Is Mid- to High-End Clothing truly worth the price?

[paul_22]

I can't disagree with you there. The sale rack is a nice place to pick up some items. My problem lies in dishing out $500 for a tie, not with the brand name item itself. So yeah, the sale rack is a definite thumbs-up

Although I do disagree with the "peasants" part. All of us have seen plenty of BMWs, Mercs, Caddies, and Lexuses (Lexi?) in the Wal-Mart parking lot

Paul

 

[RedLantern]

I will never understand people who pay full retail for crap clothing (or most other things). Shop around and it is easy to find quailty goods at less than what one would pay retail for crap. For example most people go out and spend 3-500 dollars on a crappy suit but if you wait around long enough you can find something awesome on B&S or ebay for that price or less, new with tags even!

I don't even have a problem with people who dont care about style and want to wear target\\walmart clothes, I'm just amazed they pay retail. Ironically it seems like it is the poorest and those with much more time than money who don't bother shopping around!

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]

Originally Posted by paul_22

Doesn't keeping a suit for years run counter to the very notion of style..? What good is an old Armani suit or Blass tie, regardless of what you paid for it in 2001?

'Style' does not equal 'fashion'

Fashions come and go, but certain clothes will take a long time to go out of style, if they do at all...

 

[ppllzz]

yes. my whole life, i've been skeptical of high end clothing... i mean if its a cotton shirt, its a cotton shirt, but recently i bought one of the PRL by lorenzini shirts, and it is sooo comfortable, and definitely worth the extra $30 (if you are buying at the outlet). also, the pants from my polo black label suit are soooo soft and comfy, much better than from my blue label suit, and better than the wool pants i have from hugo boss. incotex has been somewhat underwhelming though, the fit is much slimmer, but aside from my incochinos, they are not much more comfortable than regular pants (jcrew), but i cant complain since i got them at a similar price point. in terms of shoes, my allen-edmonds definitely look far better than my eccos, but i can't tell a big comfort difference. i also don't buy into the whole raw denim thing... i'm sure they will look good, but super rigid jeans aren't that comfy...

 

[Douglas]

High-end clothing is like anything else. Think cars or high-end audio equipment.

Some of it is truly better. It fits better, the materials are nicer, the handwork, quality control, construction, detailing, are all superior.

Some of it is not truly better. Some of it is driven by advertising, other stuff just gets high markup because of its luxury appeal.

As others have mentioned, this forum is a good place to help learn where the real "value" is in high-end clothing. Lots of folks on here have lots of experience with different brands, different manufacturers, and have the knowledge to sort good from bad. To use a few examples: Most on here would tell you that Isaia really is worth the money, Boss not so much. There are real differences in the materials used and the quality of construction and the nature of the fit.

However, you have to remember that expensive clothes are not necessary. They are a luxury. And the vast majority of people are, frankly, not capable of recognizing the superiority of truly fine clothing. Here's where the car/stereo analogy comes in. A car's basic job is to move you quickly from point A to point B. And a stereo's job is to play music. There is a lot of status that can come from owning a fancy car, or a huge stereo, or a name brand suit. But that cachet has attracted a lot of businesses who realize that if you make it loud enough and market it well enough, it doesn't have to be made all that well and people will still buy it at a huge markup just to have the status that goes with it.

There are lunatic fringes out there (StyleForum is, by definition, a clothing lunatic fringe) that really obsess about these things. And there are audiophiles who can tell you about the warmth of the midrange or the air between instruments when listening to a particular low-wattage/high-efficiency tube amp/horn speaker setup made by some esoteric tiny company that no normal person has ever heard of. But most folks don't know enough to hear the differences between high-end systems. Frankly, they're more likely to ask "Dude, how many amps is your subwoofer? Crank some hip-hop, bro, let's hear this baby CRANK!"

Clothes are the same way. 100% of people will notice you're wearing a pocket square, but 90% of them will ask you why it doesn't match your tie. 80% will say "nice suit" when in fact you're wearing an odd jacket and odd trousers.

Contrary to many of the opinions on here, I don't think most women notice really good men's clothes. They're more likely to fawn over your Mark Jacobs cowboy boots than your Edward Greens. In fact, they'll think your EGs look like old man shoes.

Ultimately, you have to decide if you want to look really good, classic, and elegant, and wear clothes that are more formal than the norm and that will stand the test of time. You can't dress well for others, because most others aren't discerning enough to identify good from bad. Again, come back to the stereo analogy. If you're going to be a tweaker listening to old jazz albums on vinyl, you can't be doing it because you expect women (or any other normal human being) to share your appreciation. It has to be for you.

And if it really is for you, then yes, high-end clothing with proper fits and construction is worth it.

EDIT: That doesn't mean you can't find high-end clothing on deep discounts that make it even more worth it!

 

[DocHolliday]

Originally Posted by Douglas

EDIT: That doesn't mean you can't find high-end clothing on deep discounts that make it even more worth it!

Love the edit. That's SF for you.

 

[JR88]

Originally Posted by Christofuh

Paying $40K-plus for a Jaguar boasting a tweaked Ford motor and built on a Ford platform is what I'd call psychologically disturbing.
In terms of shoes/clothes the price-value equation for the most part resides in your head.
How else could one explain the success the likes of Prada are having while hawking made-in-Vietnam sneakers for $400+

Mass marketing can have a powerful effect. Like Sator says, it used to be that people placed a premium on the best (of everything -- cars, clothes, restaurants, theater, music). Now, the "best" is what used to be midbrow, thanks to stylish ad campaigns and network television and dimished attention spans.

 

[RJman]

If you feel strongly enough about it to question whether it's worth it, it's not.

High-end clothing, unless it's flashy logo-festooned stuff to attract people's attention, is only worth wearing for your own edification.

Everything else is diminishing returns and false economies. A pair of $4500 bespoke shoes might last until you're long dead, but at $700 a resoling, is it really a savings?

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by RJman

High-end clothing, unless it's flashy logo-festooned stuff to attract people's attention, is only worth wearing for your own edification.


+1

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by RJman

If you feel strongly enough about it to question whether it's worth it, it's not.

High-end clothing, unless it's flashy logo-festooned stuff to attract people's attention, is only worth wearing for your own edification.

Everything else is diminishing returns and false economies. A pair of $4500 bespoke shoes might last until you're long dead, but at $700 a resoling, is it really a savings?

You are right: there is a point of diminishing returns. A $4500 pair of bespoke shoes won't be any studier than a pair of Vass or EG RTW shoes for a fraction of that price. If you do get bespoke shoes, find a maker who charges a more reasonable resoling fee.

Also, if you buy shoes like a Shoe Fairy, then there is actually no need to buy sturdy shoes, as they don't get worn often enough to wear out. Also even Shoe Fairies run out of closet space so you want your shoes to auto-destruct so as to justify buying more of them.

 

[Broadway]

A very level-headed discussion. For me, the key to a good wardrobe is patience. Find cheap(er) brands that are your style and fit you fairly well, and use that as your baseline to build up a better wardrobe of either items that fit you perfectly and/or expensive items on super sale. That way, you have a solid foundation to build from and are not in a hurry to spend a lot on a "name" which, at the end of the day, may not fit you and thus becomes an empty tag. Also, as a bonus, you may find that the cheaper baseline wardrobe is the best fit for you. The best-fitting navy blazer I've ever owned is from the RL cheap cheap "Lauren" discount line - the damned thing is off the discount rack and looks tailored on me (I'm short but athletically stocky).

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by Sator

You are right: there is a point of diminishing returns. A $4500 pair of bespoke shoes won't be any studier than a pair of Vass or EG RTW shoes for a fraction of that price. If you do get bespoke shoes, find a maker who charges a more reasonable resoling fee.
I'm not going to quibble about this. If you want a pair of bespoke shoes resoled by hand with the same care with which they are made, you're not going to get it done for much less.

 

[Toorman]

Some people do enjoy the feeling of being associated with a particular brand and its image/ lifestyle/ commentary, etc. and derive satisfaction from that. For the uninitiated it's a way to feel as if they are purchasing the best without having to make any effort. The truth is we know that just because one item is more expensive than another doesn't make it better. Some high-end brands are simply marketing machines that invest far more in promotion than in producing quality items (or in actuality licensing them as they don't manufacture anything). The key is, once you have done your homework you can differentiate reality from perception and spend your money wisely. You will understand the importance of fit and construction in a suit, differentiate between a goodyear welted sole and one that is glued on, etc. Best of all, when you stumble upon these items on sale you can pounce and score great deals and purchase high quality garments for the same price the uneducated pay for crap. (A special thanks to the gentleman at Bloomingdale's that rejected his SA's advice on purchasing the lone solid grey Corneliani at 55% off and opting for the grey Hugo Boss because, "everyone knows Boss makes the best suits."

 

[AtLeastITried]

Thank you all for the prolific response.

Keep writing!

 

[upnorth]

One of my esteemed colleague, who subscribes to the greater fool theory, used to say that the piece of clothing is worth its price if he knows that another sucker paid more for it than he did. This is probably why I also derive great satisfaction scoring great bargains at the sales rack.

For me, the relative "worth" is mainly a function of how much satisfaction and ulitsation I get out of it. I have dress shirts bought for $30 that I've never worn and I've also own shirts costing $150 each and worn them at least once or twice a week for several years now, which means the cost per wear is much lesser. Over years of observation, I've found it's better to buy half as many items for twice the quality than the reverse.

Personally, I despise buying based solely on brands or absolute price and I will never pay full retail for high end clothing, unless of course it were a bespoke experience, wherein the education and establishment of a tailor-client relationship, pays for itself many times over.