It’s Not That Expensive

Eric Wilson at the New York Times has found that clothes have actually gone down in price since the highs of the late 90s. He provides several examples to back up his point including at the very top two items of clothing that cost less now than they in 1998. Example 1 is a pair of Levi’s jeans that retail for $46 now when back in 1998 it retailed for $50. Example 2 is a Lacoste polo that retails now for $75 when back in 1998 it retailed for $95. There are other examples as well of the price depreciation. This leads one to believe that the prices are indeed going down and the sky is falling. Not so fast. Wilson looks at the other end of the spectrum. You know, the place where up is down and a scarf can set you back $1,000? That’s right the luxury market. That market doesn’t understand what reduced pricing means, a quick example is $1,900 Lady Dior bag that now retails for 73 percent higher than a previous version.

So where do the prices go up and down? According to Wilson, with underwear, denim and other run of the mill clothing that can be mass produced in *sweatshops*…um.. cheaper places. Designer items on the other hand may have to worry about competition, but the name value alone can cause spike increase in prices.

read the entire article here