is the average (young) worker worse off these days?

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#62
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madashell's picture
madashell
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Mar 16 2008 13:11
Mike Harman wrote:
How much primark stuff is going to make it into vintage clothing shops in 20 years though? Or even last more than a year?

I have jeans from Primark from 5 or 6 years ago that are perfectly fine. Primark's no worse than any other high street shop for quality, IME.

You really do pay for the brand, most of the time.

#63
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revol68
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Mar 16 2008 13:39
madashell wrote:
Mike Harman wrote:
How much primark stuff is going to make it into vintage clothing shops in 20 years though? Or even last more than a year?

I have jeans from Primark from 5 or 6 years ago that are perfectly fine. Primark's no worse than any other high street shop for quality, IME.

You really do pay for the brand, most of the time.

aye but jeans are particularly hard wearing in the first place, a much better example would be shirts, cotton t shirts and jumpers, and I'd say most of the stuff from top shop, primark and H&M is not great quality.

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madashell
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Mar 16 2008 14:07
revol68 wrote:
aye but jeans are particularly hard wearing in the first place, a much better example would be shirts, cotton t shirts and jumpers, and I'd say most of the stuff from top shop, primark and H&M is not great quality.

Fair point, I don't think there's really that much difference unless you're buying something really pricey though.

#65
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Mike Harman
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Mar 16 2008 15:05
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When I was at school, it was quite a common thing for a kid who'd just passed his driving test to buy a cheap, beat-up old banger as a fixer-upper and spend their spare time getting it working (and then repeating the process endlessly). A lot of the stuff we buy nowadays isn't self-repairable in this way -- on new cars, for instance, most of the internal workings are in sealed units that you would hesitate to mess with.

Yeah I have one mate from school who did this, and the car was older than him...

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Another example is musical instruments -- I have a vintage musical instrument, the internal workings of which are fearsomely complex, and which does have quite a capacity to go wrong in small ways. However, I also have a book which takes me through routine maintenance tasks and simple repairs, and if it goes wrong I can either do it myself, or take it to a more experienced player who'll do it for me for the price of a pint.

Yeah it's the same for pretty much any string, wind or brass instrument. I'd say it's a lot easier to fix a desktop computer than a saxophone (although you can drop a saxophone and get it beaten back into shape - I even know someone who found one in their mate's garden being used as a flower pot and rebuilt it). Can't do that with a PC.

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Can you do the same thing with a modern electronic keyboard, or if you can, is the level of expertise required comparable?

No and no.

#66
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Mike Harman
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Mar 16 2008 15:07
madashell wrote:
Mike Harman wrote:
How much primark stuff is going to make it into vintage clothing shops in 20 years though? Or even last more than a year?

I have jeans from Primark from 5 or 6 years ago that are perfectly fine. Primark's no worse than any other high street shop for quality, IME.

You really do pay for the brand, most of the time.

I haven't bought jeans form primark. But I agree most high street jeans are complete shit. Having said that I'm not going to spend more than £30 on jeans (if that) either.

#67
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Mike Harman
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Mar 16 2008 15:08
madashell wrote:
revol68 wrote:
aye but jeans are particularly hard wearing in the first place, a much better example would be shirts, cotton t shirts and jumpers, and I'd say most of the stuff from top shop, primark and H&M is not great quality.

Fair point, I don't think there's really that much difference unless you're buying something really pricey though.

Note that I'm comparing top shop, primark and H&M to a cotton shirt from the '60s or '70s. Not to some designer crap now.

#68
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martinh
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Mar 16 2008 22:57

Gigs: When I was 16 or 17, I saw the Teardrop Explodes at Hammersmith palais for £3.50. It's no longer there, but was a similar size ot the Astoria or Shepherds Bush Empire, where the ticket prices are normally in the £15-20 price range. There was no booking fee in those days either. I saw the Men They Couldn't Hang for £3.50, they're playing next week for £15 - probably the same set as well.

Cars: A lad I know has just passed his test. He's got a car - probably cost him £250 ish. Cars of a certain age might still run, but are basically worth virtually nothing. He won't be on the road anytime soon because the cheapest insurance he's been quoted is £1500, taking into account his no claims on the moped. My first car cost £300, the insurance was £180. Admittedly I was in my 20s, but that's a big difference in cost.

Clothes are cheaper. So are expensive electronic things. Eating out is probably cheaper and more doable. I think the first time I went to a restaurant was PIzzaland when I was 19. It just wasn't part of my culture. I don't think that cheap pizzas have gone up much in 25 years. Overall, I think a lot of other things, especially essentials like food, shelter and transport, are more expensive.

And it goes without saying that I think we are a lot worse off because of the loss of a sense of solidarity,

Regards,

Martin