Minulta kysytään toisinaan mistä tunnistaa laadukkaan vaatteen. Nykyisin voi olla hankala erottaa hyvä-ja heikkolaatuiset toisistaan, sillä kallis hinta ei enää automaattisesti tarkoita hyvää laatua. Mutta ei hätää! Bloggaaja, tietokirjailija ja toimittaja Rinna Saramäki kertoo muutamia helppoja vinkkejä miten voi löytää laadukkaampia vaatteita. Itse kirjoitin laadusta viimeksi neljä vuotta sitten ja olin Rinnan kanssa vähän samoilla linjoilla. Rinnan haastattelu löytyy Ylestä, ja lisää Rinnan vinkkejä täältä.

Every now and then people ask me how to find quality garments. These days it is very tricky. Even high price is not a guarantee of good quality anymore. But no worries! There are some pointers to help you with that task. Finnish blogger, author and reporter Rinna Saramäki gives good advice for finding better quality clothes. Unfortunately interview is in Finnish only, but I have translated the most important tips below. I wrote about quality of clothes four years ago and pretty much agreed with Rinna.

Tips for finding quality clothes
– Check the surface of smooth fabric against light, it should not have much fluffy fibers poking out, eventually they will form pilling
– Fluffy surface is ok on wool knits
– Acrylic mixed with natural fibers wears out fast
– Woolmix fabrics should have only 20% max of artificial fibers, that means it’s used to give wool more durability, if there is more of it, it is used because it’s cheaper than wool
– Only simple garments like underpants or t-shirts can be cheap and good quality at the same time
– Complicated garments like tailored jackets or fully lined winter coats can’t be cheap and good, there is just way too much work going on the garment with all the details
– Cheap price on clothes made of animal fibers is usually a hint of unethical treatment of animals and poor quality
– Check seams and details: good garment doesn’t have poking thread ends, uneven seam allowances or messy seams, stitches are tight and seam is holding when you pull slightly
– Viscose (sometimes marked as rayon or CV) and polyester mix starts pilling quite quickly
– The more special treatments is mentioned on the garment labels, better the quality, for example combed wool is less likely to form pilling compared to ordinary wool
– If you prefer quality over new garments, opt for second hand, pre 90’s
– If you are not satisfied with the quality, contact the company and make a complaint, you can also ask where the garments came from and how they were made
– Any clothes should last atleast one year (not socks or undergarments) and high end garments like suits should last atleast five years, in (not daily but) regular use.

Neule jossa on vain 20% tai vähemmän akryyliä pysyy siistinä pitkään. 
Tämä kuva on otettu useampi vuosi sitten, mutta neule on edelleen lähes
yhtä siisti. Nypynpoistajaa olen käyttänyt neuleeseen vain pari kertaa. Neule
hankittu kirppikseltä vuonna 2013./
Wool mix with only 20% or less acrylic stays tidy for long time. This
photo has been taken several years ago, but cardigan is still almost as
smooth as it was back then. I have used pilling remover perhaps couple
times for this garment. Cardigan thrifted in 2013.

Neule jossa on paljon akryyliä nyppyyntyy nopeasti ja vaatii usein siistimistä. 
Tämän neuletakin materiaalisisältölappu on kadonnut tuunaushommissa,
mutta kommentti vanhassa postauksessa kertoo tässä olleen vähän villaa ja angoraa
akryylin seassa. Neule on kirppistelty 2014 ja olen käyttänyt nypynpoistajaa tähän
suurinpiirtein kerran per syksy kun neule on otettu kesän jäljiltä käyttöön. /
Knit with lots of acrylic starts pilling fast and requires often pilling remover.
The material label of this cardigan has gone missing when I revamped it, but
my comment on old post says this acrylic mix has little bit of wool and angora too.
I thrifted it in 2014 and I have used pilling remover pretty much every Autumn
when I have started using it again after Summer season.