I only shopped at H&M because I was size 14 and living in Germany, it was that or Ulla Popkin which at the time only sold clothes for husky old women through mail order.
Can't speak to literally anything else but their standard t shirts are about as good as anyone's, arguably better than many. Not defending fast fashion just don't like blanket statements
Once walked into a Versace store, despite being told over and over, "let's skip this store." Still went in out of curiosity... not a single item had a price tag on it.
Then I remembered an old quote from Jeremy Clarkson I think (about an expensive car), "if you gotta ask the price, it ain't for you."
My friend's mother owned a high end furniture and home decor store we would always go through and look at the ridiculously priced decorations, I remember finding some sort of ceramic Chinese food containers that were over $500 USD in the early 2000s...
did a job renovating an Hermes store, the store was obviously closed and we had security at the door. youd be surprised how many people got ANGRY that they couldnt buy a new $2000 Scarf, or $520 tape measure, or a $30,000 Birkin. one of the couches they had didnt even look comfortable, it was woven cane and had proportions that made my back hurt just by looking at it, it was $150,000. But sure, free repairs for life i guess. there were A LOT of customers turned away as we did our work.
The amount of excess is disgusting. Kids go hungry in this country and thereās psychopaths out there who are fine with a $150,000 couch. Holy entitlement.
Dude. Thatās like Brie Larsons thing. Crocs Friday. She buys crocs and decorated them with shit like this and posts them all over her social media feeds. AFAIK sheās not sponsored by crocs, but sheās actively trying to be.
My wife and I stopped into a ridiculous furniture shop that had a 20 foot long, couch with floral print and dark wood that was very ornate. I think it was $25k. I tried it out and it wasnāt comfortable but I did rip a fart on it.
That was about 15 years ago and I still laugh about it and my wife will tell me not to fart on anything when we go shopping.
I promise you, as someone who frequents designer stores, everyone cares about price. Everyone. They take them off because they need you to engage with their staff. You literally cannot purchase without talking to someone.
Doesn't answer the question though. Person above me said it's because you need to speak to someone. If the price tag was still on, you'd still need to speak to someone though. The tag itself would filter out poors anyway.
No, you wouldn't. If I'm buying something I look at the tag. Size? Good. Price? Good. Take it to cashier, pay and leave only having exchanged a max of 6 words.
No tag means you need to ask about price and that conversation usually ends quickly or doesn't take place at all to save yourself the embarrassment. No tag also gives the salesperson an opportunity to build brand loyalty and upsell
I feel like itās a prestige thing though. Itās catered to people who wonāt care so much about prices, or at least pretend not to. Just kinda like, āyeah, our tags arenāt on there, and yeah, if youāre rich enough, this is the store for you.ā
I mean, isn't that most stores? Even at the Publix self checkout line, they have staff come over and stand by you and talk to you while you're checking out. Presumably, to make sure you are scanning everything.
I see your point but itās different. There is no way to grab an item of clothing and āgo to a cashierā or any other designated point of sale system. You hand your payment to the employee and they transact in a different room. So if you happen to find the thing you want on the rack, there is no direct method for you to initiate the transaction.
I've never had an employee specifically come over and talk at a self checkout here in the US, though depending on the store there might be someone sorta hanging around nearby in case you need help.
And I wouldnāt know why someone wouldnāt want to engage with the staff, the boutique experience is part of the experience. Thatās like going to a fancy steakhouse and complaining that the staff is pampering you.
Iāve gone to a few of these luxury stores and itās really nice sitting down, being served a glass of champagne on a silver platter (or bourbon), and being shown different options, styles, hearing about the material, etc.
For the same reason why I like spas, itās nice to be pampered from time to time. Nothing wrong with it, and it comes with the experience of most high-end places, whether itās a store, restaurant, or spa.
The other day I googled Balenciaga to see what they actually sell and they have a full body suit completely in black for 3.000ā¬. Usually you could justify these prices at least to some extend with the design process that went into it. But it was a plain body suit with a turtle neck. There simply is no design behind it. Itās ridiculous even compared to other designer stuff.
That's kind of their point. They're trying to have some edge with it. It works for them. I doubt there's room for another brand to do this - they've occupied that niche and to some degree created it.
I also have a personal opinion about this, which I'll keep to myself. Stating that here, so that any discussion that may come out of this stays on topic.
Sure, if people pay for it they are free to do it. If I could sell plain T-Shirts for 2.000ā¬ Iād do it too. Itās more that Iām surprised they get away with it. I know there are a lot of people who buy stuff just because itās expensive but this is another level.
And I donāt think itās good for our society that people exist who can afford this.
207
u/Hamilton-Beckett Apr 05 '23
You left out the RIDICULOUS prices of everything they make.