North Face jackets are undoubtedly iconic, but as they make a comeback, it seems the company might be leaving its high-quality standard in the past.
In the 1990s, The North Face puffer (also known as the Nuptse) dominated New York City and other urban areas. Everyone from adults to kids loved them for their fun colors and cold-withstanding design.
"Rappers would rather wear The North Face than brands like Patagonia or Marmot because of the beautiful bright colors and designs they had back in those days," Ramon Herrera, a jacket sommelier, told The Cut. "The music just made it even bigger."
School kids were getting robbed for their puffers while celebrities like rappers LL Cool J and Method Man, as well as actors like Jennifer Aniston and Halle Berry, were wearing them.
And now it's back.
Despite competition from brands like Canada Goose, Aritzia, and Uniqlo, the nostalgic piece of winter gear had a meteoric comeback in 2020, with demand growing by 174% in a single year, according to Refinery 29.
But this time it's become more prolific for its fashion than its function, this is especially marked by the collaboration the brand did with Gucci.
Some people point out that they're letting their quality, which used to be its hallmark quality, slip.
In a viral TikTok with more than 420,000 views, New Yorker Tianna (@ohhshootianna) called out North Face, saying they're jackets aren't as good as they used to be—yet they're charging the same high prices.
"Let me de-influence you... Don't get a North Face in 2024," the text overlay on her video read.
She recounted that in the 1990s and early 2000s, North Face puffers were thick.
"You used to look ... like the Michelin tire guy, right? Like, that's how puffy these coats used to be," Tianna said.
But looking at her in her North Face, Tianna pales in comparison to the beloved Michelin mascot.
"Elf on the shelf has more feathers in it than this $400 North Face," Tianna said.
"This is embarrassing. It is despicable, and North Face, you should be embarrassed," she concluded.
It seems the old adage is true for most things: They don't make things like they used to.
Across the internet, several people agree with Tianna's take that North Face jackets aren't nearly as well made as they used to be.
Some point out that in the 90s, the company's target audience was outdoor adventures like hikers and mountaineers who needed a high-performance jacket for extreme cold. Yes, it became fashionable in places like NYC, but that wasn't its original intended audience.
But now that they've entered the mainstream fashion market, functionality, and material quality may have been diluted.
In a Reddit thread posted to r/TheNorthFace 10 months ago, a user expresses dismay at "the drop in quality" in the company's products. "After checking out several of the current triclimate jackets The North Face is currently producing, it’s blatantly obvious the company is a shadow of its former self," the user wrote.
The user said they had to shop for another jacket because when they sent their triclimate jacket from 2015 in for repairs, they instead received a gift card. But when checking out the GORE-TEX and Dryvent jackets, they found them to be "pitifully thin and cheap." The user concluded, "They should be ashamed to charge the prices they do for such garbage."
In the comments, users generally agreed that the change in quality can be attributed to the company being acquired by VF Corp. in 2000. Some offered complaints of their own, including less insulation and sizing issues.
The classic 1996 Retro Nuptse Jacket retails for $330 for adults and $230 for kids. It comes in a range of colors, including yellow, green, purple, and, of course, black.
"Quality down, prices up," a top comment read.
"I had a Baby Phat coat that used to have my back steaming. They don’t make coats the way they used to," a person recounted.
"Get a Columbia coat with the 'fancy' heat lining lol. The prices are better and quality is better these days as well. We're buying 'names' that don't stand the same anymore," another shared.
"I have the puffer from 20 years ago and it's completely different now," a commenter noted.
@ohhshootianna Its like …. Really bad lol. #Northface #wintercoat ♬ original sound - T Money
The Daily Dot reached out to Tianna for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to The North Face's parent company VF via email.
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The post ‘North Face, you should be embarrassed‘: Woman issues warning after buying a North Face jacket for $400 appeared first on The Daily Dot.
