The pricing is crazy/justified thread

[syed]

All those dots are sterling silver no? Even so, I'm sure it's just a museum/collector's piece in the making.

[Fuuma]

I personally like the current, mostly uniform pricing systems used to sell the end products of movies, music, and literature. I’m not sure the reasoning behind it, but it helps prevent these artists in the creation process from having the end price point affect their decisions.

In fashion, the price tag often seems to be envisioned before the garment is made. The use of fabric, or fabric treatment, seems chosen less because the garment demands it (ie athletic wear made with wool, or the piece-dying of socks), but because the designer knows his market demands some demonstrable difference if the item is to cost ten times as much. There’s also obvious over-use of exclusivity or limited-edition pieces that seems designed as much to exploit as to satisfy a human’s craving for individuality.

The above is why I also think critiques of clothing are almost forced to include discussions of price at some point. It’s not just largely why a consumer may choose one garment over another, it’s why a designer may make one item over another.

Movies, music and literature= things where you pay for the medium but the value is to be found in the cultural creation, no one is pissed that a big Daniel Steel book in hardcover costs more than a cheap Shakespeare paperback because they know it is merely a pricing of the support. When it comes to clothes this doesn't apply; the medium/product are the same.

[Faust]

/\ Oh, shit, is that what they mean when they say the medium is the message?! I gotta go back and look at the Poell thread from the beginning.

[arby2001]

hi, i'm new (well kinda, at least for the forum poster bit). i've read this:

http://stylezeitgeist.com/forums/showpost.php?p=193436&postcount=355

and I still have a hard time understanding why multi-label boutiques are sprouting up all over the place. i have been shipped parcels from the US, heavy parcels (certainly a pain to carry) about 24~ pounds, for $200. Leather import tax (let's use leather jackets as an example) is 10%, plus declaration fee about $50. Therefore a jacket valued at 100k yen wholesale will go for about say, 1.5k dollars max?

so how is it they are going for 3k up? who is stupid enough to buy them? if no one is going to buy them from you, then why carry them?

after taking a look at local retailers (i don't live in the US) i decided to actually go for a holiday in Japan, because, well, everybody needs a holiday, and I'll actually save money. sounds daft, but it's true - i paid 600 for the air ticket, 50 per night for the budget hotel with good location (shared), 20 more for transport food etc. - and got said jacket tax-free at a savings of almost 1.5k compared to local retail. Spent 5 days.

do the math and you'll realise I actually saved close to 600 bucks going for a holiday. not to mention the freebies i got from the main store, expert advice, priceless sightseeing etc.

so i suggest going for a holiday in europe or japan because absurdly enough you save money by doing so.

edit: eh, i should mention that i actually have friends in japan/europe who can send me stuff i want, but i wanted to go on a holiday :)

[Faust]

Do we have to have the same discussions every six months? They are seriously getting tedious.

How about this, Arby - try running a store and then get back to us in a year. Rent a place in a prime location, renovate it, buy furniture and fixtures and computers, hire staff, pay duties, income tax, property taxes, payroll taxes, lose money on exchange rate, etc. etc. And then do the math again and tell us.

[Lane]

Plus, you aren't forced to buy anything, and you aren't entitled to a certain price.

[cjbreed]

its a labor of love baby

and service makes all the difference on where my money goes. what little of it i have left

[zamb]

Do we have to have the same discussions every two weeks? They are seriously getting tedious.

How about this, Arby - try running a store and then get back to us in a year. Rent a place in a prime location, renovate it, buy furniture and fixtures and computers, hire staff, pay duties, income tax, property taxes, payroll taxes, lose money on exchange rate, etc. etc. And then do the math again and tell us.

Fixed..............

[marc1975]

Business economists... you gotta hate them

Geez... I guess I need to vent... I just looked at the F/W collection from Gareth Pugh, looking for a particular piece that I had mentioned in this forum before, a certain jacket made by him that I just love.

I had mailed the official contact at GarethPugh.com and had asked them a couple of months back what material had been used for this top, and got the answer "Neoprene and matt lamb leather".

Now I am looking at the 1326 Euro priced jacket, which is made of jersey and PVC (way too small anyway, what I had expected before). Hmm.. makes one wonder where the Neoprene and lamb leather went? Could it be that some business economist optimized the choice of materials?

As the appliqués on this jacket are what makes it stand out, I had thought that extra care would be taken to produce nice, evenly spaced (from the edge of the appliqué) top stitching. No luck:



Looking at the appliqué marked with the red arrow, one can see that the top stitching was either done in a hurry, or just careless.

Both the choice of materials and the way this jacket is made makes me sad. It's such a beautiful design, executed in a way that doesn't realize the full potential and leaves me wondering whether someone like me (business economist, looking at return-on-investment figures) just tried to "optimize" the manufacturing of the clothes by not allowing the extra time / extra cost to chose nicer materials and longer time per piece in order to get high quality stitching.

I know I am a detail freak. I would pay the 1326 Euro in a heartbeat, just because of the design (if it was available in my size). But in my opinion, they could have made it 100 bucks more expensive just to get it right. At this price point, nobody cares anyway.

//end of rant

[Dane]

^^ I feel your pain. I can't comment on if money was the reason for that, but I have to say that nothing will turn me away faster from a pricey purchase than sloppy stitching. I'm by no means an expert on the making of clothing, but I look at a Julius leather jacket and see how every single stitch and line is meticulous, so I wonder why others can't do the same.

[Zenith]

//end of rant

Well, on the bright side, it's still a big step up from a few years ago. Bit disappointing to see that though tbh. I was expecting more quality control with Pugh.

[Danse Générale]

Well, after reading this forum for a few days now, i feel like i have to make my point regarding this topic.
For me it's not so relevant how much a piece costs (that's not because i can spend money the whole day 'round without thinking about it), but rather how bad i want it. I still study and work besides, so i can affort some of the really high priced items. If i want, let's say a 2000 coat, and worked my ass off for it and then finally got it in my hands, i know my personal value.
By the way: noone constrains you to buy sth. you don't really want.

Sure, the quality should match the price somehow, but by upmarket iteams i expect that...maybe naive

[Faust]

The rich are back and shopping like crazy

[BSR]

good news for handmade boris bidjan !

[cjbreed]

aw11 ma+ is gonna fuck this thread up

so...um...i've seen some aw11 ma+ pop up here and there.
here is the story of my emotions

..................