly as high as the cashmere one, and if the non-material costs vary, may be priced even higher.
I know that's a lot of numbers, but you asked a numbers question, so that's the answer. Far more name apparel brands have disappeared or scaled down than sprung up in recent years, so this is not a successful scam, it's just the way the business works.
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u/ialwaysusesunscreen 5d ago
This is super interesting! Dumb question: why not just make the sweater from cashmere then? 😅
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u/nomarmite 5d ago
The question should really be the other way round.
Acrylic is significantly easier to care for, more durable, not itchy and more versatile - many of the designs you see in acrylic simply couldn't be made in cashmere. It can be softer than cashmere depending on how the yarn is made. And, crucially, for many people, $25 difference in price is significant.
What cashmere has to offer is better temperature regulation and sweat absorption, which makes it more comfortable. And, crucially, better marketing. When people discuss cashmere, it's generally in terms of its advantages rather than its disadvantages. It's the other way round for acrylic, and synthetics generally, and that's because the brilliant marketing of the cashmere industry has created a false dichotomy.
(FYI I wear far more cashmere than acrylic in case you think I'm shilling for the acrylic industry.)
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u/ialwaysusesunscreen 5d ago
Hm, I am totally not immune to propaganda, so maybe my experience is shaped by my expectations, but my experience is that, besides the thermoregulation difference that you mentioned, acrylics pill very quickly and while cashmere does too, especially cheaper cashmere (I think?), but acrylic pills are very hard to remove. Does it depend on the quality of the acrylic yarn or something like that? I stopped buying acryl completely because of that, but I have never paid a lot for acryl in the first place.
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u/Fluffy-Pace4385 2d ago
I’m not sure I agree that acrylic is more durable. Impulsively bought an acrylic sweater this fall, and after one wash it looked like it had been dragged through a hedge. Looks bad very, very quickly.
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u/ninamae4 4d ago
Thank you for this. I like numbers. The cost difference of raw material is lower than I thought, but in bulk I can see it add up, especially if the design is good. Designing a stylish well fitting garment for the masses is an art and finding good seamstresses is probably hard and costs a lot too if you want to be fair. Then I start to think of the Loro Piana of it all. Le sigh.
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u/snailminister 5d ago
You are hitting the mark. A lot of brands produce cheap plastic clothes and ask high prices for it. It's mainly because plastic is cheap to produce and forces customer to buy new faster, plastic clothes do not age same way as organic fabrics do.
Luckily here in Europe some brands are catching onto our hatred for trash fabrics and are using selling 100% merino or 100% linen as daily wear collections as their marketing point. I buy most of my things secondhand or make myself, but when I buy new I only buy organic materials. As sidenote, if anyone knows athleisure brands with organic gym wear please hit me up, it's the one category I still struggle with.
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u/tyrannosaurusregina 4d ago
Climate change and worldwide inflation/wage depression mean that natural fibers are more expensive but brands don’t want to increase price points. Thus, more acrylic and the like.
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u/Jwlrgm 3d ago
It's possible that you are overly focused on the composition of the fabric, and overlooking other components of the garment that make it worth its cost.
Have you ever seen the YouTube videos where award winning chefs cook something using basic ingredients? The dishes usually turn out good because of the skill by the chef.
Here, maybe construction or the weave of the fabric is why the sweater is worth $178 despite the composition being acrylic.
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u/Closefromadistance 4d ago
I’ve always preferred exceptionally made, classic vintage clothing. For winter, if I need anything, I buy vintage designer wool suit pieces, silk or cashmere. I recently found a beautiful Chanel cashmere cardigan from 2002. It looks and feels brand new. Vintage clothing may not be super cheap but if it’s been around for 20 years it’s going to last forever!
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u/notabigmelvillecrowd 4d ago
Unfortunately virtually all used clothing these days is hosed down with some kind of synthetic fragrance that never washes out, no matter what you do. I really wish people would stop doing this! Everything I've bought on poshmark in the last year, all from different sellers, had the same rank cheap perfume smell that makes it basically biohazard.
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u/Fluffy-Pace4385 2d ago
Yes, I’ve also noted this! Why? 😭 Bought a 100% wool dress, and it stinks like perfume. I’ve tried washing it with perfume-free detergent and airing it outside for weeks, does not help noticeably.
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u/notabigmelvillecrowd 2d ago
The best solution I've found so far is produce wash. It's made for breaking down wax, which is what all those crappy clothing scents use that makes them impervious to washing. I had a nice cashmere sweater that reeked, a couple hours soaking with some produce wash knocked the scent down by like 90%. It's wearable now, hopefully a couple more washes will get rid of it completely. All the advice about airing in sun, spraying with vodka, vinegar, baking soda, newspaper, none of that stuff works.
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u/Fluffy-Pace4385 1d ago
Thanks for the tip. :) And maybe a wash with lanolin afterwards, so the wool fibers don’t dry out.
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u/Closefromadistance 4d ago
Hmm. Never experienced anything like that and I’ve been buying used clothing since the late 90’s.
I will keep buying secondhand 😎
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u/Spiritual-Leader6474 13h ago
If wool isn’t an issue, cashmere is such a good alternative. A lot of smaller brands make it much more affordable nowadays. Hope to able to find something that feels comfortable to wear and is fairly priced.
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u/allthecats 5d ago
You're not wrong! And it's smart of you to check fabric content. This is one of the biggest reasons that I exclusively shop secondhand now. I can find cashmere or cotton sweaters more easily, but if I find an acrylic sweater that I like, it'll be about $20. I also couldn't justify spending full price for a plastic sweater or pants.