The pricing is crazy/justified thread

[Fuuma]

Christianf, your French?

Would you not agree that in France you have a totally different way of consuming?
I think in America, you buy something with the idea that you will replace it. In France you buy once.

Almost total myth and I believe she's Belgian anyway. When it comes to clothes fast fashion reigns supreme in Europe too.

[christianef]

im from belgium but i lived in paris for a brief period. im not familiar enough with american buying habits to know for sure.

personally i worked around fashion for a while and after accumulating lots of nice pieces ive developed some type of psychosis - ive become increasingly picky about tiny details to the extent i dont buy with the intention to re-sell but i do factor it in because i know im extreamly neurotic and little things will really annoy me. but i agrre with what interest1 is saying im just not sure she included the part when purchases dont meet your expectations or something stretches out more then you thought after a few wears and you regret not sizing down or didnt realize in the daylight it looks more blue than black. if you read the classifieds it happens often. like the elliot smith lyric 'go on and lose the gamble its the history of the trade.' but atleast if you can recoup some of the money its not as bad.

[pierce]

Thats interesting christianef, what your describing is totally what Barry Scwartz deals with in the video I posted on the previous page. Its a proven fact that when you have more choice that we start to display maximizing behavior. It has to be perfect. You end not being satisfied, which basically keeps the wheels of the major economies running.

Fuuma, I'm not so sure. In the anglo countries, for sure. But not so much in France. Consumption with out a reason is almost frowned upon. I have lived in both countries and see massive differences.

[Fade to Black]

pierce i've been noticing your posts as of late and i get the sense you have a very warped world view.

[pierce]

Not at all. I just find it interesting to look at different ways to view things. I don't take it for granted that the hyper commercial world that we live in is all good.

[ProfMonnitoff]

Now that my wardrobe is basically complete, I don't really "need" anything anymore. It's a nice position to be in because it means that I can obsess over the smallest details without worrying that a piece might no longer be available later.

I still have the very first "nice" things I bought, so my clothes have lasted me about 4 years now. Coupled with my very small wardrobe (I can basically fit my belongings into a suitcase), this really shows the quality of what I own.

I now buy about one or two pieces per season, so pricing is less of an issue. Of course I still take it into consideration, as I don't want to be ripped off (and I still consider some brands' prices a ripoff). Three years ago I thought some of the stuff I bought was stupidly overpriced, now I'm thankful I didn't get 10 cheap things instead as I would probably hate them all by now. I still haven't gotten myself to drop 1k+ for CCP Derbies, but I'm sure that's coming soon. I don't consider resale value. I don't do impulse purchases, so there isn't much to resell. The only big mistake I've made was a beautiful Junya x CdG coat that unfortunately didn't go very well with a monochrome wardrobe. If I had the money, I would have kept it just to admire it every once in a while.

With some brands I don't mind paying a little extra to keep allowing the designer to do what they're doing. I wish I had done it with Veronique Branquinho, and I now plan to do it as much as possible with Stephan Schneider.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it boils down to "less, but better". Of course that doesn't mean that there aren't brands out there charging ludicrous prices for poor products.

All of this reeks of first world problems though.

[pierce]

"Weniger, aber besser" or "Less, but better".

Deiter Ramms is someone who I try to emulate in design and business. But its not easy as everyone else is playing by different rules. But I think in the long run it is not so much making money that is important but more being at ease with what you create. I just can't understand how some designers can pretend to be designers when they are nothing more than business men. Especially when you realize that the merry dance you lead your customers on is not really benefiting them in anyway.

[Faust]

Pierce, you do business? I find that hard to believe. You sound like a cocky freshman at a college orientation.

[pierce]

"You sound like a cocky freshman at a college orientation."

In reality, I'm 33 and do business. I normally have to be so careful about everything I say that I like the anonymity of this forum and not having to worry too much about expressing myself. So maybe it comes across as arrogance, but its more just shooting from the hip without worrying too much about consequences if you know what I mean :)

[christianef]

Thats interesting christianef, what your describing is totally what Barry Scwartz deals with in the video I posted on the previous page. Its a proven fact that when you have more choice that we start to display maximizing behavior. It has to be perfect. You end not being satisfied, which basically keeps the wheels of the major economies running.

Fuuma, I'm not so sure. In the anglo countries, for sure. But not so much in France. Consumption with out a reason is almost frowned upon. I have lived in both countries and see massive differences.

i saw that guy on the television just the other night, as it was television the message was probably watered down but im not sure its the same thing. first he gave GAP as an example of more choice. its not really all the options thats drive my psychosis as i mentioned its generally something more like i took a gamble and phone ordered these 500E pants that i love and they stretched a bit too much after a few wears so i regret not sizing down because a slightly smaller size would flatter the silhouette a bit better. and i cant exchange/return them because the store doesnt take returns. i doubt different sizes fit in his choice theory as they've been around for a while. i think its almost the opposite of his theory, i dont entertain all the options i usually know specifically what im after aesthetically its just sometimes the fit or color is a bit off because i cant try it on first and its disappointing especially because it usually costs expensive.

[Heirloom]

i think the fact that this thread exists says it all. there's a catch 22. if we don't buy it, we still want it. if we buy it we feel fucked over cause we had to pay outof the ass to get it. Which means the stuff is too expensive. It is about priority as well, and maybe some here just prioritize clothing a bit too much. I really wish i could spend thousands and thousands of dollars on clothes, but i wont, cause my life is about more than consuming.

[Sombre]

Interesting. The first argument any economist will make is that the purpose of money is to consume.

Although I suppose you probably mean putting your money to more altruistic purposes, like cancer research or something, in which case, I agree with your last sentence. Of course I only judge myself by this standard. I don't criticize other people's use of money, so I won't go so far as to say others might prioritize clothing too much.

[Faust]

Interesting. The first argument any economist will make is that the purpose of money is to consume.

Although I suppose you probably mean putting your money to more altruistic purposes, like cancer research or something, in which case, I agree with your last sentence. Of course I only judge myself by this standard. I don't criticize other people's use of money, so I won't go so far as to say others might prioritize clothing too much.

You forgot to put in a qualifier

[Heirloom]

in my case it's putting more money towards resources to invest in my own creativity, instead of buying into others. It's balance between eat and excersise, work and rest, consume and create.

[philip nod]

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/sweatpants-that-cost-1-000-has-fashion-gone-completely-insane-1264398/#poll-1F8C93463DAC11DF806980519E992185

balmang clockin in with a shredded boo face t at 1625