Designer Shopping for Xmas - Part Deux

After reading some of the emails and comments you sent in response to the Designer Shopping post, I realized I needed to clear up some misconceptions: Nobody is asking you to go buy Couture garments for Christmas - that would be asking you to mortgage your house, or sell your car for a dress! Not practical at all.

Couture designs are generally made by hand using a variety of techniques that are either Flou (draped pieces and gowns) or Tailleur (highly structured designs).The average regional designer does not make Couture pieces for general retail; it's not practical, and it defies the entire purpose of Couture, which is to make a one-of-a-kind, highly conceptual garment for a private client.

The average regional designer might use Couture techniques within their dressmaking process - techniques like elaborate ruching, smocking, pintucking, or hand beading - but they generally do so by way of creating bespoke, or made-to-order versions of their seasonal, runway pieces. They do not create conceptual, Couture clothing, per se. So I am not asking you to pay dearly for Couture.

What I am asking you to do, however, is to at least consider wearing/buying an original designer piece for whatever engagements you may have on the agenda this holiday season. And it doesn't have to be expensive. Yes, some designs are indeed pricey, but that's not the case with every fashion house in the region; you cannot go to one or two designer showrooms and use your experience there as a yardstick to judge the entire industry by.

Depending on who you go to, you'll definitely see pieces that are uber-expensive by regional shopping standards. But at other showrooms, you will also see pieces that are extremely affordable. And there will always be designers who are willing to work with you on a one-on-one basis to make an original piece that matches your budget. You just have to ask, be clear on what you want, and know what kind of fashion business a particular designer has.

Case in point: You are not going to walk out of Claudia Pegus' studio with a ready-to-wear evening gown for $600.00. The majority of her designs are made-to-order; there is a fee just to consult with her and to have her design something to suit whatever you fancy. 'Design' in this case, means to work up a sketch, choose materials, colours, detailing, etc.

On the other hand, a Pilar dress designed by Anya Ayoung Chee would run you somewhere between $500.00 & $800.00 - pretty reasonable, I might add. So it all depends on what your personal taste is, the type of design you're going for, and which designer you're aproaching. Another case in point: If you book an appointment at the Chanel Atelier for a collarless jacket, expect to pay a very, very, very pretty penny. If however, you go to a high-end American sportswear designer like Tory Burch for a similar collarless jacket, your credit card may live to tell the tale.

But my question to you still stands: why buy a dress that is nice enough, easily available on retail at a chic mall boutique, but is grossly overpriced? I meant it when I said some of these stores are ripping you off by selling inexpensive dresses at up to 8 times their original retail USD price. I remember passing over a $9.99 USD (TT $60.00 ave.) sari-inspired wrap dress on Broadway, NYC some months ago, only to be browsing the racks in a T&T mall sometime afterwards, and see the exact dress selling at $650.00, plus tax...

Madness, I tell you.

LMN Harris

NB Image courtesy Pilar