the buttons on a high end suit can cost much more than 10 euro. First hit on amazon for mother of pearl buttons is $36, and I’m sure there are more expensive materials in use. Likewise for fabric, I think. Do you need these things? No. But they exist, and you can pay for them.
Also typically the cost of clothing approximately doubles every times it changes hands, so if cost of product was $500, the retailer might pay $1000, and the consumer might pay $2000.
High fashion really is expensive just to be expensive, though.
The interesting thing is not even that high fashion is largely meant to signal wealth. People could be wearing some random tracksuit and show of their wealth with jewelry—that is actually a saner investment resales value wise. But that would be called “ghetto”, “not classy”, largely because it is so obvious.
High fashion is for people who want to show off wealth while not looking like someone who wants to show off wealth. Counter-signalling—people trying to look like someone who does not need to look wealthy anymore, because the people who do are middle class and these people are one level higher.
But since even this is too obvious, about 10-15 years ago a new category of people (I think it overlaps a lot with the category called “hipsters”) emerged who purposefully try to look poor / not conventionally rich and yet you can guess they have money because they always have the latest iProducts.
People could be wearing some random tracksuit and show of their wealth with jewelry—that is actually a saner investment resales value wise. But that would be called “ghetto”, “not classy”, largely because it is so obvious.
Men can wear expensive watches and women in high fashion do wear expensive jewelry.
Besides that a tailored item is a better signal for wealth than jewelry that can be loaned for an important event.
Shorter, clearer point: past a certain price point, buying clothes in shops is daft—Anything which you buy off rack is going to be strictly inferior in terms of fit and construction to the tailored version, so once you pass the price point where you could elect to patronize a tailor, the only possible reason to spend more money is status signaling. With a side order of signaling one does not grasp how to spend money correctly.
Personally I sew everything other than jeans. Hmm. You know what, I need a new suit or two anyway. This should make a funny blog post in about 2 weeks.
the buttons on a high end suit can cost much more than 10 euro. First hit on amazon for mother of pearl buttons is $36, and I’m sure there are more expensive materials in use. Likewise for fabric, I think. Do you need these things? No. But they exist, and you can pay for them.
Also typically the cost of clothing approximately doubles every times it changes hands, so if cost of product was $500, the retailer might pay $1000, and the consumer might pay $2000.
High fashion really is expensive just to be expensive, though.
The interesting thing is not even that high fashion is largely meant to signal wealth. People could be wearing some random tracksuit and show of their wealth with jewelry—that is actually a saner investment resales value wise. But that would be called “ghetto”, “not classy”, largely because it is so obvious.
High fashion is for people who want to show off wealth while not looking like someone who wants to show off wealth. Counter-signalling—people trying to look like someone who does not need to look wealthy anymore, because the people who do are middle class and these people are one level higher.
But since even this is too obvious, about 10-15 years ago a new category of people (I think it overlaps a lot with the category called “hipsters”) emerged who purposefully try to look poor / not conventionally rich and yet you can guess they have money because they always have the latest iProducts.
Men can wear expensive watches and women in high fashion do wear expensive jewelry.
Besides that a tailored item is a better signal for wealth than jewelry that can be loaned for an important event.
Shorter, clearer point: past a certain price point, buying clothes in shops is daft—Anything which you buy off rack is going to be strictly inferior in terms of fit and construction to the tailored version, so once you pass the price point where you could elect to patronize a tailor, the only possible reason to spend more money is status signaling. With a side order of signaling one does not grasp how to spend money correctly. Personally I sew everything other than jeans. Hmm. You know what, I need a new suit or two anyway. This should make a funny blog post in about 2 weeks.
Tailoring assumes unchanging weight/shape.