Search Style Sheets: Your Photos, Your Looks

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• alice

  BRAVO!

• twigs

  Thank you. There’s really nothing else to say about this.

• lena

  Erm, that makes no sense.
  Affordable or not – it’s subjective.
  What’s affordable for you may be too expensive for someone else. And vice-versa, that’s how it works.
  I’m quite sure that your classification of GAP sweater as “affordable” would be quite shocking for someone who shops only in Primark. Despite that why would you care if your shoes are considered “cheap”. Isn’t it more about the look and feeling than looking pricy?

• http://twitter.com/pinkyracr Susanna Schick

  if you had any concept of how much more it costs for Rag & Bone to make that “nearly identical” sweater in NYC than it does for Gap to make it in CHINA, you’d stop whining about the price and start supporting brands that are made in America.

  The only pricing I deem “overpriced” is when a designer who has historically manufactured someplace with fair labor laws and good wages begins manufacturing in China, but does not lower their prices. I hate to begrudge them their profit, as the quality coming out of China is exceptional now.

  But the fact remains that Chinese labor practices and wages are mostly subpar. And if their customer is accustomed to paying a premium for “Made in Italy, USA, South Africa, France, etc” why should I pay the same premium knowing it’s no longer going to support decent jobs in countries that have not stolen most of the world’s manufacturing work by keeping their currency undervalued?

• Adrianaephotography

  Bravo, well put!!!

• Moe13a

  Church! I feel this way every time I read a fashion blog or article. Especially with us at the rear end of a recession, how dare they throw the word ‘affordable’ around so loosely. I am a NY city grad student who’s taste is far beyond her pocket and while living in the city provides much inspiration and joy, it is also a constant reminder of what I don’t have (yet). I love reading all the critiques but critiquers please be conscious of the mass you are preaching to.

  On a side note, this site has been guilty of the same, but I still do appreciate this piece!

• Jessicalynnh

  Thanks for the much needed call-out. The fashion press needs a serious reality check. And let us not forget that so many of those fashion editors that are commenting on the cost of clothing are getting a lot of stuff for free. So yeah, please don’t stand there in your free Prada dress and tell me that $400 boots are “affordable.”

  So let’s look a little closer at this: Let’s say you love fashion and you buy one complete outfit per month, and you budget 15% of your monthly income for clothes. An outfit from “affordable” designer Alexander Wang, consisting of a top ($545) plus a blazer ($530) and a pair of pants ($365) from his signature line will set you back $1440. That’s not counting the shoes, bag and statement necklace you’ll need to make this outfit sing, but your budget’s tight and you only buy 1 or 2 of those per year, so we won’t even count that. So you’re out $1440 and that’s 15% of your monthly take-home pay. That means you bring in $9,600 per month, and $115,200 per year AFTER TAXES. That means your official salary would have to be somewhere closer to $172,000 per year (if you live in NYC and pay state and city taxes, like I do), in order to afford to buy one outfit per month from this “affordable” designer.

  How many Americans are bringing in that kind of money? Well, only about 6% are making more than $100,000. So yeah, for the rest of us making between $40,000 and $80,000 a year, no, Alexander Wang is definitely NOT affordable.

• Turtle

  Time to face reality and start shopping at the salvation army….that’s real shopping!

• http://twitter.com/wavyJACKS Jacqueline Frances

  Hold the phone, people. The author of this article, Justin, is just writing this article on behalf of those that cannot afford the well-made clothing from high-end labels. Most people, yes — most (esp. in our economy), cringe at the word “affordable” when in fact, a $375 tank top from Alexander Wang – truly is NOT affordable to many. The point is that people in the fashion world need to stop assuming that EVERYONE makes an income that allows themselves to be able to splurge on a $375 tank top for that price … yes?

  Although I agree with Lena above about affordable being “subjective,” Justin makes a valid point. Most of the U.S. is in a recession (if you are part of the population that isn’t, you’re blessed and don’t take it for granted!) and I appreciate him, in a way, speaking for “the people.”

  I live in CA and this state is in an economic downward spiral than the entire country as a WHOLE. While it’s easy for the commenter above, Susanna, to say that Americans should be buying American products and not products from China – it is easier SAID (or in this case, written) than done because of millions of people feeling the effects of the sh_tty economy =/

  With that said, I completely agree with the author. It’s nice to see someone writing/working in the fashion industry, feeling the same way about that word as many people do!

• http://twitter.com/wavyJACKS Jacqueline Frances

  Honey, clearly Justin has a concept of how much more it costs for Rag & Bone to make a “nearly identical” sweater in New York City than for Gap in China. Do you not realize that he iS writing for a FASHION website? Let’s not dumb down the writer and insult his intelligence and claim that he is “whining” when he is merely writing his opinion – which so many others of America clearly share, but are unwilling to admit.

• NYNM

  thankyouthankyouthankyou