JFK Suit Article/Inflationary Pressures on Bespoke

[black_umbrella]

So Vox posted this little article on JFK's suits on his blog

Vox Article

ostensibly to talk about European influences on the guys who's considered quintessentially the american trad dresser. You can find the LIFE article he mentions on google books right here.

Sorta an interesting article in its own right. What I found most interesting was the cost of his suits $225.00 in 1961, which according to the CPI calculator runs out to about $1700.00 in present buying power. This is by no means a cheap suit, but almost entry level for high-end RTW at this point. Not the nearly 2.5K (or 5K) that it would take to get into a saville-row shop these days. So what's up? Fewer suppliers of supplies and manpower causing prices to go up? Luxury premium?

edit: for this of you who care CPI calculator

 

[cptjeff]

Economies of scale. In JFK's day, every man would have worn a suit on a daily basis. Stuff like fusing wasn't yet invented, or at least in wide use. So there was a lot higher production of what we now know as high end stuff, and as a result, it was cheaper. Now, bespoke is pretty much an exclusively boutique thing. Back then, walking into a tailor was a fairly normal thing for most guys. More tailors with more customers means they can operate on lower margins and compete on price.

Incidentally, the same thing happened with shoes. Johnston and Murphys used to be great shoes by today's standards, and Florshiems, which were worn by just about every halfway successful businessman in the country, were better than any shoe made in the US today.

For that matter, before RTW, everybody got their clothes tailor made. They would make them at home if they were poor (or for kids clothes) but quite literally every man would go to a tailor. Back then, Tailoring was a pretty low paid, workman like occupation, as was cordwaining (making shoes). Times and economies have changed.

 

[jeff13007]



So Vox posted this little article on JFK's suits on his blog
Vox Article
ostensibly to talk about European influences on the guys who's considered quintessentially the american trad dresser. You can find the LIFE article he mentions on google books right here.
Sorta an interesting article in its own right. What I found most interesting was the cost of his suits $225.00 in 1961, which according to the CPI calculator runs out to about $1700.00 in present buying power. This is by no means a cheap suit, but almost entry level for high-end RTW at this point. Not the nearly 2.5K (or 5K) that it would take to get into a saville-row shop these days. So what's up? Fewer suppliers of supplies and manpower causing prices to go up? Luxury premium?
edit: for this of you who care CPI calculator

Maybe Fabric prices have gone up? The 2.5k at the savile row shops usually include price of their fabrics or like 80% of what they have.

 

[black_umbrella]

I agree with the supply/demand argument, but why would that include the top tier (maybe JFK was not using top tier I don't know. Somebody with more knowledge would have to chime in here)? Does the low end really have that much of a depressive effect here? Modern experience would surely refute that considering the cost of a RTW suit is less than half of the cost in 1961. In real terms.

Cloth cost should have been depressed even further considering the textile capacity in china and elsewhere, also gains in loom quantity and speed.

edit - spelling

 

[F. Corbera]

Perhaps JFK got the Despos Discount at Harris.

 

[black_umbrella]



Perhaps JFK got the Despos Discount at Harris.

Really? Damnit! See this is why grad school was a bad idea...

 

[negusnegas]

I wouldn't be surprised if it had a lot to do with raw material prices. I feel as if the cost of labor even in the last three to five years has remained relatively stable, but the price of all raw materials has increased exponentially.

 

[black_umbrella]

yeah, but coarse wool has stayed relatively flat from 1981 until right around 2002. The only data I could quickly find.

Those of you that go bespoke often, does that time scale jive with any price increases you've seen?

edit - Fine wool is proably the commodity I should have tracked. It's been even flatter. except for a spike in 1988.

 

[black_umbrella]

Maybe the question I should really ask is "what level is harris on" and can you get something at that level for $2K?

 

[F. Corbera]

Good caviar was about 40 cents/kilogram at the outbreak of WWI.

I hope that's helpful.

 

[black_umbrella]



Good caviar was about 40 cents/kilogram at the outbreak of WWI.
I hope that's helpful.

Damn, see what the environmentalists have done. Sturgeons have no feelings.

 

[bringusingoodale]

Shoot, I didn't know Vox had a blog. Thanks.

 

[black_umbrella]



Shoot, I didn't know Vox had a blog. Thanks.

And there went your 1K post, could have attempted to answer...

In other words, Congrats on your 1K post!

 

[yoyo]

This is a well described phenomenon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumol's_cost_disease