Buying fewer more expensive items of clothing > buying more items at a much cheaper price point.
I've noticed this the most with outdoorsy equipment, like my pair of wool socks (Darn Tough). They are 3x more expensive that cotton, but they keep my feet warm without overheating them, are thicker so I can comfortably walk around the house with no other footwear, they don't hardly get smelly, they also dry really fast. That last one comes in handy when you need to cross streams.
Funny, I've come to the opposite conclusion for most clothing.
My weight fluctuates, my clothing needs change, my style changes, I discover a new type of clothing item that obsoletes an old one. Or stuff shrinks, rips, gets stained, gets lost.
Expensive "long lasting" clothing isn't usually worth the investment in my experience for all of these reasons.
Outdoorsy equipment may be an exception, but I don't feel like it's the case for regular clothing or merchandise in general.
(Plus a lot of expensive stuff isn't actually any better quality than the cheap stuff, and it takes a lot of research to figure out when the expensive stuff actually is worth it and when it's not.)
A good thing, on top of working better, can beat out cheap things for price per use pretty easily. Darn Tough is a great example. Best socks I've ever had to wear, but also I have pairs from six years ago that are still kick (plus they have a life time warranty).
A cheap jacket for $50 dollars or a (well researched) jacket for $150 is an obvious win. Warmer, more durable, more comfortable, and looks better. I bet it can last 3 times longer than the cheaper jacket in a lot of cases, plus it could probably resell for much more. We don't often talk about equity in smaller purchases (probably because it's not as consequential), but buying good items means they'll probably hold value better for resale (same goes with buying them used).
This only applies when you can accurately judge the quality of the clothes. I've stopped buying mid-market clothing a few years ago because they didn't last longer than the cheap stuff.
Mid-market for most things is a scam. The honest price points for most goods are "As cheap as they can be manufactured" and "As expensive as the majority of people who really care about a quality product will pay". Between those two, a middle range of products pop up, targeting people who are hesitant to buy cheap stuff, but aren't willing to shell out for premium goods, and thus ending up paying extra for cheap crap, and above the premium range you get into luxury items where the exorbitant cost is the selling point.
Clothing has a lot of this. For good clothes, you gotta shop on material and craftsmanship, and then get everything but your workout cloths and PJs tailored. Trying to buy clothes that fit right off the rack, or trying to figure out quality based on price range is just a losing game.
Not sure what you define as mid market, but for me, I'll go up in price point until I find something that fits me well. The issue with the cheaper and mid market clothing tends to be the fit. If I have to get a tailor, I'd rather spend more to avoid the hassle. The tailor works best at scale. Taking multiple pieces in one go.
Yes and no. Where I live I have a choice from dirt-cheap to "signature" garments. I like buying in the middle because I hate low-quality cloth and because I don't want to be wearing the same shirt 10 years in a row. Give me a good price for something that lasts 2-3 years and I'm set.
To each their own. I've been wearing a mid layer fleece from a big outdoor brand for about 8 years now. Ironically, it was company swag that I got for free and is actually what got me into buying more expensive pieces of clothing. Not too much into fashion, but do buy some pieces that tend towards timelessness. Shirts and underwear are about the only thing I replace frequently.
I've noticed this the most with outdoorsy equipment, like my pair of wool socks (Darn Tough). They are 3x more expensive that cotton, but they keep my feet warm without overheating them, are thicker so I can comfortably walk around the house with no other footwear, they don't hardly get smelly, they also dry really fast. That last one comes in handy when you need to cross streams.