What are some garment details that separate high end fashion from fast / high street fashion?

[nationalsalt]

Aside from quality fabrics and tailoring, what are the little details you notice in luxury clothing that separate them from the pack?

Be it zippers, buttons, linings, hems, stitching types or other tricks that may go unnoticed to the casual observer, but which make a big difference to the quality of the item.

 

[philophile]

In skirts, for instance, I think that as fast fashion is all about saving material to the max, they skip waistbands. The latter makes a world of difference in terms of making a skirt look expensive. For the same reason, they are unable to achieve volumes or structure, that's why everything looks saggy or formless. Luxury clothing is all about the subtle details in achieving beautiful, flattering shapes.

Regarding fabrics, it's actually sad that nowadays it isn't rare that luxury clothing is made out of polyester. One of the most beautiful tops I own is by Khaite and even though I will admit the quality is amazing (the price not so much, it IS a criminally overpriced brand) and it's very, very structured, yet it is made out of polyester. For the price (€1,200) I expect pure wool or cotton. I've also often had issues with zippers in designer garments, so they are also saving in that.

 

[neogrotesque]

I think of the chain that gets sewn into the hems of Chanel coats/jackets and skirts to help them sit properly and not flap about in the wind. It's a pretty heavy chain too, not some cheap lightweight thing.

Another detail I remember seeing is a vintage skirt at Liberty's, I don't remember which designer it was but probably Balmain, but the hem had a strip of lace sewn onto it and then the lace was then whipstitched to the underside of the skirt. Usually hems get serged/bias bound and then simply folded up and sewn/blind hemmed.

Pattern matching- I don't mind mismatching so much on tiny patterns but stripes, checks, and large AOPs should match across center fronts and backs/back zippers. Nothing screams cheap like a misaligned stripe/check on the bum of a trouser. Extra attention to detail is when the pattern also matches across a pocket opening and across the inside pocket facing.

I once altered the sleeves on my Isabel Marant coat to be shorter and when I took the thing apart all the interior seams (including the lining seams) had been serged. Usually the interior seams on a jacket (esp the lining) don't need to be finished unless the fabric is prone to fraying (there's also an argument to be made that sometimes you can see the impression of the serging threads after ironing and you don't want that either) so I was impressed with the extra level of care that went into the coat, and the consideration that the garment might get altered.

And to tack onto the last point, it's more common in mens trousers (even cheap ones) than womens, but the extra wide seam allowance in the center back seams allows for alterations.