Ann Taylor does not make wool suits anymore, why? - YouLookFab Forum

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Ann Taylor does not make wool suits anymore, why?

Abbie

Member

I swear by nicely made suits and wear wool / tweed only suits. I am disappointed to see that Ann Taylor is no longer making suits that are 100% or even 85% wool anymore. Instead, they make these cheap looking suits that heaven forbid you iron a wrinkled part on the suit it leaves a shiny spot.
Does anyone know why it is mostly a blend of high polyester content and some cotton?

Abbie the disappointed suit lover

Shopping

14 replies

Latest reply was from Greyscale

Anonymous

I have seen a definite decline in the quality of merchandise at Ann Taylor. This is a shame because they used to be the "go to place" for work clothes for me. I still own five and six-year old silk tops that are perfect in every single way. Now I rarely buy anything there.

JAileen

Veteran

I don't know why specifically, but as I browse different stores online, I've noticed very few items are 100 percent wool. There seems to be a trend of adding acrylic to wool coats. So a "wool" coat might only be 50 percent wool, 30 percent acrylic, 20 percent something else, maybe nylon. The exception to this are garments that approach $1000, or even more.

catseye

Veteran

Ann Taylor was never much into 100% wool in my memory. They are always more synthetic than not.

kkards

Veteran

i think it really comes down to how women are dressing these days. not many women are dressing in suits on a daily basis any more, so over all the suiting category is pretty small, AT is a attempting to increase sales, which means that they have to try to appeal to the broadest band of their market segment

LJTaylor

Ann Taylor used to have such quality clothes - they weren't that expensive, yet really held up. I still regularly wear basics that I bought there a decade ago, and I remember my tailor saying that the Ann Taylor clothes he worked on (back then) were as well made as many far more expensive brands. Sadly, that's no longer true - like Sterling, I rarely buy anything there any more. The fabric is cheap, and always looks wrinkly or shiny to me.

missvee

Veteran

Well cost is the main factor I'm sure. Same thing at Talbots. I used to buy a lot of clothes there for my mom but their selection of good fabrics is much diminished these days, Too bad.

unfrumped

Veteran

I hear you.
And the ironing thing would really get me, because, a blend is just a blend and doesn't have to be good or bad--it's how it performs.

I am still loyal to AT for a few things because their curvy (now "Kate") pants tend to fit me, but I returned some recently because the wool blend fabric had a worse, stiffer feel even compared to what seemed similar blends.

You can still get some 100% all-season wool at BR, and Talbots will have some wool flannels--but the pants fits are not as good for me, with a few exceptions
Pendleton has some lovely suiting fabrics, but I wasn't drawn to their styles much this year.
I haven't spent much time on Brooks Bros or other brands.

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As Sterling and LSTaylor stated, I, also, have seen a definite decline in the quality of merchandise at Ann Taylor. Indeed, I made up my mind earlier this week that I will no longer make purchases at Ann Taylor. The merchandise is very poor. Sad.

Muffin

Veteran

Costs have been rising while quality continues to fall across so many brands that I've really changed my shopping. I won't wear sweaters that are a blend and look closely at every fabric content tag. 100% wool suiting is hard to find. I did find a blazer at J Crew that fit well but had to order the pants (multiple sizes of course). Not holding my breath because well, mail order pants and they aren't lined! Not sure why I bothered honestly must have been the sale price. Brooks Brothers seems to be winning on quality but costs can be high. Also some of my best purchases have been made at consignment stores.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Try Pendleton, admittedly conservative but I've been extremely happy with the quality. Often their fabric is made in the USA.

Dee

Veteran

I've been hunting for wool suits and separates and it's very hard to find. Even a few years ago, Ann Taylor had a lot more wool options than today, and the quality was better too.

retailgirl

Veteran

I agree with Anna. Pendleton fabrics are high quality, made in their own US mills. The styles may be conservative but I think they've upped the style quotient in recent years. Brooks Brothers also has beautiful fabrics, quite often from Loro Piana, and fine tailoring. I used to be a big talbots fan, but the quality isn't there anymore. If I buy something from there, I figure it's a one season deal.

barbaraq

I have very fond memories of 100% wool clothing from AT. But no more. I think if you are in the crazy, sale-chasing world of today's RTW, you can no longer afford wool. Thus the additions of acrylic/poly/ rayon fibers that you see today is a reflection of keeping a profitabilty lid on the "40% off sale" that is perpetual with brands like AT.

Greyscale

Veteran

I am anti-synthetic to an irrational extent and I find this all very frustrating. Even Theory is doing more blends. It's possible that the really high-end brands use synthetics for their actual properties rather than because they're cheaper. But with AT, I'm pretty sure it's just cost. There are designer brands with all-wool suiting that I can find on steep discounts at the Outnet, so that's been my solution. I really only need to own one suit, for occasional interviews and such. But if I had to wear suits to work a lot, I'd be even more frustrated.

I do think I should force myself to try some wool/viscose blends this year, though maybe not for a suit.