Ah, entry-level ready-to-wear (PAP), that terrible gateway to men's fashion... However, while for many men, it is the only range of PAP in which they clothing, it is an environment which is nevertheless very little known , and which crystallizes some curious myths.
The entry-level PAP is the type of PAP best known among the average French person, much more than the high-end or mid-range, quite simply because, unlike a Dior garment, many are the men who have already worn Celio, Jules, H&M, Zara, Brice, Devred, Armand Thierry , not to mention all the Decathlon clothing which has been diverted and worn in a completely urban context.
A price story...
The greatest strength of these brands is to have imposed a new price standard, totally detached from manufacturing quality. Paying €45 for jeans has become "normal", even if the fabric ages poorly and the cut of the buttocks is very flabby. This is very insidious, because these brands have succeeded in making the purchase of mediocrity commonplace.
For these brands to work, they rely on huge volume effects , meaning they would sink if their distribution were more restricted. Indeed, to run a large Zara point of sale in the city center, you had better sell shirts for €40! Not to mention the colossal marketing costs that you finance by buying a €10 t-shirt at H&M.
Economies of scale also come into play, because you can imagine that the cost of manufacturing one shirt is not the same if you make 10 or 10,000...
Seen like that... Credit: the very funny blog
What I'm getting at is that if these brands can afford to have such low sales prices, it's because they are present almost everywhere in France. On the other hand, for a small creator who is starting out, it's impossible!
When people ask me "yes but Benoit, I have the same budget as to go to Zara, but don't you know of other nice little brands in the same price range, but which make better quality things?".
My answer is always the same "No, if you have a budget to go to Zara, that's the only place you can go, because only Zara can exist in this price range, for completely financial reasons."
Indeed, a small creator:
- Does not benefit from economies of scale at all . Creating a prototype, having it adjusted, modifying it, and launching production on a few hundred copies is very expensive, not to mention the fact that unlike Inditex (the group that owns Zara), there is often no investor for it. 'help. The final sale price is inevitably affected, but it cannot be otherwise!
- Does not benefit from a major marketing campaign , which is even more complicated to make yourself known (fortunately, blogs have arrived, but that's another story ). On the other hand, this is the good news for us: advertising costs are so expensive that most small creators prefer to reinvest in quality, which translates for us into excellent value for money.
- Does not benefit from volume effects. Due to the (very) limited number of points of sale, and the higher prices than the entry level, the average French person is not going to rush into it.
With all these elements, do you understand better why we only find large groups reigning supreme over the low-end PAP? Indeed, wanting a gray wool and cashmere peacoat for less than €200 is to your credit, but only a brand like Zara has the financial structure to do so . And certainly not a small Parisian designer.
No designer could afford such madness!
So of course, some of you may think that price is used as a marketing weapon by the high end ( "they set high prices to show that it's a luxury brand, but if they wanted to , they could be cheaper."
This is perhaps true for large luxury groups or trail brands, but for small mid-range designers or those who are just getting started: I don't believe it .
Among all the mid-range brands that we recommend on the blog, you would be very surprised to see that most of them don't even pay themselves a salary (or not much more than the minimum wage) because creating a brand of clothing is far from being a financial windfall. This is definitely not what I would advise someone thirsty for money. The ideal (or easy) solution would be to increase their prices, but they refuse to do so because they would have the impression of being "too expensive" . Truthful!
What I will just ask you is that the next time you see quality mid/high-end products (but not coming from a large luxury group like Hugo Boss) instead of railing against the price, understand that the creator behind cannot necessarily do otherwise.
And the next time you go to Zara, buy what you want there, but don't take all those double-digit prices as a reference.
Surprisingly, we are not the worst off.
Mainstream ready-to-wear VS mid-range
As you will have understood, we do not demonize entry-level ready-to-wear at all ... when it is purchased knowingly. What is sad, however, is to see people throwing themselves at H&M x Martin Margiela collabs in plastic/paper mache, or more generally lining up dozens of cheap but poorly chosen clothes in their wardrobes.
The “work in progress” artistic direction: self-mockery or pure frankness?
Getting out of a Zara or a Célio with good deals is therefore a sport for the experienced , you have to have learned your skills in more qualitative ranges before being able to discern the good quality/price ratio where you don't expect it not. All this to tell you that as a beginner you are more likely to screw up than anything else.
Secondly some coins have a minimum price which cannot be compressed below a certain price. It's the case :
- noble materials like leather and denim (which will look cheap and will wear out instead of getting a patina),
- pieces requiring quality tailoring , such as dress shoes or blazers (very poor durability below the floor price),
- worked materials , such as faded jeans, knitting effects on knitwear or the patina of shoes...
Do not buy these pieces in entry-level ready-to-wear stores : they are almost non-existent there. I insist . Invest a little more in mid-range which will ultimately prove much more profitable in the long term (and I'm not even talking about the purely aesthetic aspect). If you don't have the money to buy the parts you want: save up and wait. And switch to simple basics in the meantime (example: a wool peacoat while you wait to buy a leather jacket worthy of the name).
Entry-level ready-to-wear still has its place on the market , because it allows you to find certain interesting pieces in correct qualities, if you give yourself the time and energy to carefully search each collection in store (and especially not on the basis of a lookbook). This is very true for all simple pieces, like t-shirts (Monoprix), chinos (H&M), basic shirts (Zara), or even simple knits (Uniqlo).
A few words about “false luxury”
Conversely, the mid-range and high-end are not a panacea either, because there are plenty of brands offering entry-level quality at high-end prices.
I am thinking in particular of all these fashion creators marketing concepts which are still flourishing but for which I see little future: The Kooples, Sandro, Zadig&Voltaire, IKKS, Le temps des Cerises, Scotch&Soda, Façonnable... The same goes for the old houses who have more or less sold off their heritage, but not the price of the drugs: Boss, Burberry, Dior.
They are easily recognized by their omnipresence on the glossy pages and selections of magazines, and street advertisements. They are generally distributed in points of sale with high visibility, because it is an expense linked to image: airports, department stores, major tourist thoroughfares such as the Champs Elysées or rue des rosiers in the Marais.
Walk through a department store and read the composition labels.
You'll see right away what I'm talking about.
But what do I do if I have a small budget then?
There are not 36 solutions, and I will not make a guide to low cost fashion, but as a reminder:
- You already know the brands you should go for for small budgets : Monoprix, H&M, Zara, etc. I am not going to dwell on the subject, because I address this point in depth in the BonneGueule Book. But really, apart from these groups, there are no small creators who do stylish things at these prices, it's pointless to believe otherwise! The good news is that even at Jules and Celio, I see an increase in overall quality... And please me, look at the lookbooks of these brands, there are sometimes really nice outfits (and which have the advantage of being daily).
- When you travel outside France, definitely consider visiting a store of a low-cost brand specific to a country , such as Topman in the UK or Le Château in Quebec, there are sometimes some surprises.
- The opportunity. I'm not going to repeat the refrain about ebay and the classified ads, because people will say that I'm rambling 😉
- Clearance sales are generally quite disappointing, so you know what to expect when you're promised cheaper Diesel jeans...
Okay, and for those who are on a small budget and are happy with their wardrobe, what are your tips? where do you buy your clothes?
The case of sales
A real good opportunity to dress (well), it comes as no surprise... the sales. As long as you know how to do it , to thwart all the false bargains that cross your path. You can read the sale survival guide now!
We will do everything to avoid this for you .
