In this fortieth "Readers' Letters", I will answer questions that I receive a lot at the moment, from people who are looking for a very specific product, with numerous criteria, all for an entry-level or mid-range budget.
And as we will see:
- Either he will not find a product that fully satisfies his request,
- Either he will find one, but at a higher budget than his own .
For what ?
Here are some nice pants: drawstring, front pleats, well-measured carrot cut, mid-rise, nice color... 180€. Informale .
More criteria = less choice
To answer the first question:
The more specific your search is, with many constraints, the fewer choices you will have.
To pick up on Frank's question at the beginning of the article, he's looking for:
- A gray overcoat
- AND crossed (rarer than the straight overcoat)
- AND specifically long (rarer than the mid-length overcoat)
- AND less than €250 (entry-level budget)
If we assume that he is looking for a coat of decent quality , rather warm and therefore with a decent composition, that's a lot of criteria.
For Franck to find satisfaction, he must make a concession :
- Either in terms of style, so go for a coat that doesn't quite meet your needs but is roughly within your budget.
On the left, a Massimo Dutti pea coat for less than €200. A grey double-breasted coat, but very short.
On the right, a straight overcoat, gray, Suitsupply , around 300€. Mid-length, and not double-breasted.
- Either increase the budget.
In this case, our gray double-breasted coat perfectly meets his request. It costs €490.
- Either in terms of quality, and therefore fall back on fast-fashion clothing.
This long, double-breasted Zara coat at €160 could almost look like a photo... but it contains 58% synthetics.
Perhaps you have already seen this kind of photo on the Internet, to be taken with a pinch of salt, but which I find has some truth in it:
“Good grades, active social life, enough sleep… pick two.”
We can apply the same concept but for clothing with the triptych quality, style and price , where it is impossible (or at least, very difficult) to have BOTH quality AND very good style AND for not very much money.
Why quality + style = expensive?
To answer the second question raised in the introduction:
1. Creating a stylish garment involves a lot of costs.
I don't think I'm telling you anything new: making clothes is a complex job.
Initial idea, sourcing materials and accessories, finding a good workshop, prototyping... it's a long and tedious job.
Building a brand and creating clothes, even low quality ones, takes time and energy.
So imagine what an investment it takes to create something aesthetically pleasing with harmonious volumes AND a fair cut AND well thought-out details AND a material that has character:
- A beautiful and somewhat creative natural fiber material is not only difficult to find, but also inevitably costs more than a standard, smooth, synthetic-cut fabric.
I'll let you guess which fabric is more expensive between the two.
- Creating your own pattern on a garment to create something unique is bound to cost more than a standard pattern used everywhere else.
- Adding style details that are not found elsewhere costs money. Here is a very good example with the so-called gurkha belt assembly : this is a rare and complex belt assembly, which few workshops know how to do and which is therefore very expensive. This type of pants is particularly appreciated by lovers of dressy styles.
- And I haven't even mentioned where it's made. Making complex garments in skilled workshops in Europe costs more than going to Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.
2. Creating a garment with a beautiful, differentiating style is a risk
You may have understood that often, a very beautiful garment is a garment that stands out a little from the crowd, in its own way. It has characteristics that make it rarer and more unique.
And creating such a garment is a risk. It is a risk because most consumers, not necessarily being aware of this type of product (color, volume, etc.), will not naturally go towards them.
Between these two pairs of boots, which model seems easier to sell? ( Orban's on the left, Justin Fitzpatrick on the right)
The more criteria you put, the more what you are looking for is a niche garment.
And niche clothing is divisive: some love it, others hate it. And that's normal.
So, when we talk about niche brands or pieces, we are often talking about rather small brands with limited production, which do not necessarily benefit from economies of scale like the ready-to-wear giants.
The price of these clothes can partly be explained by the financing of this risk-taking.
What solutions?
How can we try to best reconcile quality, style and price?
By compromise.
1. Selection of accessible and stylish clothing
Here are two examples of pieces that I found recently that manage to combine a bold style, a correct composition and a relatively reasonable price.
What compromise here?
- Good materials without being incredible
- A bold style but not too much either
- Limited ethics and transparency
Silbon belted straight coat
I've received quite a few questions about this type of straight belted coat in recent months, particularly from people who have fallen for the Pini Parma models (which cost €690).
This model from the Spanish brand Silbon is less than €200 and is 100% wool.
On the other hand, the woolen cloth is probably quite thin, and the coat is not very long. But the spirit is there.
COS regular fit, high waist jeans
For all those who love this type of volume, I was able to try these jeans: they go up to the navel, the cut is very straight.
The double cuff at the bottom is not sewn: you can unfold it and the jeans fall normally.
We are sticking with entry-level selvedge jeans , but with a fairly strong cut bias compared to the market standard.
2. Take advantage of discounts on creative brands
This is not the case for all of them, but a certain number of beautiful brands with a creative DNA offer discounts during sales: I am thinking of Barena Venezia or Maharishi for example.
Here's a Polartec bomber jacket with an asymmetrical zip that's on sale at Maharishi for a mid-season discount. It'll probably be even cheaper in the sales.
The compromise? At the end of the season or during a discount period, you won't necessarily find exactly what you're looking for (a specific reference, color and size).
If you haven't already, I also invite you to watch Geoffrey's video on our reservations about the abuse of sales , as well as Nicolò's advice for making the most of sales .
