How much?

[oggbashan]

This Sunday, the Sunday Times Fashion supplement had a spread on dresses. One of them cost over 36,000 pounds.

That dress was tight fitting, had a wide side slit nearly to the waist, and could only be worn by someone very young with a very slim figure and fantastic legs. A tall slim 15 year-old might get away with it - but at that price?

This week I have been reading a book originally published in French by a newspaper columnist in the 1950s. He distinguishes between magazines published for the working class and what he, being French, describes as the bourgeoisie.

He states that in the cookery articles, the dishes for the working class are fantastic concoctions, superbly presented in full colour, that no working class mother would ever make. They are 'dream' dishes with expensive, unattainable ingredients. He contrasts them with the cookery advice in the bourgeois magazines that is practical and useable - 'how to use leftovers'. He implies that the working class are given dreams to aspire to and the middle-class are given reality.

If he is correct, what does that make the dresses in the Sunday Times? Impossible dreams for those who can't afford them?

What would be the highest price you would pay for an article of clothing?

Og

 

[impressive]

What would be the highest price you would pay for an article of clothing?

Depends on what it did for me.

If wearing it ensured that I landed a multi-million dollar contract that would secure the financial future of my family ... well, that'd color my decision. (Consider it -- and other similar scenarios -- an investment.)

If wearing it made my heart's desire want to ravish me ... well, that'd color my decision, too.

 

[Guest]

Aside from my boots, not much. Most of my wardrobe consists of Levi's or Wrangler jeans and polo/golf shirts. I do have a few pairs of slacks and a few dress shirts.

I do have a couple western "Bib" shirts that I payed $40 each for.

Jeans I can get for $20-25

Shirts, I can get for $12-15 if I needed to. (Seems like every company I have ever dealt with is constantly sending me shirts)

Athletic socks, $10 for six pairs.

The boots are another story. Western boots are the only footwear that I have ever found to be really comfortable. But I will not buy cheap crap like Dingo and ACME. I have one pair of Tony Llama buckskin boots with ray skin wing tips, $400. One pair of handmade black alligator tail boots, $600. and one pair of Nocona black calf skin, $300.

Understand however, I have had two of those pairs of boots for over 4 years and they are still in fine shape. The alligator boots I bought last year and expect them to last at least ten years. Same as any other pair of boots.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

My slacks are usually 90-110 (consider, the price is a little higher for a 38 inch inseam).

Shirts run about 40-50.

My shoes are 130.

My ties are 20-30.

My jackets are 150-200 (business day), my leather coat was 720 (casual).

 

[Boota]

Henry Rollins says that other than your boots no article of clothing should cost more than $9.00. I tend to agree.

 

[TheEarl]

I am a cheap-skate. Sad but true. I am a student, a licensed tax-dodger and, due to the way I was brought up, I am extremely frugal and I don't like spending excessive amounts on clothes.

This makes me a very annoying person to shop with.

Jeans: Under £20
T-shirt: Under £15
Jacket: Under £40
Smart shirt: Under £30
Suit: Under £150

Even if I was rich and famous, I'd still dress in jeans and a T-shirt for everyday living. My price for a suit and for smart shirts would almost certainly increase, but you would not catch me wearing expensive jeans. If I had a million pounds, you'd still find me buying £10 jeans from Tescos. They look good, they fit well. Why should I pay an extra £50 to have a Levis logo on my arse?

The Earl

Edited to say: For the benefit of the Yanks - be aware that clothing in England is a hell of a lot dearer than in the USA. To get an equivalent idea of price, you might be best just imagining every pound sign is a $.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I've shelled out 850$ for a corset. There was a time when I had the money to indulge myself and did so with abandon. That time is long past. Today I would have a very hard time spending 200$ on an outfit, much less one article of clothing. Of course, I don't get out much and, clothes horse that I am, I have plenty to last assuming I don't gain or loose a lot of weight suddenly.

How much you would pay depends on what you can spend and what need it serves. I took a girlfriend out a few weekends ago and helped her spend 1000$ on clothes. In her case, she just got a promotion from the back room to the front office and bussiness attire is required. She owned nothing that fit the bill, since she is primarily a casual dresser. On the flip side there, with cupons, her getting a charge card and making intelligent purchaces of mix and match separates, I saved her almost 500$ and she took home enough outfits to last her indefintely, unless bussiness style changes radically. She can now update her wardrobe periodically with modest purchasese.

If you are a high power executive, you have to spend what seems to us a rediculous amount on your clothes, you have to because here being percived as wealthy and successful is as important as being wealthy and successful. Few people will trust their bussiness needs to someone who shows up in blue jeans unless that someone is like Sam Walton and known to be eccentric or makes a point of not being flashy.

The clothes don't make the man or woman, but the perception the clothes and car make are important in getting deals done.

-Colly

 

[cheerful_deviant]

Most of my every day ware is department store stuff.

Pants $30-60
Shirts same

Casual shoes $50-200

My work clothes are actually more expensive.

Good work shirts (ventilated for the heat, or warm for the winter) are anywhere from $20-70

Heavy overalls, (also called a bib) can be around $80 to 140 depending on weight and quality.

Good workboots are around $260

But most expensive clothing? I have a couple of suits that are around the $1000 dollar mark.

 

[EmeraldKitten]

Hmm, depends.
If I go to Walmart, most of the time everything is under 20 bucks.
For instance, the shoes I wear to work with my capri pants were $7.
Unless I shop at the fat girl store. Everything is expensive there.
On average, unless theres a sale:
Shirts: $35 and up
Jeans: $45 or so
Dress pants: At least $45
Bras: Usually about $45 also.
Panties: Usually $16 a pair. Unless there's a sale, lol. (Expensive little things, LOL.)
I have skirts and a couple dresses that I've paid $60-75 for.
Meanwhile, I get my shoes at Payless, lol. ABout $15 on average.
The most I've paid for them was $120 for a pair of Nikes. I had to have a pair of tennis shoes for band, and I wear a size 11. My options were limited, lol.

However, I like to make sure my clothes fit properly. I'm a chubby girl, and I hate it when chubby people dont dress to their size. I dont want clothes to be so tight I look like a stuffed sausage, lol, but neither do I want them to be so loose and baggy that I look sloppy-fat. lol.
That's why I'll pay more for my clothes.

~K

 

[oggbashan]

This is the link to the article - I hope:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,14109-1252886_4,00.html

To be fair, it is titled Glitzy Glamour.

Og

 

[Shock Chick]

Knickers: £2.50. I never wear anything else.

 

[TheEarl]

Knickers: £2.50. I never wear anything else.

The mental picture: Priceless.

The Earl

 

[Guest]

Knickers: £2.50. I never wear anything else.

Seems you rarely wear those.

But I like that in you.

BTW: How much for the nipple clamps?

 

[Guest]

Ogg, I can't believe you do not know haute couture. It appears to be a dying art as there are only a few dozen women per 'house' who can afford the clothes. I love it as art, so I am grateful to 'les riches' bitches who keep it alive. Outside France I adore Issey Miyake as a designer.

I have a magazine page saved from years ago of a pair of shoes by YSL (not Tom Ford, I mean the real Yves) that took my breath away. If I could have afforded them I would have displayed them like art (and worn them perhaps once a year).

I spend very little on clothes now. I have a few things I like and wear well, often weekly. I make (design too) some of my outfits, or I buy a plain frock and embellish it to suit me. As for shoes, they are the most expensive things I buy, but not for beauty; alas, I have weak arches and one bad ankle so shoes that protect my feet and do not look like workboots are dear.

Perdita

 

[Goldie Munro]

I love fashion and like Perdita view most of it as art - most is not very practical!

The most expensive piece of clothing I ever bought was my leather coat it cost £170 in the sales!!

 

[matriarch]

I've shelled out 850$ for a corset.
-Colly

*gasp*
*swoon*
*gulp*

 

[cloudy]

I've been known to spend a ridiculous amount of money on my clothes, at times. For instance, I have a pair of chiffon pants I paid around $250 for, and a top that goes with it that cost about $175.

But, Levi's and discount store tank tops are also in my closet.

Just depends....

 

[oggbashan]

Ogg, I can't believe you do not know haute couture. It appears to be a dying art as there are only a few dozen women per 'house' who can afford the clothes. I love it as art, so I am grateful to 'les riches' bitches who keep it alive. Outside France I adore Issey Miyake as a designer.
...
Perdita

I do know haute couture. I think the present designers have lost the plot.

I can appreciate the innovations of Worth, Fortuny, Givency, Dior and in my youth I could recognise a Mary Quant at 100 yards.

Store clothes were influenced by great designers. Now? I can't tell that a particular fashion is specific to a designer or even a fashion house.

Designer jeans? Labels worn openly or emblazoned across your chest? Those things give me the impression that fashion has become decadent and self-regarding.

A Savile Row suit still says 'money' but discreetly. The dresses in the Sunday Times article have none of the intrinsic worth of a designer's individual style and workmanship. Who will collect them with reverence in 20 years time? Who could wear them in 20 years time? If a woman appeared at a film premiere in a 1947 Dior 'New Look' she would still be fashionable.

The article seems to glorify the cost over the design. 'I paid 30,000 for it. It must be good.' That way leads to the story of The Emperor's New Clothes.

There are good designers around but the fashion industry sticks with worn out ideas and has sold out to money not adventure.

Biased and pissed-off Og

 

[R. Richard]

A Savile Row suit still says 'money' but discreetly. The dresses in the Sunday Times article have none of the intrinsic worth of a designer's individual style and workmanship. Who will collect them with reverence in 20 years time? Who could wear them in 20 years time? If a woman appeared at a film premiere in a 1947 Dior 'New Look' she would still be fashionable.

While your thread is mainly about women's clothes, the reference to Savile Row is also interesting.

If a man has to go in and talk to a corporate board about a business deal, bespoke tailoring is not a luxury, it is a must! An off-the-rack suit with $800 Italian leather shoes just does not get it.

JMHO.

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

I'm a total fashion whore.

If it were socially acceptable I'd wear suits every day.

 

[snooper]

Oxfam don't charge much, usually £5 - £10 a suit. And this year they gave me a diary. It isn't everyone who can boast that his tailor gave him a diary; I bet not even Ogg can boast that.

 

[TheEarl]

I'm a total fashion whore.

If it were socially acceptable I'd wear suits every day.

I'm with Joe on that actually. Usual slobbing about clothes is jeans and a t-shirt, but I do love getting dressed up in a suit.

The Earl

 

[oggbashan]

Oxfam don't charge much, usually £5 - £10 a suit. And this year they gave me a diary. It isn't everyone who can boast that his tailor gave him a diary; I bet not even Ogg can boast that.

You are wrong. My tailor gives me a diary, not because he is my tailor, but because I give him a Chamber of Commerce one and he responds with a Fire Services Charity one. It is a long standing joke between us.

Og

 

[snooper]

You are wrong. My tailor gives me a diary ...

I stand corrected. My apologies.

 

[oggbashan]

Would you wear them?

Assuming that you could afford the dresses shown in the article, or that they were priced more reasonably, would you wear them, particularly the two on the right?

If so, how often?

Or would you like to be the shape of the models and know that you could make almost any item of clothing look desirable?

Og

PS. I'll pass and stick to my suit.