Serious question that's going to make you all angry.

This question again... sigh

What did you expect? This is styleforum not expensiveshitismoreeconomicalthanyouthinkforum

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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You're assuming people pay more for things simply to save money over the long term. There's no question you'd save a fortune by foregoing bespoke and buying suits from Target your whole life, simply replacing them as they wear out.

he is assuming that b/c many people make that exact case

who is the poster that has the signature that says something like

"those old waspy guys bought expensive shoes b/c they were so cheap"?

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

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What did you expect? This is styleforum not expensiveshitismoreeconomicalthanyouthinkforum



I actually lol'd

SF also promotes the myth of certain brands or levels of quality at which things "just fall apart" and they cite that buying a higher quality (read: more expensive) products means that they will last longer.

While this can be true in some cases, I do find it odd that I still wear (cheap) clothing that I purchased 8-10 years ago and it hasn't fallen apart in any way. But if I were to ask, "Should I buy these Cole Hanns" I'd get 50 replies telling me that they will fall apart in 4 months and that I should buy something that will last 30 years.

But I am honestly curious as to what people are doing to their clothes that causes them to fall apart? I have yet, in my lifetime, to replace an article of clothing because it fell apart. Almost everything I replace is because I would like a new design, old stuff gets donated and that's that.

Of course, I never purchase anything I believe to be of inferior quality. It may be considered such on SF, but as long as it looks like it will hold up for me, then it's good enough.

Originally Posted by celery

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SF also promotes the myth of certain brands or levels of quality at which things "just fall apart" and they cite that buying a higher quality (read: more expensive) products means that they will last longer.

While this can be true in some cases, I do find it odd that I still wear (cheap) clothing that I purchased 8-10 years ago and it hasn't fallen apart in any way. But if I were to ask, "Should I buy these Cole Hanns" I'd get 50 replies telling me that they will fall apart in 4 months and that I should buy something that will last 30 years.

But I am honestly curious as to what people are doing to their clothes that causes them to fall apart? I have yet, in my lifetime, to replace an article of clothing because it fell apart. Almost everything I replace is because I would like a new design, old stuff gets donated and that's that.

Of course, I never purchase anything I believe to be of inferior quality. It may be considered such on SF, but as long as it looks like it will hold up for me, then it's good enough.

Some great points there, I can specifically relate to never replacing an article of clothing because it fell apart. I have some good stuff, and I have some cheap stuff, and nothing has ever fallen apart. Despite all the hate for them on SF, I have an old pair of brown Kenneth Cole shoes (paid $80 for them, and no they don't have square toes) that have lasted me 3 years and show no signs of wear outside of the usual creasing, etc that one would expect a 3 year old shoe to have. Am I going to argue that they are better quality shoes than Alden of AE? Of course not, but they will probably last me another 3 years if I treat them right, so I think it's clear that I've gotten my money's worth.

I don't think anyone is expecting to save money in the long run by buying more expensive, better quality shoes. In my example, if these shoes can last me 2 more years, the total cost would be $16 per year....by comparison, a $1200 pair of "luxury" shoes would have to last 75 years to be as cost-effective (probably more actually, when you factor in the cost of resoling the shoes every 3 years or so). The simple fact has already been stated that some people are willing to pay far more for a slightly better product, or work harder to find deeper discounts for a better product, as some have said.

Seriously, if you don't see the point of buying nice shoes rather than getting some perfectly functional shoes from Macy's, what the hell are you doing on Styleforum?

Also: Dear OP, nobody likes a snob.

Originally Posted by Bartolo

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What's the point of buying a car more expensive than a Ford Escort? They all get you to the same place at roughly the speed limit.

/thread

Originally Posted by dsmolken

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I wonder how many people would notice if your expensive watch wasn't running. Probably very few. If you have a pocketwatch, you could probably leave it broken for 20 years with no one noticing.

I met the COO of a major global corporation a year or so ago, who was wearing a vintage Blancpain that was, to even a casual observer, clearly not running. My guess is that few people noticed - I was only looking as I like watches and was interested to see what he was wearing!

Originally Posted by RogerC

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Bring it down to calculation. In European money:
1 pair of C&J: €500
cost per resoling: €65 (at least, at my cobbler)
over 15 years, assuming you resole every three years: €825

1 pair of standard department shoes: €100
Lifetime: 1 year
over 15 years: €1500

And this is before we start talking about the environment, animal health & welfare (the leather, y'know), etc.

Resole every three years? Must have a shoe rotation. needing more pairs and more resoles... by your math it is much more expensive to own higher grade shoes.

I voted for status. Why do we insist on kidding ourselves? Of course you appreciate the quality as well but dammit its sure as hell not more economical.

Cannot justify dumping $1000 on a pair of shoes but bit cheaper high quality ones that you can resole certainly beats throwaways.

Total cost in $ of replacement vs maintenance aside, which you can argue all you like, there is nothing more comfortable on your feet than an old familiar friend that you've been wearing and shaped to your feet over the many years.

If I could find shoes that looked great for $50, then I'd buy 5 pairs. Until I do, I'll stick to my more expensive and a hundred times more elegant shoes.

Originally Posted by bleachboy

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Also: Dear OP, nobody likes a snob.




- B

If I want to buy some thing, I can. I have money! Pure and simple. Do I buy things simply to impress? No! I worked to hard to get my money!