Most Overpriced Designer? #1

[rach2jlc]

I am surprised that not many mentioned Hermes.
I don't get the prices on their bags and clothes.
Can anyone please explain?

Good question. While the quality on Hermes is very, very high, (especially for leather goods), most of the high price is simply because of the name.

For example, I've heard that for their leather goods they reject over 98% of the hides that they are sent. So, you are guaranteed that the leather in your bag is of the highest quality. Nevertheless, is it worth as much as a small car, as in the case of a kelly or (especially) a Birkin? I don't know; I'll let you know when and if I ever have that much for a bag...

For their ready-to-wear, shoes, and non-leather pieces, the prices are really crazy. They usually outsource them to factories around Europe that make clothes and such for other companies, or their own labels, out of the same materials at 1/3 or 1/4 the price. The rest of that price is simply the Hermes name and the buyer's recognition of that name and its supposed "quality." Yes, it is high quality, but the savvy shopper can find the same quality elsewhere.

John

 

[kit]

Good question. While the quality on Hermes is very, very high, (especially for leather goods), most of the high price is simply because of the name.

For example, I've heard that for their leather goods they reject over 98% of the hides that they are sent. So, you are guaranteed that the leather in your bag is of the highest quality. Nevertheless, is it worth as much as a small car, as in the case of a kelly or (especially) a Birkin? I don't know; I'll let you know when and if I ever have that much for a bag...

For their ready-to-wear, shoes, and non-leather pieces, the prices are really crazy. They usually outsource them to factories around Europe that make clothes and such for other companies, or their own labels, out of the same materials at 1/3 or 1/4 the price. The rest of that price is simply the Hermes name and the buyer's recognition of that name and its supposed "quality." Yes, it is high quality, but the savvy shopper can find the same quality elsewhere.

John

Absolutely , John .

I am an enormous fan of Hermes , but I DO recognise that they trade on their name to such an extent , that 5000% is not unusual for the premium added to the manufactured article , and I'm talking RTW here , NOT the leather bags , luggage , maroquinerie , etc .

Belvest make their suits for men , so do they also make for Louis Vuitton , at less than half the markup .

I was under the understanding that with their ateliers for bags , the RTW leather jackets , coats , etc , would also be made in house .
NOT SO . The leather jackets are indeed made by probably the last renowned
leather clothes factory left in France , ( since the demise of Paris-based IDEAL CUIR ) - SERAPHIN , based in the South of France .

Much of the knitwear is made of unsurpassing fibre in Italy , by factories who make for Armani , Avon Celli etc etc .

They used only to carry the John Lobb RTW shoes and boots in the Hermes boutiques , as they own John Lobb, Paris ( RTW- Made in Northhamton footwear for men , and also John Lobb, Paris , bespoke , in the Rue Marbeuf , the styles being practically the same as the original Lobb in London , now totally independent of the Hermes owned Lobb . )

Hermes have introduced an Italian -made line of boots and shoes for the boutiques , now , and not bad they are too , except for the exhorbitant price , and the customer who wishes to buy Lobb RTW , must attend the dedicated flagship stores in Jermyn Street , London , the one in NYC etc etc .

What one can certainly say is that the Daumas-Hermes family certainly know how to market their truly luxury goods .

And so it goes on . One pays for the NAME with Hermes , not to SCREAM luxury , as Tom Ford attempted with his labels , but to discretely reveal to fellow discerning customers that one can afford the best .

 

[masquerade]

Guess
Marciano

marciano is definately ridiculously priced, especially for things that look like stripper gear.

guess is pretty expensive, but they put all their stuff on sale so quickly and have such a broad sale selection, you can easily get guess clothes for 70%

 

[Jacque Marcel]

Club Monaco - can't justify paying full price for it. always get it on sale, the cheaper the better

 

[fouroclock]

marciano is definately ridiculously priced, especially for things that look like stripper gear.

guess is pretty expensive, but they put all their stuff on sale so quickly and have such a broad sale selection, you can easily get guess clothes for 70%

Yeah. I hate that. When the sale rices are ridiculously low people catch on that they're getting ripped off.

 

[morgan38]

Chanel, Marc Jacobs, and Dior!...especially Dior

 

[coke]

Yeah. I hate that. When the sale rices are ridiculously low people catch on that they're getting ripped off.

i own a few pairs of guess jeans that i bought on sale for $14 each, which is a price you wont find anywhere. they fit my body shape very nicely, and havent gotten any holes. not too bad. wouldnt say i got ripped off.

 

[emma peel]

Requiem for overpriced designer: in spite of the many trashy logo designs costing hundreds of dollars that almost look better as cheap chinatown knockoffs, i have to cast my pitying vote on Yohji Yamamoto, who has no business charging hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for a white rayon blouse, or even more on plain black cotton pants. Amen.

 

[dragonlance]

1. Dior Homme!!!! overpriced unwearable clothes.

2. Dsquared.......overpriced campy clothes....but looks like they are becoming cheap lately considering they moved their manufacturer from italy to china!

3. Galliano for Homme....i know all of you fashion experts can just start throwing rocks at me screaming "ignorant!!" but i mean come on....they are unwearable!!! Have u ever seen someone walked down the street with oversized overpriced coat?!?!?!?!

....anyway...just a few thoughts.......

 

[drexl]

1. Dior Homme!!!! overpriced unwearable clothes.

2. Dsquared.......overpriced campy clothes....but looks like they are becoming cheap lately considering they moved their manufacturer from italy to china!

3. Galliano for Homme....i know all of you fashion experts can just start throwing rocks at me screaming "ignorant!!" but i mean come on....they are unwearable!!! Have u ever seen someone walked down the street with oversized overpriced coat?!?!?!?!

Dude, Dior Homme unwearable? Are you kidding? Overpriced sometimes yes (especially for t-shirts and footwear) but unwearable they are most definitely not. But when you try on a Dior Homme suit, you know where your money went, impeccable tailoring. Galliano's menswear is most definitely overpriced, but not all pieces are unwearable. I have a white Galliano jacket which I purchased because it was very wearable (in fact more so than another Les Hommes jacket I was eyeing) and it is very well cut.

I'll agree wholeheartedly on Dsquared though.

 

[fouroclock]

i own a few pairs of guess jeans that i bought on sale for $14 each, which is a price you wont find anywhere. they fit my body shape very nicely, and havent gotten any holes. not too bad. wouldnt say i got ripped off.

I was talking about the people who don't buy when it's a sale.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

i think the popular brands are kind of overpriced, some of them make really crappy material for really high prices it's ridiculous.

brands like:
Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi.. too much, I don't think 50% of this world can afford it.

 

[fuchimama]

DSquared

 

[coke]

I was talking about the people who don't buy when it's a sale.

oops read it wrong. but very true.

 

[Fade to Black]

1. Dior Homme!!!! overpriced unwearable clothes.

2. Dsquared.......overpriced campy clothes....but looks like they are becoming cheap lately considering they moved their manufacturer from italy to china!

3. Galliano for Homme....i know all of you fashion experts can just start throwing rocks at me screaming "ignorant!!" but i mean come on....they are unwearable!!! Have u ever seen someone walked down the street with oversized overpriced coat?!?!?!?!

....anyway...just a few thoughts.......

I definitely disagree that Dior Homme is unwearable...it's probably one of the more wearable brands for menswear out there right now, especially the past couple seasons. I've never seen any of the earlier stuff in person so I can't comment on that. Although I agree that some of it is way overpriced, such as that $500+ plaid cowboy shirt from this past S/S and the Pete Doherty glitter shirt from coming F/W. I don't really get their pricing sometimes...how is a plain button down shirt gonna cost more than a sweater!

As for DSquared, I am thoroughly convinced that the Twins are turning this brand into a project to see how far they can push the envelope and still achieve sky-high sales thanks to fashion victims worldwide...in the Mong Kok area of Hong Kong you can buy "factory reject" DSquared t-shirts from current season that are basically the real thing (EXACTLY the same prints, distressing, etc. so they're technically not fakes) but rejected by boutiques for whatever reason for $20. Their whole "Made in Italy" thing is a scam, it's all crap quality clothing that is mass produced in China for extremely cheap prices. It's no wonder they're making so much money.

I've seen some nice tailored Galliano Homme pieces online, such as the black suit jacket and slim black pants on Minorityrev a while ago, but all the stuff I've actually seen in person from GH seems pretty unwearable and definitely overpriced.

 

[VICTIM]

1. Dior Homme!!!! overpriced unwearable clothes.

2. Dsquared.......overpriced campy clothes....but looks like they are becoming cheap lately considering they moved their manufacturer from italy to china!

3. Galliano for Homme....i know all of you fashion experts can just start throwing rocks at me screaming "ignorant!!" but i mean come on....they are unwearable!!! Have u ever seen someone walked down the street with oversized overpriced coat?!?!?!?!

....anyway...just a few thoughts.......

do you mean Dior Homme is unwearable due to the sizing (thats the only reason i can think of that someone would call it unwearable) yeah i totally agree with some of the pricings

 

[LeLuna]

Dude, Dior Homme unwearable? Are you kidding? Overpriced sometimes yes (especially for t-shirts and footwear) but unwearable they are most definitely not. But when you try on a Dior Homme suit, you know where your money went, impeccable tailoring. Galliano's menswear is most definitely overpriced, but not all pieces are unwearable. I have a white Galliano jacket which I purchased because it was very wearable (in fact more so than another Les Hommes jacket I was eyeing) and it is very well cut.

I'll agree wholeheartedly on Dsquared though.

Couldn't agree more. I fell in loe at the very first sight for the suits

 

[juji]

Absolutely , John .

I am an enormous fan of Hermes , but I DO recognise that they trade on their name to such an extent , that 5000% is not unusual for the premium added to the manufactured article , and I'm talking RTW here , NOT the leather bags , luggage , maroquinerie , etc .

Belvest make their suits for men , so do they also make for Louis Vuitton , at less than half the markup .

I was under the understanding that with their ateliers for bags , the RTW leather jackets , coats , etc , would also be made in house .
NOT SO . The leather jackets are indeed made by probably the last renowned
leather clothes factory left in France , ( since the demise of Paris-based IDEAL CUIR ) - SERAPHIN , based in the South of France .

Much of the knitwear is made of unsurpassing fibre in Italy , by factories who make for Armani , Avon Celli etc etc .

They used only to carry the John Lobb RTW shoes and boots in the Hermes boutiques , as they own John Lobb, Paris ( RTW- Made in Northhamton footwear for men , and also John Lobb, Paris , bespoke , in the Rue Marbeuf , the styles being practically the same as the original Lobb in London , now totally independent of the Hermes owned Lobb . )

Hermes have introduced an Italian -made line of boots and shoes for the boutiques , now , and not bad they are too , except for the exhorbitant price , and the customer who wishes to buy Lobb RTW , must attend the dedicated flagship stores in Jermyn Street , London , the one in NYC etc etc .

What one can certainly say is that the Daumas-Hermes family certainly know how to market their truly luxury goods .

And so it goes on . One pays for the NAME with Hermes , not to SCREAM luxury , as Tom Ford attempted with his labels , but to discretely reveal to fellow discerning customers that one can afford the best .

wow, how did you know all this?

 

[fashionista-ta]

In defense of a couple of the labels that have been criticized ...

I had a double-breasted classic wool herringbone Kors jacket that I wore for a number of years. It looked fabulous and it felt like your oldest flannel pajama top on. This is because Kors drapes using the actual target fabric (not muslin) on fit models that resemble real women. I grant you the line can be perceived as lacking in style and originality, but that's the justification for the price. No question but that I got my money's worth from that jacket.

Marc Jacobs ... those who've said he has no business charging what long-established designers do may have a point. He is a generous advertiser, and while it's true that we pay for it when we buy his stuff, he's also supporting the fashion publications we wouldn't like to live without in a substantial way. I have a Marc by Marc silk skirt that fits me like it was made for me, and is quite well-made. I wish the silk were a bit more substantial, but for such filmy fabric it really is holding up great. You do have to pick and choose with this line, but isn't that generally true, particularly of diffusion lines?

Burberry ... I still have the trench I bought in college almost 20 years ago. I take it to the cleaners every so often, and most people think it's a recent buy. All my umbrellas are Burberry and I take them back to the store for repair with no problem. In fact, last time I did so, the display guy came sprinting out to offer to trade me anything on the shelf for the ones I was bringing in (with the lovely wooden handles with burnt-in logo that they don't make anymore). When I said no thanks I could see the saleswoman breathe a sign of relief

As for Chanel, that's not just a jacket you're getting for your 5000 bucks--you get a free skirt, too! Feel better now, doncha? It's interesting, when looking for a new bag for Fall, I've started to think that Chanel is a bargain compared to Dior, Lanvin, and others ... It's also important to remember the service Chanel has rendered to the industry by buying up all the little couture specialists in France to keep the whole thing afloat.

Dooney ... if you don't mind the lack of style (and I do), it's a bargain. You can keep trading everything back in for credit on a new piece ... I wish an accessories company I actually want to buy from would offer me this

Ralph Lauren ... I haven't worn much of his stuff lately ... in the past I've noticed that the quality/fit could be extremely uneven from piece to piece, presumably due to dicey third-world manufacture ...

My overall view on this topic is that stuff wears out, some stuff more quickly than others. A t-shirt lasts a season at best. The highest quality in the world can't change that basic fact of life. You sweat in a $300 T the same as you do in a $30 T. Your spaghetti sauce will splash on the $300 T every bit as much (if not more than the $30 T). Leather soles wear out. All of them. Leather toes scuff. All of them. I try to keep these basic facts in mind when choosing where to drop my money. The bottom line is this: I do expect good quality, but perhaps even more, I expect style. High style and detail are what I pay big bucks for.

I also think there's a level of display and spending that's obscene. I live in a warm climate and believe fur here is ostentatious period and I refuse to wear it. Women here start pulling out their fur coats at 50 degrees and it's absolutely laughable. I view it as a set of statements I will never want to make.

 

[Lena]

i'll also agree with fashionista-ta, good value for money stands only over time and wearability..
since i dont buy designer i couldnt share personal views on what label is overpriced and what is not, i have few cdg items that are very good value for money but thats all