A pair of Christian Louboutin pumps-$900, A Burberry scarf-$300, Tory Burch flats-$250, A BCBGMAXAZRIA dress-$400, the thought of why we spend so much money on clothes-PRICELESS.
Some say it’s better quality and some say it’s all about status, but it’s both. When people purchase these expensive clothes they pay for the name, there is no debate about that, but the question is why?
For some people the reason they need a $2,500 handbag or $900 shoes is because celebrities wear them. They might not even like the clothes themselves but because they saw Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton wearing it they need to have it. People will always copy what celebrities wear no matter how expensive or ugly it may be.
Designer clothes are so expensive because you are not paying for “$3,000 worth of silk, but the time and energy and effort that went into creating that dress,” Ariel Levy a reporter for The New Yorker wrote when interviewing Alber Elbaz the creative director of Lanvin fashion house. In this case your money is going into the time. The designer takes his time with every stitch and cut made into the fabric. The quality of the item will in turn be better because of the time and care it takes to produce just one item.
The decision to wear designer clothes also shows who you are as a person. VHS junior, Gabi Mottola, has a very eccentric sense of style.
“I like to wear things that people are to scared to wear themselves,” Gabi says. Gabi pairs pieces for Hot Topic with items from “really girly stores” and loves they reaction that people give when she tells them where she got her clothes from.
If you see someone wearing Ralph Lauren or JCrew you can tell right away they are preppy. Their “preppyness” is expressed through these designers. Or if you see someone wearing Free People or Lucky Brand they are usually a little earthier. VHS junior, Emily Gagliostro, admits she “strives for a polished, classy look,” finding the needs for her look at the Gap, JCrew and The Loft. She admits that she loves the designer clothes but can’t stand the prices. Emily has found a way around the high prices by going to a designer consignment store, “it’s a great way to find designer clothes at a fraction of the cost,” Emily said.
The idea of a designer consignment store allows people to keep their status high and wallets full.
If you went to Forever 21, odds are that about a million other people who have that same shirt you just bought. If you went to Neiman Marcus and bought $600 pair of Dior heels you are more likely to be unique. That’s not saying that to be unique you need to have a $600 pair of shoes; it’s just that the likelihood of running into a person with those same shoes is slim to none. Now running into someone with that shirt, that’s a different story.
Some people would compare designer clothes to art and to others it is just a piece of overpriced fabric. For people who have money to burn, they would not think twice about buying an item that is expensive because they want nothing but the best quality. For those who aren’t as lucky, they might pick the $40 shoes over the $400 shoes. It all comes down to how much people are willing to spend and how much they care about their social status.