I love shopping at Macy's, JCP, Bergner's, especially when the clothes are 70% off! Sorry, but I'm not made of money :-) I also shop consignment and second hand stores.
I have trouble understanding anyone complaining that the clothes at the stores you listed are poor quality. I've always found the clothes to be rather high quality. I'm also perfectly happy wearing Dockers and Lee Jeans, so I guess you have to take that into consideration.
It seems from your posts that you hit a point with your daughter where she is very self conscious. She is aware of the fact that labels matter to girls her age. She's not wrong, you just have to decide what is going to make the most sense for your family. I went to private schools with uniforms and with a bunch of rich snobs who were going to find something to mock me for. If it wasn't my clothes, it would have been something else. When I went to a different high school than most of my classmates I said, good riddens! As an adult I feel very fortunate to not care what other people think about the clothes I choose to buy and that if they even notice what I'm wearing it's only because it looked nice and appropriate for the occasion.
Understand that your daughter is a tween and what she is feeling (or fearing) is completely normal. You, on the other hand, are an adult and should be able to shop wherever you choose and wear whatever you want as long as you dress appropriately for the occasion, location and your body type. Who cares where your friends shop ... unless you are admiring their top and think one would look good on you, as well!