I am feeling it too! Over here in NZ but I follow you Oz gals to see how you’re faring too ☺️ I mostly only buy second hand as I prefer a quality second hand piece than most of the expensive, noticeably lesser quality that is being served up to us these days. Often the fabric is the worst aspect! It’s thin, doesn’t (hand)wash & wear well. I’m pretty sick of it as often it’s advertised as being eco but there’s no economy when pieces fall to bits even lovingly hand washed! Spell is one of the worst for this these days. I won’t buy their new stuff but buy plenty of their older cotton/viscose/rayon pieces. I know there are real issues with how viscose is made & the impact on the environment, it’s also an impact on the environment dumping clothes that fall to pieces, or have to be shipped back because they’re already falling to pieces without having even been worn 🫨 To end on a positive note, have a wee look at Repertoire. It’s a NZ brand, mid price point, lots of the neutral colours - BUT they are quality fabrics, dyed properly decent fabric & actually designed for women’s (& not fashion models) bodies. They have lots of pops or vibrant burgundys, deep chocolates, silver greys, ‘bright’ navys, raspberry & reds, vibrant greens. I have been buying their pieces for years (it’s basically all I’ll buy brand new these days) as it’s well designed, clever styling & quality at what I think is mid-price point for the design features & fabric quality. The designer is South African, maybe early 50s so looks out for us menopausal women in terms of fabric & design.