IF You Have To Ask the Price You Can’t Afford It
17 October 2011 @ 20:23
Mass produced garments, even well made clothing, may pass at a glance. When in the company of discerning socialites, or people with an eye for fashionable apparel of the highest quality, manufactured material won’t pass muster. Designer clothing does of course have its appeal and an implied exclusivity, which is reflected in its price. The truth is that a great deal of financial investment goes into the creation of a named garment; a designer label. This outlay must be recovered; it is, through extraordinary prices.
When assessing and training businesses for successful application of The Guild of Master Craftsmen, I had my own way of making my point. Wearing a Guild necktie I would turn it to show the maker’s label. Because the manufacturer was an ordinary tie maker it carried no great value. I would then suggest that the price of the tie would be ten times its value if the label carried the name Gieves & Hawkes of Saville Row, the celebrated men’s tailors in London. Point made. It is a universal rule; people do not buy cars, they buy car badges.
Of course manufacturers of designer label goods, which are often made in Third World sweatshops, like to talk up the exclusivity of their labels. To quote Mandy Rice Davies; ‘Well they would wouldn’t they.’
In truth there is only one designer label worthy of the ‘exclusive’ accolade; it is attire hand-crafted by a recognised craftswoman or craftsman; a person whose work is based on many years of training, pride in one’s work; attention to the finest detail. It is not faux; it is a genuine one-off. Such is Valda Cerina apparel.
Valda’s handmade tassel ponchos are available at €395 each. Her Spanish flair shawls, which take one week rather than two for her to create, are €295 each. Her exquisite tablecloths are available at €395 each. True value for money, these apparel and tablecloths will be passed down from generation to generation. It is difficult if not impossible to imagine a more genuinely exclusive indulgence or gift.
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