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Re: NYT article on rising retail prices.
[quote user="bakla"]
The interesting thing is when we come to accept these price structures as a given, especially if they're consistent across the board, across countries. This is easy to tell nowadays when you can compare pricing globally via the internet.If the price of an item, no matter how high, is the same in the US and abroad, then I think I mentally go into a state where I just accept that as a given, and then it becomes a new benchmark (again, for example, in the case of shoes). I can subsequently decide whether or not to take the plunge and buy at that level. But the problem is I'd have reached a new threshold for pricing, which isn't necessarily good for my wallet. Nowadays, I look at $2000 coats when I never used to think of purchasing anything above $800, and I think, well, that's reasonable, when it shouldn't be, considering it's more than I pay for rent. But because it's the general price for all around, it's relatively reasonable, in that there's a reason it's priced that way. Everyone else is. At least, in the designer category. I wonder if the dollar should stabilize, will prices go down? I have never seen prices drop. It always just seems to climb.
This is why I'm excited about someone like Robert Geller, and similarly, The Generic Man: they're in the contemporary category, but they're infusing it with the kind of energy and contemplative design that you usually see only in designer. It's more thoughtful, less commercial design than, say, Kenneth Cole or DKNY >shudder!< are giving you. While it's not as exclusive due to its pricepoint, it still offers value. Obviously you won't get finishes like CCP, but you can dress well and interestingly if you're an informed consumer and investigate the right brands and mix them in with your wardrobe. It makes one rethink paying designer prices.
[/quote]
I agree (about Geller). This is why I first loved Cloak - even though there were quality control issues on some pieces (btw, just looked at my FW04 dress shirt today, and it's going at one seem - frustrating), the prices WERE reasonable before FW06 (and SS07 was just absurd - worst value for money).
Maybe not in fashion, but I have seen prices drop because of currency. When I was buying my bed at the all time low Euro/$ (2000), it was $100 less then a month before because of the exchange rate (the bed was being made in Milan). Now, that I look at furniture prices, I think how lucky I am that I bought all my furniture that year. Yea, it seemed on the expensive side then, but it's a goddamn bargain now.
As far as looking at prices across the board, and feeling reasonable - I wonder if the word reasonable is proper? I feel helpless, and accepting sometimes, but I hardly find these prices reasonable. It's more of a feeling of giving up, because there isn't much you can do in terms of hunting. So, while I can accept these prices as a norm, it does not mean that I will buy into them.
[quote user="bakla"]
The interesting thing is when we come to accept these price structures as a given, especially if they're consistent across the board, across countries. This is easy to tell nowadays when you can compare pricing globally via the internet.If the price of an item, no matter how high, is the same in the US and abroad, then I think I mentally go into a state where I just accept that as a given, and then it becomes a new benchmark (again, for example, in the case of shoes). I can subsequently decide whether or not to take the plunge and buy at that level. But the problem is I'd have reached a new threshold for pricing, which isn't necessarily good for my wallet. Nowadays, I look at $2000 coats when I never used to think of purchasing anything above $800, and I think, well, that's reasonable, when it shouldn't be, considering it's more than I pay for rent. But because it's the general price for all around, it's relatively reasonable, in that there's a reason it's priced that way. Everyone else is. At least, in the designer category. I wonder if the dollar should stabilize, will prices go down? I have never seen prices drop. It always just seems to climb.
This is why I'm excited about someone like Robert Geller, and similarly, The Generic Man: they're in the contemporary category, but they're infusing it with the kind of energy and contemplative design that you usually see only in designer. It's more thoughtful, less commercial design than, say, Kenneth Cole or DKNY >shudder!< are giving you. While it's not as exclusive due to its pricepoint, it still offers value. Obviously you won't get finishes like CCP, but you can dress well and interestingly if you're an informed consumer and investigate the right brands and mix them in with your wardrobe. It makes one rethink paying designer prices.
[/quote]
I agree (about Geller). This is why I first loved Cloak - even though there were quality control issues on some pieces (btw, just looked at my FW04 dress shirt today, and it's going at one seem - frustrating), the prices WERE reasonable before FW06 (and SS07 was just absurd - worst value for money).
Maybe not in fashion, but I have seen prices drop because of currency. When I was buying my bed at the all time low Euro/$ (2000), it was $100 less then a month before because of the exchange rate (the bed was being made in Milan). Now, that I look at furniture prices, I think how lucky I am that I bought all my furniture that year. Yea, it seemed on the expensive side then, but it's a goddamn bargain now.
As far as looking at prices across the board, and feeling reasonable - I wonder if the word reasonable is proper? I feel helpless, and accepting sometimes, but I hardly find these prices reasonable. It's more of a feeling of giving up, because there isn't much you can do in terms of hunting. So, while I can accept these prices as a norm, it does not mean that I will buy into them.
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