I’m agreeing with Mary, Angie, and Taylor that quality and price are connected but also that there is a point where the equation shifts so you are paying as much (or more) for the exclusivity and “aura” as for the item itself.
One point, though, gets overlooked in these discussions. The onslaught of cheap, disposable fashion made under dubious conditions and designed with cost-cutting specifications and low-cost materials as the primary goal which has created some bizarre notions as to how much a “quality” piece should cost.
For example, what is a reasonable price for a “quality”, tailored, wool jacket—$200?, $500?, $1000?, $2000? As someone who used to sew and tailor her own clothes in the 80s, I quit when I realized the cost for just the materials alone would allow me buy two reasonably good jackets or FIVE inexpensive ones. And that was before I even factored in my 30+ hours of cutting, sewing, fitting, hand stitching, and finishing used to create the jacket. My creation was far superior in terms of fabric, finishing, and fit, but still...so I packed away my Vogue Designer patterns and started shopping in stores. The construction knowledge I gained from those patterns and my tailoring books, however, was harder to shake.
Yes, it’s possible to buy a beautifully made wool coat which will last for several seasons for under $1000, but there may—or may not— be differences between that coat and one priced for $5000. The differences might not be readily apparent but they should be there or you’ve just wasted $4000 for a brand name. For the extra cash, you should expect more sophisticated construction details and seaming so the coat can be adjusted to subtly follow the contours of YOUR shape in a flattering way, the lining should be heavy-weight silk (not acetate or polyester), the bottom hems should be weighted so they will always will hang straight, the sleeve cap should employ an internal construction detail to keep the fabric from forming a “dent” where your arm drops away from the shoulder, the button holes and pockets should be bound and supported to they will never sag—I could go on, but suffice to say all these extras are the details which take time and money to add to the garment. Many of these smaller details need to be done by hand so these are the first things to be eliminated when designers are instructed to keep costs down.
A coat with just 5 major seams and patch pockets will always cost less than one made with 25 seams and a great detail of internal construction. Both might be beautifully made of the same external fabric but the price points will be starkly different. Both can be good buys depending on what is important to the customer. What isn’t a good buy, in my books at least, is when that first coat is priced at the level of the second one just because of the name on the hang tag Unfortunately, too many “designer” items are guilty of doing just that these days.
