"If you drink nothing but port, you end up with gout"

Old wives tale and, like much of the article, badly researched.

zb, Guildford, Surrey

Well Sarah that would be nice, if we could all just start paying a bit more for our clothes then everything would be alright.

I don't know how much you earn but I guess that it's considerably more than the £5.52 per hour minimum wage.

Many people from the shredded remains of what were the working classes can't even get the minimum wage because even in London many migrants will and do work for less than the minimum wage.

People would like to buy nice clothes but in some areas you often see people going into charity shops and it's not to be fashionable, its poverty pure and simple!

What world are you living in because it's not the same one many people have to live in. For many families it's a struggle just to get through the week.

Graham , St. Albans, uk

*bow*...i wouldn't have thought a Britisher could shame me about my consumerism. But you just did. And it turns out, am not that ashamed anyway because I agree with you. I have been trying to get out of the clutches of being 'materialistic', such articles might just give that extra nudge i need. Thanks.

Pallavi, Delhi, India

This is just an indicator of things to come. Outsourcing has taken place in many aspects of our daily lives, from food and clothing production to call centres. This is based on the reality that in some countries, wages (the main component of overheads) are vastly smaller than wages in the UK. As demand increases for these products/services, so the demands of the workers increase, so the price goes up, so that eventually it will become cheaper to produce them here, where we don't have massive transport and infrastructure costs. This doesn't affect me much with the use of clothes, as being a man I only buy something new when the old one falls apart. Eventually I will be back in fashion.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

chris from sydney....mate, you are just misleading people. In China maybe quality is low ( i dont know, cos i havent been there ) ..but shops in australia are filled with ..top..quality chinese goods at cheap prices. The quality of many chinese goods in australia is ..better than any western country's products (and will only increase).....Rachel of Singapore...thanks for pointing out the fact about Bangalore..Author, did you know that farmland (far from city) in Bangalore can cost A$300,000 per acre ? Around australian cities you can purchase 50 acres for that price!

Dev, Perth, Australia

Excuse me. I darn my socks, wear clothes 'til they fall apart and then polish the car with them (after saving the buttons). But I do endorse those who buy 2 pairs of trousers for every suit; it leaves plenty of cheap jackets over to mix n'match with supermarket jeans.

These clothing practices allow surplus purchasing power to acquire impressive power drills and hammer things each Thursday on offer with the Aldi specials.

Clearly the author does not understand blokes, who have always understood need for quality.

steven fieldfare, cirencester, uk

Bravo, well said. I wish there were more mothers like you in the world. Thank you for this.

Stephanie, Oxford,

Quite right. Cheap clothes take away spice of life & joy of wearing the quality garments. Unfortunately, few people share this perspective. Ad industry pushes people to buy more without thinking if they really need so many frocks or boots. The delight of wearing quality garments should return.

Pam, St.Petersburg,

After many years of living in China i realise just how poor quality and cheap most of their products are. You can't entirely blame the Chinese though, it is the fault of westerners demanding cheap rubbish but equally the Chinese are more than happy to oblige.

These days I try to buy locally made, good quality goods. It is sad that the days of being able to hand down coats to your grandchildren are long gone. I still have a cromby overcoat that my dad wore for 10 years before giving to me. It is still in perfect condition 20 years on.

Chris , Sydney, Australia

"I would like her to appreciate her possessions, and not just because of the usual middle-class guilt about child labour in Bangalore"

I think you have confused Bangalore with Bangladesh. The former is a glitzy, high-tech state in India, the latter is a very poor country which exports garments.

Rachel, Singapore,

I can (and do) darn things. I felt a bit smug about that until I read this article and realised I am very sloooow. Sarah, if you can darn a hole in a minute and a half, can you give me lessons?

Oonagh Toner, Hong Kong,

I shall keep that utterly innane rant about clothes in mind. This could really change the world. Go team!

phil, Arequipa, Peru, Peru

Must say I've had good results from buying made-to-measure garments in Bangkok. Well, I did have some free time. After a certain age you work out a look. Mine is black shoes and trousers held up with braces (suspenders). The button type; clips either come loose or tear the fabric. Trousers can be put through the washing machine, and in the trouser press while still damp. One-colour plain shirts are ultra big at the waist with collar one size too big. Face it, how often you do wear a tie other than with a white shirt? The sleeve length is right. Clothes last a long time when they are not borderline too small. Of course you do have sew on buttons occasionally.

Andrew Milner, Yokohama, Japan