Love or Loathe: Pre-assembled Clothing

Do you remember those pre-assembled sweater vest/dress shirt looks that used to be everywhere? It was a sweater vest with dress shirt sleeves, tails and a collar attached. Fashion Bug has a new collection of "layered look" tops that make it look like you're wearing a cardigan and tee, but the "tee" is really a panel built into the "cardigan" piece (pictured). I'm suddenly seeing more and more of these sneaking clothing combos that aren't really combos at all.

I've met women who swear by these. They extol the benefits of getting dressed without a thought, having a layered look without having to match proportions and colors and eliminating an extra layer of fabric so they never got too hot. For then it's an investment piece because they can look put together without spending any time of their look.

Those are all good arguments, but I can't buy into it. I'd rather have the versatility of individual pieces. Since that cardigan is attached to the little "tee" panel, I can't wear it with any of my other shirts. If I get hot, I can't take off the cardi. I also can't layer the tee under anything else. It's a one-trick clothing item, which makes it a poor investment in my book. I like my clothes to multitask. (By the way, I don't mind two pieces that come together if I can separate them. That's just economical!)

Also, I have seen some of these "layered look" clothes that really do fool the eye, but I've seen more that look poorly constructed and don't lay properly after a few washings. I'd rather pair my own basics and have the fit the way I like washing after washing.

How to you feel about pre-assembled looks? Are they a nice break for thinking about what to wear? Or are they a poor investment for lazy dressers?