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Crazed Designer Michael Bastian to Stop Selling $540 Shorts!
"At some point during the last five years, it occurred to Michael Bastian that $540 was a lot to charge for a pair of khaki cut-off shorts, even if some men were willing to pay."
—As we have noted in this Michael Bastian display of homeless hipster Park Slope dork DILF chic that costs $1765, perhaps it is possible to overprice clothes! Now the designer is trying to cut his costs… by 10 to 20%. I will not see you there!
“You buy less, but you buy better.”
Really? My shorts are mostly $15 from Target and they've lasted me for years.
@LondonLee Balk just fainted. Someone make sure he didn't hit his head.
@LondonLee Yes, you're gonna drive him to not drink!
I can't tell which is more insulting: the original price, the meaningless discount, or the terrible ugliness of these clothes. All told, a sad display.
@Aatom Faith in humanity down in the pits? It's alright, we're better than them.
These things cost a lot because economies of scale are not there, not because Michael Bastian is an idiot or something. I don't buy "designer", but I do have to pay $200-$300 for "brand" items – that fit right – because not enough of you slobs are willing to do the same thing.
Love you…… And yes. Agree.
(ALTHOUGH in the case of Bastian, I blame Bruno Cucinelli. His price point is absolutely insane, more expensive than Loro Piana, and so he was the waayyyy wrong production partner for Bastian.)
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying top bucks for things like suits and shirts (I have a Paul Smith suit and several Thomas Pink shirts), but shorts? I find $400 dollar jeans to be a ridiculous thing too.
@LondonLee True confession: 750 dollar jeans aren't really that much better than 75 dollar jeans! I mean very rarely they are. (These last two years, not so much; the Vuitton jeans got ugly and tacky and Dior is only designing for emaciated little boy-men, not actual man-men. Tom Ford, after the GOLD-PLATED FLY BUTTONS SHENANIGANS, hasn't made an interesting pair of jeans either.) There used to be an almost-reason to spend hundreds of dollars on jeans; right now, they're just not so great. I may wear… LEVI'S.
@Choire Sicha I've worn nothing but Levi's for 25 years. They're only $40 and they're perfect.
@LondonLee The jeans that are cut in such a way that doesn't leave unnecessary extra space in various spots cost upwards of $150. This is an obvious issue with $40 jeans (Levi's included), that simply fall from your ass to your ankles. $150 jeans are aware of the existence of knees (at the least, if not of thighs and calves). This is not simply a matter of look: the jeans that fit right also feel lighter to wear and are easier to move in.
The reason why they are more expensive is not because of the "label" or whatnot, but because once you start limiting the number of people that a particular waist/length size can fit for by also where their knees come, and how muscular/fat their legs are, you are not left with such a large number of people you can sell it to, and therefore, you have to charge more per pair to cover the cost (which is also higher due to more complicated manufacturing process).
Finding dress shirts that fit me well is difficult, so I went to a tailor and ordered a bunch at something like $70 each, in good fabrics and made to fit. In the case of most menswear, you're really just paying for the label.
@LDM Corollary: I'd always prefer to give my money to my tailor rather than the department store. I get almost everything at Goodwill or on eBay and have it altered – although high-end labels may be manufactured with good fit already there, I can achieve the same level of fit for much less and keep my money in the local economy. If I had a lot more to spend, I'd happily support the designers and artisans who practice great craft, but there is fortunately a great alternative to infinite spending.
@Charismatic Megafauna Yes yes yes and yes to all of this.