"Expensive" as a compliment - YouLookFab Forum

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"Expensive" as a compliment

April

Veteran

I was an extreme latecomer to Project Runway, jumping in only in fall 2011, after watching every earlier season on disc last summer. One of the things that initially surprised me about the judges' critiques was their use of "expensive" as an unalloyed compliment. There's really not much higher praise on PR than, "It looks expensive."

It makes sense if you think of it in the reverse: for a garment to look cheap is probably never desirable. But it took me a while to wrap my mind around the idea that having your clothes look expensive is an effect to be cultivated

What about you -- does "expensive" make your list of positive qualities? Is a garment looking expensive the same as a garment looking well made (because well made is a quality that I really respond to)?

Dressing

17 replies

Latest reply was from JR

JulieJohn

Veteran

"Expensive" says more about the person giving the compliment than the person receiving. Kinda shallow. We as humans can do better. Our compliments should be gifts to each other.

Claudia

Veteran

Yes. I think it just means well made and quality fabric.

It is impressive when the PR contestants have a very small budget for fabric and little time to design and sew, and someone makes something look like it came from Barneys New York.

Sylvie

Veteran

I think you are right that they are using expensive=high quality, because typically higher quality garments are more expensive.

It's that little something that makes a high end trench coat different from a normal trench coat. Same color, same shape, but the higher quality fabric, stitching and drape are obvious.

AJ

Veteran

It's so nice to see you back on the forum again, April! Belated congrats on your marriage!

Yes, I do think the "expensive" compliment is the same as "looking well made." A couple of years ago, my DD who was 7 at the time, gasped at one of my new blouses and said, "It looks expensive!" LOL! She's never even seen Project Runway!

Diana

Veteran

Yeah, I think they probably are using "expensive" to mean well-made or high quality. As far as words go, I prefer to say that something is "well-made" rather than "expensive" but I realize that most people probably use the terms to mean the same thing. Although I suppose "expensive" could also mean "covered in diamonds" or something, LOL.

Sunita

Veteran

I'm with the others...I think they use "expensive" as a short cut for well-made and high quality. I cringe every time I hear it on PR.

Anonymous

Hi April,
Can I chime in with my 'take' on your question? I think it's simply a semantics issue.

Here in France, we tend to have much smaller wardrobes than you do in the US (I studied there for three years, and was struck by the difference.) However, we save really hard, and sacrifice on other things to get those elusive 'key' elements of our wardrobes, and always buy the very best we can afford. I guess you'd call it 'investment dressing' in English. We expect these basics to last several years, however, and rely on cheaper 'on-trend' touches to bring them up-to-date each season. Style is considered more important than slavishly following the latest fashion (which must seem a paradox coming from the nation known for fashion!). To our way of thinking, it probably means we look 'expensively' dressed (though I'd always prefer the term chic over expensive) on a relatively tight budget. It also means we have to cultivate friendships with good dry-cleaners, shoe-repairers and dress-makers who can help us to service our 'investments'. Hope this makes at least a little sense!

rachylou

Veteran

Well, I accept the praise when people use *expensive* to give it, but I think it's a mistake for them to use it that way. You really have to look at the item and not the price tag. You have to learn what makes up nice and not just trust you're getting it. People peddle all sorts of junk at outrageous prices.

Tangentially, there's something I've always wondered about furniture. There are A LOT of schlocky furniture stores around my area, clearly not marketing to the rich and refined. But they're still selling sofas at $4000 dollar a pop. I sort of wonder if they're not taking advantage of people afraid to go into stores with a posher atmosphere.

Anonymous

I agree they probably mean "well made," but think they should pick a better word.

rae

(website)

Veteran

For me, "looking expensive," as it relates to clothing connotes a range of things: quality of materials, preciousness of materials, quality of craftsmanship, cleverness of design. All these things simultaneously *rare* and *desireable*. These qualities would create a demand on the market if the garment were produced, and higher demand creates higher prices.

These are business people, so I don't feel it's a comment to insinuate that only the rich should have X product or that higher priced items are inherently better. I think the judges are recognizing the value of a commodity and recognizing that the market would sustain a high price for the product.

April

Veteran

To be fair, I also think they do not confuse "expensive" with "stylish."

There are many stylish trendsetters whose look has nothing to do with looking expensive: I'm thinking Madonna in the Desperately Seeking Susan era; all the punkers from the same era; the grunge kids from a slightly later era, etc. I know the PR folks would be the first to agree.

I think you all are right that they're using it to mean well-made, and also "stylish in a high-end, uptown kind of way." It just always sounds funny to me. Expensive means costing a lot, whereas cheap can mean not costing a lot, but can also mean tarty, poorly sewn, and/or disposable-looking.

LF, I truly admire the French approach of having less that costs more. I find myself needing more variety, and sometimes that feels like a (culturally American) personal failing.

Anonymous

April,

No, it's not a personal failing at all. You said it all: 'It's cultural'. This French girl is learning a lot from you girls on YLF, and who's to say what's 'right or wrong'? Besides, if you look at my latest post on my 'Dipping my toes in the water....' thread, you'll see that I've just had to confess, only seconds ago, to my own personal act of extravagant overkill!

Anonymous

I think "exquisite" would be a much better word.

http://thesaurus.com/browse/exquisite?s=t

Kari

Veteran

Well, in the context of PR, to me that makes sense as a compliment. The designers are often piecing together garments using odd materials on a tight budget and ridiculously tight timeline, and are trying to make them look like designer pieces. I'd imagine that it would be a compliment to have someone think that something I'd thrown together quickly looked like an expensive piece from a designer collection.

As for my OWN style? No, that's not what I strive for at all. But I want to look like the pieces I wear are high quality, not sloppy or distressed, as polish is an important component of my style (that is, until I spill water all over my dress or something like that!)

Isabel

Veteran

I agree with Ruth, I like exquisite.

I also love what La Francaise said.

I think that we have perpetuated a false notion that "expensive" always means well made. I have found that it doesn't. "Expensive" might also mean different things to different people. Someone might find Ann Taylor expensive and others might find Theory so. There are so many well priced garments that are exceptionally well made. My mom, who for years made samples for the NYC runway shows, is awed by how well made things are at Banana Republic and JCrew. She has also found men't suits to be rather well made at JC Penney...some dresses from the Gap and so on. She is astonished by the "quality" of some mass market producers.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

The flip side is how people can use the word cheap to mean shoddily made and looking like it, rather than just as a synonym for inexpensive. I like inexpensive clothes, but hopefully I avoid cheap clothes.

I agree that the judges on PR probably meant well-put-together, but also intended the wealthy, classy association - they are some very status-conscious people, those folks.

JR

Veteran

I think that what La Française has pointed out holds true for much of Europe. I remember taking a summer course in Germany many years ago (but I'm assuming not much has changed in that regard) and our professor was not at all embarrassed to wear the same exquisite (and probably expensive) dress all week. I rather liked the emphasis of quality over quantity myself.

Having had a shoe-string budget most of my life, I tend to look for things that look expensive too, at least in relation to what I actually spend on them. And having discovered the hard way that expensive items are not necessarily any more durable than the cheap ones, I am even more reluctant to shell out big bucks for clothing. And most especially if it's trendy! If something is the height of fashion, I try to spend as little as possible on it, figuring that the shelf life will be short.

And because I do not move in circles where designer clothing is common, I would be a little concerned that really expensive clothing would make me look like a wannabe snob. That has just been a theoretical concern though, LOL!