ONCE upon a time in the fashion world, a consumer would fairly expect to walk into a high-end store and brace themselves for desirable goods to command a premium price tag. If one were to book a haute couture fittings appointment, the rule of thumb would be that if you have to ask then you cannot afford it. But something has significantly and inexplicably changed since the pandemic of 2020. Ready-to-wear and once ‘entry level’ luxury goods have drifted further away from being affordable and the cost has blurred into the lines of demi-couture or bespoke category clothing. If it’s not custom designed for the wearer, then why has the price inflated upwards of thirty, maybe even fifty percent? In some cases, a standard pair of sneakers can fetch upwards of $800 dollars, and high-fives to the few who would even dare grace a treadmill in such a costly item. A two-piece garment made in a factory, no matter how chic it is, can command a price akin to what a couture gown would have cost five years ago.

With special ready-to-wear catalogues landing on our fashion desk with six figure sums next to singular items, not even the full look (!), we had to sense-check ourselves and ask ‘how much is simply too much?’ Even if one can afford it, should you spend it? With our Editor-in-Chief being a seasoned buyer and long-standing fashion collector, we asked real-world questions to help us to get to the bottom of when it’s time to assess if a super high price is ever worth it.

What is your earliest memory of saving up and purchasing a special item of clothing or an accessory? 

Deena: “The first item I ever bought, that was considered designer, was $75 and I saved up to buy it. It was a DKNY sweatshirt and I was so excited, because it was the first time that I bought a designer thing for myself.

What was your rationale back then? 

Well, unfortunately, everything I loved and I saw on the pages of the magazine was way beyond my budget, so it was almost impossible. Every now and then, I would find something. The other item that I recall fondly was a pair of Versus loafers. Versus was the secondary line to Versace, and I was over the moon. But it took a very long to be able to get my first Chanel bag or my first trench coat, or things I thought were necessities of a wardrobe.

Has the way you approached ‘adoring something’ to ‘buying it’ evolved over time?

Of course! But what hasn't gone away, and I'm so glad that it hasn't, was the sense of excitement of something little or big that I bought.  I thank my parents for this, because it never gets lost on me. I always get excited.

Some people don't have that, and I feel sorry for them. If you're so used to getting things early and you don't understand what it means, you become a little blasé about it, which, thank goodness I don't.

Price rises and inflation happens, but there seems to be something going on in luxury right now, right? What have you noticed and how does that make you feel as someone who invests in iconic looks and clothes?

It makes it rarer and rarer to find something that you will love completely and feel special with. This is the problem, because with the prices rising, not only are the prices higher than ever, in a ridiculous way, what makes it even worse is that you can find the same item almost anywhere, which is a shame. There used to be a time when, if you were in a city, you enjoyed the fact that you could buy something and feel special because it wasn't available in every other city.

So, you no longer have the desire. And I'm not even sure that it's wise to do that, and I think that my thoughts are correct! Even people that are very well off and can afford those things, don't necessarily want to buy them any more. 

How do you set your expectations for how much a garment is worth in the different modes of RTW and Couture?

Honestly, I have this theory, and it has worked for me in the past. And it's a bit of an unconventional theory. So bear with me. I think if you love something so much, whether it's a pair of jeans or a pair of sandals or an evening dress, it doesn't matter what this item is, and it doesn't really matter how much it costs, of course, all within your budget., I'm talking about somebody that is able to buy anything. What does matter is, are you going to wear it? It's a strange phenomenon in my head! I’ll give you an example. It's a pair of shoes. It's astronomical, $2,000 or 2,000 euros. But if you feel that you are going to use that pair of shoes almost every day of the year, it’s as if that amount is distributed across the number of times you use it. I know it's stupid, but it works for me, because nothing makes me feel worse than buying something and wearing it only once or twice, and not really utilizing it in the way that I would have loved to. Not to say that I'm not guilty of it. I have done this in the past, but in the long run, if it's something that I feel that I'm really using and it brings me joy every single time, then it becomes worth it. It may not be the correct barometer for how to measure it. But honestly, if you think of it as… take the 2,000 euros, and  distribute it over the number of weeks or days in a year that you’ll use it, then it makes sense. Now I know, again, as I told you, it may not be the most practical way. But for instance, let's say a pair of jeans is so expensive, if that woman is wearing those jeans every day and she uses jeans all the time, then of course, it makes sense to someone like that woman.  

It's an investment on return. So in my case, a pair of jeans that cost $1,800 or $2,000 doesn't make sense whatsoever. And I'll tell you why. I don't wear jeans much. So it doesn't make any sense for someone like me. I feel like this is how I rationalize it for myself.