Worth it?
Yesterday I went for a shop with my mother. We walked up Bleeker street, and stopped in almost everywhere. My birthday is coming up and I got two really great things, an amazing dress at Annalore and a winter coat. The dress is clearly a winner. It is a red and mint print on kimono silk. The kind of thing you pass on to your kids, and worth it. But what makes something worth it?
Putting all the MBA nonsense aside, such as labor, rent on the store, just looking cool but serving no higher purpose, etc, I wanted to figure out at what price I was willing to buy certain things, and why, because sometimes being overpriced has nothing to DO with actual price.
Rule #1- The Design/Quality Ratio: I stopped into Reiss, a new bridge chain from the UK. The clothes are undeniabley snazzy. There were lovely flapper style beaded dresses, and some nice coats and tops. I tried on a swingy grey wool jacket. It was 350$. I felt as though the piece was overpriced at that. The wool wasn't that nice, it was thin and mean. The fit was way off. Later in the day I bought a heavy canvas coat with a fur hood elsewhere, for more. The difference was in the details here. The coat I ended up with had versatility and yet wasn't particularly "this season." But it was classic. So my coat formula was: Design (Quality) +Longevity+Details=Price.
Rule #2 The Complete Knowledge Factor: I balk at buying tank tops full price at J.Crew. They are 15$. But I know that I can get them for 12$ at the outlets, and even less then that on sale. Same with Club Monaco. I've bought them in the past, and loved them for a week, but they go all loose the second you wash them. Not worth the 15$. American Apparel tanks are 15$ too. But I buy them without guilt, despite the companies completely irritating marketing and stores. I have never seen dumber or ruder sales people. But I like the idea of the factory in LA. So I am willing to adjust my price point by a few dollars if it mean better working conditions. Interesting. The formula is 3= My bleeding heart (Quality) - Sales Environment.
Rule #3 The Sale Corollary: This is based on the fact that I will happily buy something I would never buy under normal circumstances, if it is on big enough sale. This is defined by a pair of black Michael Kors patent leather stilleto booties I bought at Jeffery three years ago. They were marked down from 500$ to about 200$. If they, at full retail price, had been 200$, in a million years I never would have bought them. They are completely ridiculous. Seriously; the stilletto is silver. One is pictured above. But I did buy them, because the deal was too good to pass up. Completely irrational. Economists and marketers should study me! (Though I don't think I act alone on this.) So here we have: Insanity= (Original Price- Discount)+Designer.
Rule #4 The Urban Outfitters Rule: This is a universal one, with the occasional exception for silly underwear and sneakers. After the age of 28, everything at Urban Outfitters is either stupidly overpriced for the quality, or fits so bizarrely that only a teenager can find a way to make it work. You and I will never look like the women we are if we buy clothes at Urban. No thin boiled wool overcoat, or deconstructed blazer is worth it.
I am going to keep thinking about this.
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Little-known fact about American Apparel:
though they're known as an anti-sweatshop outfit, the owner is notorious for not allowing his employees to unionize, and I believe there've been several claims of sexual harrassment against him.
Thanks for that Louie. So much for feeling GOOD about American Apparel. I guess I will have to wait for the J.Crew tanks to go on sale. At the outlets.
yes, your birthday IS coming up in a few days and that begs another rule: birthday presents know no bounds. Post a pix of the coat...sounds divine! I think there is no accurate measure of price when it comes to fashion...it is so visceral. Paying 300 for jeans is not even an issue while I would be hard pressed to do the same for a pair of trousers (well unless the fit was incredible) and that makes no sense at all. I searched high and low for weeks for $900 YSL platform booties in my size (sold out everywhere) not thinking twice and when they arrived, promtly returned them because I didn't "feel it" when I saw them. I think clothes have a chemistry to them much like people do..it either clicks or it doesn't but when it does, logic and common sense go out the window.
Dahlia- you REALLY hit the nail on the head. Logic + Common SenseDahlia- you REALLY hit the nail on the head. Logic + Common Sense