Wrong Way

Things should get better with age, and most good things usually do. Too bad some clothing companies are heading the other way by cutting back on the quality of their goods.

Examples from my own closet: shoes from a U.S. company where the quality of the leathers used for the soles, uppers and linings have declined, as have the quality of construction, yet the price of their shoes have gone up; and an Italian brand which made changes to their shoes to enable a lower retail price, so shoes once sold at USD 850 are now priced at USD 750, and in my eyes are not even worth USD 500 - the drop in quality being so great.

What is unsettling is that these changes have happened within the past three years, which makes me fearful of what another three years will bring. And the buttons? The left one, made of solid horn, is what you got if you requested horn buttons with your suit from a Canadian manufacturer. That was three years ago. Now you get the one on the right, made of powdered horn mixed with glue, with a surcharge added to your purchase.