The 10 Most Overrated Clothing Details

They're a nice detail to have, but add nothing to the quality of a garment. Your shirt could be made of something like polyester or even one of those awful non-iron fabrics, and you could have a tailor sew mother-of-pearl buttons onto it.

Sorry, as far as knits and sweaters are concerned, cashmere isn't always the best. Besides the fact that most of it pills something awful—resulting in those annoying little bumps of fabric on cardigans and sweaters, merino wool is just as good, and with ringspun cotton and terry fleece being popular choices for throwback hoodies and sweatshirts from companies like Reigning Champ and Left Field, there are plenty of other luxurious options for keeping warm this winter.

While menswear bloggers and fashion rags tout Italian shoes and suits as a signifier of wealth and quality, the truth is, lax Italian manufacturing laws have allowed for plenty of bad products to be made in the country. In fact, a 2010 New York Times article points out that there's a been an influx of Chinese laborers making low-end clothes in Italy since the late '80s. Again, it doesn't mean there is a lot of quality stuff coming out from Italian brands like Boglioli, L.B.M. 1911, and Brunello Cucinelli, but there are also pretty great suits being made in China for companies like Suitsupply.

Sure, it's an old school detail for jeans, but it's actually less secure than the more modern lockstitch. If you're a heritage freak and a stickler for authenticity, by all means, have your jeans hemmed using an old-school machine, but it's really not necessary for anything except aesthetic.

Functional buttons at the cuffs—aka "surgeon cuffs"—are another one of those signifiers of quality that's a total myth. There are plenty of non high-end jackets and sportcoats with functional buttonholes at the sleeves—while other quality brands like Engineered Garments don't have functional buttonholes on the cuffs on purpose—because it makes the sleeves easier to tailor. Details like this are meant to show the wearer's attention to detail more than than the manufacturer's. So if they're that important to you, there are plenty of capable tailors that are able to convert most cuffs to functional ones.

The Italian zipper company has been called the "Rolls Royce of fucking zippers." And yes, they are nice, but you can't exactly put nice rims on a shitty car and expect it to drive better. When used to add a luxurious accent to quality garments, like leather jackets from designer Rick Owens (and newer brands like En Noir), they work… otherwise, they're just expensive zippers. Besides, competitors YKK and Lampo make equally nice high-end zippers that sometimes are more reliable than RiRi.

Maybe ten years ago, when no one cared about Americana or heritage, hardly anyone knew or gave a fuck about what a Vibram sole was. Now, they're everywhere from workboots to brogues, and even sneaker companies like Vans. Again, any company with the cash can buy a slew of these soles and slap them on their shoes… but it doesn't necessarily make them better. Heck, if you wanted to, you could get a cobbler to put a vibram sole on just about any shoe that's capable of being resoled… and it'd probably cost a lot less than buying a new pair.

Made in America doesn't always mean quaIity. Yes, there are plenty of great brands that produce their goods here (Engineered Garments, Golden Bear, Alden, UNIS, etc.), but even Forever21 makes some of their fast-fashion, low-quality stuff in Los Angeles. Where it's made doesn't matter as much as how it's made and what it's made from. Cheap fabric is cheap fabric.

Truth be told, the selvedge line on your denim isn't a signifier of quality. Yes, it looks cool, but no, it doesn't prolong life to your jeans. In fact, every fabric has a selvedge. Because of the process in which fabric is created, these edges keep them from unraveling or fraying. That's helpful when you're selling things by the yard, or need to cut it into yards later… but on finished garments, it really serves no purpose, as non-selvedge fabrics are also finished with techniques to prevent fraying.

Everything is handmade bro. There are no magical, mystical machines that pour out jeans, button downs, and suit jackets with ease. Whether it's a Japanese artisan painstakingly sewing together a pair of jeans, or an Indian factory worker popping out T-shirt after T-shirt like Tic-Tacs, all clothing is handmade. Of course, some is better made than others, but anyone who tries to say that something costs more because of "hand-finished details" is kind of missing the point. Yes, better work costs more money, as does making sure the people who make what you consume get paid a living wage... but "made by hand" isn't a luxury, it's the stark reality of the clothing industry.