Do you own designer brand clothing or makeup?  Maybe Vera Bradley, Dolce & Gabbana, or Dior Addict?  Do you remember how much you paid for the item?  Are they still as good quality as they were when you first bought them?  Sometimes it’s best to look for an alternative for designer brands.  For example, instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a leather bag, it’s possible to pay for something that is a lot cheaper but not necessarily 100% leather.  This material, a mix between plastic and leather, or pleather could be better quality, and it usually looks the same as leather.  People who support the fact that people should pay more for designer brands say that designer brands are worth the greater price because of their superior quality.  However, research by many organizations, such as Consumer Reports, shows that this statement is not always true.  It is not worth paying more for designer brands because providers lie about their products’ exclusivity, most people can’t tell whether or not an item is designer, and many designer brand name clothing items aren’t good quality.  

You have just bought a Madewell blouse for $425.  You think, ‘Great buy’ because the tag claimed the product as ‘one of a kind’.  The only thing is, you thought you saw a blouse that looks similar in Target.  Because curiosity got the best of you, you go to Target to try on the similar blouse and declare that it fits better than the one you found at Madewell.  Now, you’re sure that there aren’t really ‘one of a kind’ items and return the blouse.  First of all, many providers lie about the exclusivity of an item.  Why?  Designers want more people to buy their products based on originality while they know there are many similar products for less.  Although designer brand names mark up their prices to increase their appeal, they tend to blame the increasing prices on the growing costs of raw materials, such as alligator skin (Brick).  But providers, such as the Lucky Brand, are only so exclusive. At the end of the day, their products heavily compare to cheaper products from other stores such as Gap, Target and Marshalls. Marshalls, for one, advertises their products are ‘designer brands for less’, further implying legal knock offs of items.  The fact that there are many stores that sell designer brands for less hurts many of the designer providers that have exorbitant prices.  These providers become desperate and try to gain popularity in the wealthier population.  Some of these providers that mark up their prices for the attention of affluent people are Hermes Kelly, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton (Business of Fashion) (Brick).  “In thirteen years, the price of a Hermes Kelly bag has jumped from $4,800 to $7,600” (Brick).  Prices of designer items have increased by 60% in the last decade without any distinct change in material (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Brick).  It is not worth paying more for designer brands because providers lie about the exclusivity of their products.

The True Religion Super Skinny brand jeans you pull on are brand new.  You expect them to last forever with the perfect quality.  After all, you did spend $396 dollars on this single pair.  However, after the fourth wash, the jeans are faded and starting to unravel.  You thought that your jeans would be good quality because True Religion was a popular brand name (Excellent).  It was extremely disappointing that the material was not as you expected, and overall, it was just bad quality.  The quality of a designer item is not always as superior as providers claim them to be.  Which is a better deal?  Paying $20 for a pair of jeans at Marshalls or spending almost $400 dollars for jeans at a True Religion store?  What if the only difference between the two is the tiny label in the back of the waistline?  Most designer brands prices come from the tag on the item, not its quality (Scholastic.org).  For example, a recent study by Consumer Reports found that some of the least expensive jeans are better made than designer counterparts.  Not only are most cheaper clothing items better quality than designer products, but makeup is another variable in the equation.  Jacqueline Curtis, an experienced style expert, says that you can spend $1-$7 dollars on drugstore lipstick and it performs the same results as the Dior Addict brand which retails at $30.  Thats a extremely big difference in cost considering the similar results in the end.  New York retail consultant Robert Burke once said, “A brand’s biggest fear is having to mark things down.”  Marking products down instead of up shows defeat to designers.  To prevent this humiliation, designers switch a material with another one that is more ‘exclusive’, mark items up, and claim to have used better quality fabric.  It is not worth paying more for designer brands because most designer brands don’t have the best quality over similar, and cheaper items.

The door swings shut as you walk into Starbucks to meet your friends clutching a new Coach bag.  You expect compliments about your $675 bag, but no one says anything (Anna).  You realize that you have been covering the tiny metal label with Coach written across it.  That’s why no one noticed your Coach bag.  Most people can’t tell whether a brand is designer or not, and many cheaper brands look the same but have equal or better quality than a designer brand.  For example, a recent study from Consumer Reports documented that about 70% of people cannot tell the difference between designer brands and items that look similar.  There are many types of remakes that look and last just as long as a designer brand.  For example, a Vera Bradley duffle bag is $85.  However, in Christmas Tree Shop, the same size bag in a similar pattern is sold for $15.  Why would you spend $85 when you could buy a bag that looks exactly the same for $15?  That’s a $70 difference (“Large Duffel”)!  Over 50% of people wouldn’t even notice if the Christmas Tree Shop bag is Vera Bradley or not.  It is not worth paying more for designer brands because many people can't tell the difference between a designer brand versus a non designer brand.

Many people say that it is worth paying exorbitant prices for designer brands.   These people say that it is worth paying more for designer brands because it lets people feel a sense that they belong.   However, this is an incorrect statement.  Many brands like UGG hire celebrities such as Tom Brady to wear their brand so people will feel as if they are like the star (Fleming).  This does not help with people’s self esteem, but only tricks them into thinking that if people wear their product, they will look like the model or celebrity.  However, this is only false hope.  Secondly, others show off as a ‘tag’ that they can afford the exorbitant prices of designer brands.  However, people can’t see a tag at all.  For example, anyone with enough money can buy a Saks Fifth Avenue skirt or dress, but the tag that actually has the brand name printed on it is on the inside of the clothing item (Cherney).  Lastly, designers stand by their products because they can have the best quality and/or comfort.  Cheaper brands usually have better quality than expensive and recognizable brands.   Like said before, Marshalls, GAP, and Target are great examples of stores that sell clothing items that are better quality than designer items (Cherney).  It is not worth paying more for designer brands.

In conclusion, paying more for designer brands is a waste.  Would you rather spend your savings for the entire month on a Vineyard Vines tote?  Be careful about what products you buy from certain designers (Gerstein).  Why spend so much on something that will rip after the third or so use?  Also, many providers lie about the exclusivity of their products.  Be sure before you buy something that it wouldn’t be in another store for less money (Cherney).  Lastly, many people can’t tell the difference between a designer brand and a look-a-like.  What’s the point of buying a designer brand if no one can even tell if it’s designer?  It turns out in the end that less expensive items can be better than all out designer brands.  Pleather is perfect.  Now think about it… how much would you spend for a designer brand?

Works Cited
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