Kirsten Dunst for Miu Miu
It sounds like such a silly question – “Why is designer stuff expensive?”. Because it’s designer, duh! And yet, it’s been gnawing at me for years so I decided to get to the bottom of it.
- The cost of innovation
Just like pharmaceutical companies develop new drugs, designers invest a lot of time, money and personal expertise into developing new looks. When I used to work for Calvin Klein, I was stunned by how much thought goes into every detail – from fabric patterns, which are hand-pasted together, carefully scanned sent off to the factory, to endless fittings to make sure each piece fits just right. Talent and labor both cost money, which drives up the final price. Companies specializing in designer-inspired looks, however, don’t have those expenses so they can afford to sell at a lower price.
But isn’t it illegal to use someone else’s intellectual property? If it’s an exact replica, then yes. Changing a few minor details keeps it legal while still preserving the awesome look for the fraction of the price. Some of my favorite designer-inspired brands are Steve Madden and Nine West.
- Exclusivity
In fashion, the law of supply and demand is often controlled by exclusivity. Everybody wants something unique, something no one else has. One way to ensure this is by raising the price – pay $500 for a Chanel bag and you’ll be the only one with it on the whole block!
- Prestige
When buying designer clothing and accessories, we pay for the brand. Companies spend millions of dollars a year on advertising to create that instantly-recognizable ‘brand’ that will hopefully be perceived as cool and desirable. By choosing a $1,000 Prada purse over a similar no-name bag, we buy the prestige of owning Prada. It all comes down to: “Is the difference in price worth it for me?”
- Quality of the materials
It is true that designer clothing and accessories are usually made using higher quality materials – but not always the case. Polyester, faux fur and pleather are widely used in the world of haute, although it’s usually done in an innovative way to justify the scary price tag. Some argue that designer pieces have a longer lifespan, but this also depends on the item. Your $300 Italian leather loafers might still be with you on the way to pick up your first social security check, but a $3000 Issey Miyaki shredded paper dress probably won’t even live to see your next birthday.
. - Better fit / comfort
Higher-end pieces will fit better on your body. Designers do numerous fittings during production and generally have a better understanding of human body and proportions, compared to cheaper brands.A few words about designer shoes – contrary to popular belief, they are not always comfortable. It’s the design and the prestige factor, not comfort, that is not their selling point. So yes, $900 Louboutins can destroy your feet just as good as a $20 pair from Payless. C’est la vie.
. - And last but not least… Because they can!
Charge that much, that is. Designer stuff is expensive simply because the consumer will pay.
.
In the end, the item is worth whatever it’s worth to you. And if it looks good – why should it matter how little or how much you paid? Never apologize for what you spend on things that make you happy! ;)
.Deerlings, tell me: What is the most you’ve ever spent on an article of clothing?
I believe it was 275 for my junior prom dress! I looked stunning, and it was one of the best dresses there. Rumors were going around that I had spent 1000 on it. I think not!
Well to start that’s a pretty awesome photo!
I recall my grad clothing (shirt + sweat pants) were kinda pricey but that’s ok because it was part of the fundraiser. Other than that the most expensive would be my grad dress which cost me $34. Yeah, I’m a cheapskate.
My most expensive dress was a rare lolita one from BABY, the Stars Shine Bright. It was basically a mountain of lace, but I love it to bits. (..hopefully not literally XD)
I spent $260 (AU) once on a pair of Miu Miu shoes that were 60% off…
My most expensive splurge for one item was a 300 dollar corset. Of course, as far as custom corsets go, that is basically what you’ll pay. I got a deal on it considering the quality, materials, and the availability to have in-person fittings with mock-ups before it was created :)
I do believe that I also paid about 300 for a corset. It’s very lovely but I no longer wear it. :( I think I shall buy a new one! :D
Oh goodness! What a fantastic image of Mrs. Kirsten! I tend to make a lot of my own clothes, but when I have indulged at a designer store I think the most I spent was $180. I love a lot of designer things, but I prefer to support small independent designers and only splurge when its something I MUST have. :P
I think $55 (plus s+h) was the most I ever spent on a single piece of clothing – it was a Shrinkle skirt and it was quite worth it :3 I don’t really own any designer items, especially since lately the trend has been to have the brand name plastered all over everything. If they want me to walk around with products like that, the companies should be paying ME for advertising! XD
around $700 for my wedding dress . . . Floor length, strapless, white lace, beaded, with peach ribbon laced around the top of the bust line and the bottom of the dress. It is fantastic!
I’ve spent nearly $200 on a pair of shoes before.. Most expensive top was probably $120. I’m pretty cheap usually and I like thrift stores and K-mart for fashion stuff, but if I have the money I don’t mind forking out for nice pants and shirts – it IS about quality – if you buy 5 $20 KMart tee-shirts or 1 $100 designer tee you’ll probably get more wear out of the designer than all 5 Kmart shirts.
I guess the most expensive thing was £160 for my first corset. Shame most of the designer that I could possibly save for I don’t like. I would kill to be able to own couture like Dior and Chanel but I shall have to dream that.
Though have been dissapointed by seeing designer up close as times. Vivienne Westwood’s stuff, she has amazing designs but they are so poorly made and I’ve always been let down when I’ve seen up close. I guess my Mum worked for couture so she has kinda drummed into me how important quality in sewing is, but to see one of her corsets and seeing the zip sewn on really wonky and they were charging enormous prices, just such a let down. I have been told by several people that it’s because work placements do the sewing, and sadly now it seems sewing is not a thing a lot of fashion students can do. Not all but most. I just think if you are paying so much you should expect a properly put in zip!
I have to say, my most prised possession that is designer…and I’m not that into brands…that much, is…..
My amazing black Coach Purse and my Prada sunglasses that make me look and feel like a movie star. They were gifts from my Dad who is in Kuwait right now so I don’t know how much they cost but I love them and they are extra special to me.
You missed the biggest thing- FIT. Designer clothing (especially high end designer clothing) is wayyyy better designed and flattering than inexpensive clothing. And just the same- designer shoes look WAY better than cheap shoes. And i’m afraid that isn’t even an opinionated statement- it’s just reality.
Also, even high end designer clothing that may be using stereotypical cheap materials such as plastics & synthetics are still higher quality. Obviously the markup is huge, but still, it must be understood that there are very, very cheap leathers, and very luxurious ones. This is true with other materials such as hardware, zippers (and other closures), exotics, and synthetics.
And on toooopppp of it all- My expensive clothing does not fall apart or lose it’s shape. My True Religion jeans may have cost $172, but i’ve had them for almost three years and they still look fantastic and not super faded (i wear them at least three times a week) My most used Balenciaga bag i’ve had for over a year and a half and used for near a year straight- absolutely no problems. Looks perfectly broken in and beautiful. Oh, and my shoes? Never have i had a problem, they NEVER fall apart.. and certain pairs i wear to DEATH. (and i don’t baby them)
Anyway, there is a large difference from designer and non-designer items apart from just fantastic advertising and a well known name. High end clothing and bags especially just cannot be compared to Steve Madden or Target look-a-likes.. it’s simply irrelevant.
That being said, there are plenty of mid-range designers that skimp on quality.. so you really just need to know the brand and label well. They are not all equal.
Hope this didn’t come off as insulting, darling! Just had to stand up for my shizz :O)
http://dollhousechic.blogspot.com
Eep- forgot to answer the question. Clothing? (i’m guessing this excludes bags and shoes and jewelry and whatnot) Lets see.. Probably one of my coats, i am a sale maniac. I got a GORGEOUS Peter Som coat for around $500 and i did pay full price for a Betsey Johnson coat a couple years ago that i’ve worn religiously ever winter since since (still looks sooo fantastic!) Was about $500 as well.
I wont say how much i’ve spent on bags and shoes, a lady never tells ;O) haha
Clothing? Fortunately not much, only a lot29 hoodie which was on sale for $68.
I spend most of my money(or rather my mum’s) on makeup and LV bags(which I don’t get often sadly). xD
I have a sister who is much more of a fashionista then I am, + she works in a clothing store and gets discounts… So, I just raid her closet.
However, I just bought a beautiful pair of Mary Jane shoes, pale pink/nude leather with a bit of a sheen to it and 2 inch heels. I love them to bits and they cost me 100 euros. I can even walk in them on cobble stones!
To be honest, I don’t remember the most expensive item I’ve ever bought. It was probably for a dress, though, and not very recent. (I used to have the money for it.. not anymore.)
But the most recent expensive piece I bought was actually for a costume (Mrs. Lovett). It’s a reworked vintage dress/corset piece and it is gorgeous. It was around $250~ish.
Chelsaur – Yes, isn’t this a gorgeous photo of Miss Dunst? All of the campaign ads are crazy/beautiful (haha, her movie?), I’ll post them one day :)
Toni, Clara – custom-made corsets do cost $300+ but are so worth it. A corset is supposed to fit to a t; and not just hang around your body but IMPROVE it!
Kit – you’re so right about the movie star glasses! They make you feel so very fabulous! And then there’s the bad-ass rockstar variety… ;)
SammyDoll – your comment is just want I wanted! I wish I had more comments like that, because the only way to learn is from opinions different than your own! And you’re so right about fit – perhaps I’ll add a paragraph on that later.
Beth – that vintage corset dress sounds very intriguing…
I paid $150 for a Wish jacket.
My best desinger pieces, a gucci and dior bag, I got for $2 each at the threft store.
I think it was 150euro for a Dress for my Grandparents “Goldwedding”, but that Dress is so awesome. And for my Grandparents I wanted to look good.
I still have it but it’s to big now.
I spent $275 on a pair of boots…wanna see them? http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2265/2247957442_99294f4a4e_o.jpg
(I saved and drooled over the picture while I waited for them to be shipped)
Ahh I love my corset, I made sure I got it from a place that I could trust. It’s not a custom made but it’s a simple underbust but still it’s fantastically comfortable. But now I know how to make my own and make them properly, so I’m gonna stick to making my own.
Umm, I would think the most I had ever paid for an article of clothing was probably $329 for this cute little dress that I wore to a wedding, and the denim jacket I wore over it (trust me, cuter than it sounds lol) was around $290. Sooo, total for the outfit was around $650 after they added the sales tax on.
But I would say most recently, I paid $220 for a pair of Blue Tattoo jeans, which I love love love =) Fortunately, I found that you can get Blue Tattoo jeans on Ebay sometimes when they have deals, so if you’ve ever tried on the brand and liked them, check out that site first before paying all that money in the store.
I have yet to shell out the money based on a BRAND, but my biggest splurge was 450.00 for this amazing vintage dress that was like something straight out of breakfast at Tiffanys..it was in PRISTINE condition and fit my body like it was made for me. Every time I wear that dress to this day, people stop me and ask about it. Its truly truly amazing and worth the fact that I went without lunch for two weeks to get it. :)
Designer-schminer. I am a horrible fashionista and buy from thrift stores. :p
The most I’ve ever paid for a single item of clothing was $120 for a pair of Seven jeans on sale. Not worth it. I’ve gotten designer denim on sale for cheaper ($70 – $100) and the truth is while the fit is fantastic, the colors do fade very quickly. I wear jeans from fall to spring, and wash a pair maybe every two to three weeks. Washing them inside out just doesn’t cut it. I’ve heard that dry cleaning jeans will help keep the color, but the cost to maintain that can increase ever so steadily. My favorite dark rinse Miss Sixty jeans of about a year and half have definitely faded, not drastically but enough for me to realize that designer denim can be costly to purchase, and for the upkeep.
I once paid $270 for a Vivienne Westwood coat, similar to the Anglomania jabot wool coat she did recently, but with a slightly larger bustle-thing in the back. I found it at an estate sale, and thought the price had been mismarked, but the clerk said they just hadn’t been able to sell it. Hooray for having quirky taste!
the most I spent was maybe 192 dollars on a pair of knee-high Ugg boots.This was at Marshalls any way.I <3 Them so much!!!!
My most expensice piece of clothing must be my winter coat, it was 200 euro’s but very pretty ^^
…to have that kind of money to throw away on clothes…
I have never paid more than $30 for an item of clothing, ever. Except my wedding dress; it was $70 (not a “real” wedding dress, mind you, but it was white and it was good enough).
Clothing is kind of a necessity (like food, water, shelter, etc.) I think it’s really greedy and disgusting that companies can get away with charging so much for clothing.
Im 14 and i catch all the latest sales, so the most i ever spent on something was $191 for a pair of $319 True Religion jeans.
Go Woodbury Commons!!!
:-p
The most expensive clothing I have is a dress I made out of chain mail, it ended up costing around $500. It was full length, purple and black, 11 pounds and I almost won the limbo in it! I would have saved more if I made the rings myself, but I was already sewing my best friend’s formal gown so I could use her for slave labor on my dress, so I didn’t really have the time for that.
the most i ever paid for eyeglasses is $766 , and it was dolce and gabbana and the most expensive watch which was cfrom cartier was around $10000. the most expensive coat is $5000 trench coat from burberry. and the most expensive was one of my chanel bags for sure.
oh i’m 13 btw.
Doe Deere Reply:
December 24, 2010 at 11:05 am
Wow, you must be quite the fashionista! :) Do you have a blog?
I’m all for extremely well made pieces and the comparable price, but I have an issue with exorbitant prices on designer pieces such as the small Jimmy Choo clutch bag I saw around Christmas at Saks 5th Ave – no bigger than a Kindle costing $1,300. What is up with that? There was nothing exciting about it, or any reason to pay more than $60.00 for such a small piece of lovely leather. There is no way, even if I was in the gazaillionaire bracket, I would ever pay $1300 for such a tiny leather clutch. Should have been encrusted with real gems!
I completely agree with you. Im doing a research paper on the top ten most expensive fashion brands, and for my thesis statement i have to explain why these brands are so expensive. I believe its all about society. If society says that if you buy this expensive gucci purse your special, people believe it. If you have expensive brands like these you are considered a “better” person than someone who can not afford these things. Im not saying you should not buy these things because i do, but its not all about the brands wear and buy what you want just because you like it, not because society says so.