In a discussion in the Moss Bros. thread I mentioned that my tailor told me that there's a dearth of quality middle ground in the rag trade now.  And that there's really been this polarization between high and low end stuff.  We weren't discussing price necessarily, though I suppose that figures into the discussion if not entirely in the same way as quality. 

But anyway, the tailor claimed that a guy knew a lot more about fabrics and details and clothing in general than he does now.  One reason proferred for his thesis was  that a guy used to go to a small shop or a tailor to buy or have his stuff made up and would learn about clothing.  But now he shops at a department store and therefore becomes or remains ignorant.  Another reason is that it used to be that guys who were selling clothes actually knew about them and were career people who were knowledgeable.   (We might even draw a parallel to other realms of sales people who used to be knowledgeable but are now ignorant, for the most part:  booksellers, record shops, stereo shops, car salesmen, etc).

Or, having bought this thesis, have I bought into the nostalgia trap that Stylestudent warned me about?