7 things clothing brands should avoid doing

The lawn season is finally here and with it comes the fierce competition amongst brands to bring out their very best and set the tone for the trends that we’ll be seeing in the coming months – be it stitched or unstitched. Lawn that was once ignored as the lesser of the fabrics has valiantly risen as a force to be reckoned with. And for a country that harbours hot temperatures for a good majority of the year, its populace definitely deserves a lighter fabric at a rather reasonable price – given how lawn is essential for summers in most cities of the country. Despite its stardom, there are just a few too many things that brands do with their collections that just rub people the wrong way, and we’ve curated all those complaints right here.

1. The barely pronounceable collection names

You’re finally at the store and are looking for a specific collection, something called” Le Fleur De Dans La Lumiere”, but you and your anxiety both know you’re going to butcher the name completely. And if you’re an over-thinker, you’ve probably imagined the staff and the bougie aunties making fun of you – the scenarios an over-thinker can come up with have no bounds! Until and unless you’re selling your lawn articles to French people, there’s absolutely no need to give such elaborate names to your collection that your target audience can’t even pronounce. Try exploring the languages spoken in your own country maybe?

1. The pesky patches

You’ve finally ordered the dress that you’ve been drooling over for days now, with a heavy dent in your pocket comes a dress that’s only going to dent it further – thanks to the 20-something applique patches that come with it! Patchwork has been so overdone. It adds the costs of being appliqued, requires more aftercare and can feel uncomfortable and itchy at times too given the nature of appliqued work. Yes, there should be festive options for more formal uses, but the brands should try to have embellishments and embroidery onto the fabric itself for convenience rather than handing out a ton of patches.

1. Being miserly with the fabric

You’re ready to take the plunge and move on from your slightly A-line fit to a flared and just-as-advertised pishwas, so you place an order – online – because you just can’t wait. But what you get in terms of the quantity of fabric reminds you exactly why you’ve been sporting straight and slightly A-line shirts all your life! The use or abuse of un-stitched fabric should be at the consumer’s discretion. There have been so many times that I’ve personally run out of length on my shirts. The least brands can do is offer their customers to buy the desired quantity of the fabric and charge accordingly. At least the premier brands that people pay big bucks for shouldn’t be stingy in this.

1. The dilemma of neutral trousers

You’re loaded and you decide to splurge on lawn – be it two-piece or three-piece – and you come home to keep the bags in the same cupboard that already has about 10 black trousers, 10 white trousers and about 5 beige trousers, and with that, you realise that most of the suits you’ve gotten have neutral trousers to them – like always it’s either black, white or some weird shade of beige. Honestly, how many white and black trousers can you expect one to have? Pairing every dress with either white or black trousers can get a little boring at times, the point of buying a trouser makes sense if it’s the same colour as the shirt or a contrasting colour, but doing white and black over and over again is a big no.

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1. Making zero efforts to update the size chart

As the pandemic hit, many people moved to shop online as opposed to shopping in-person – with the try rooms being closed and the fear of the virus spreading a lot of us were only left relying on the decade-old size charts that were available online. And I know you too have ordered soething looking at the given chart size only to find out that it doesn’t fit you. Brands should either stick to the size chart given online – which, by the way, is just one size chart for all the different cuts at the moment for most brands, or make some effort to update the description with the cut and the style of the garment (slim fit, straight fit, A-line, loose fit, baggy, oversized) or upload a separate size chart along with every article they offer.

1.  Trying too hard to be ‘inclusive’
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When it comes to inclusivity in Pakistan, it’s either zero or a hundred, with nothing in between. About time these brands take a good look at their target audience and realise that you don’t need to go all out on blackface. All people asked for was inclusivity for people of all colours, shapes and sizes, but nope – it’s either a white-washed model or blackface, it’s either a really chubby model or a size zero model, whatever happened to the normal body types that fall in between?

1. Unrealistic stitching

You’ve come across a dress that you’d love to twirl in – heck, even the model looks awesome donning the 20-something panels, each panel having a gorge joining lace, delicate tassels and bam, you’ve placed your order. Now that the order has arrived you can’t even recognise if it’s the same dress you’ve ordered because it has zero embellishments and barely any fabric to even squeeze in 2 panels, let alone 20! If you’re giving away 2.5m or 2.75m cloth, stop advertising designs that require triple the amount of fabric and embellishments that the customers will never be able to afford if they’re on a budget. If you’re charging a premium price, make sure you’re making it a premium experience for the customers too.