There are many ways to finish a seam in garment contruction - from basic pinking, zigzag, narrow fold and zigzag, double fold and straight stitch, binding, overcasting, serging.
And you can do some by treating both sides of the seam and pressing open, or treating as one layer and pressing it to one side.
And then there are felling and overcasting done so that you don't end up with a seam allowance sticking out.
I invested in a serge 35 years ago, because of the volume of garment construction I was doing at that time. Glad I did as I'm still using it, though I don't make near the clothing that I use to.
As to whether a edge finish will hold up - that is way more dependent on the weave of the fabric than anything else. Most of the time you won't run into the really strange stuff unless you are working with upholstery or drapery type projects. Or if you get into working with tulles and all over laces. Though I've also run into some spendy satins that need very careful handling - though sometimes it's the cheap stuff that is the worst to work with.