The (dying) art of being cheap

By Banzai · Nov 1, 2008 · 492 · 5
  1. So I bought a new coat today. I've been putting it off for weeks now, but since my old one is held together by a single remaining stitch and a helluva lot of focused willpower. And it's starting to get a bit chilly.

    I had a clear idea of what I wanted. Something resembling, as close as possible, a black greatcoat, thick, and long enough to keep my thighs warm. I was aware this wouldn't be cheap, and was reading to pay in the region of £60 for it.

    The only coat that was in anyway substantial, was £96. And you know what? Mug that I am, I bloody paid it. I like the coat. I like it a lot. But that doesn't change the fact that it was probably made by an asian child in a sweatshop somewhere, who was paid 2p per case of them. And they have the cheek to charge almost a hundred pounds for it. Of which no one deserving sees more than a few pence.

    Still, it will at least last me. I wear clothes til they disintegrate, which doesn't take all that long considering I never pay much for my clothes. But anyway, I just thought I'd share my unreasonable outrage at an unreasonable society :)

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  1. The Freshmaker
    I totally hear you. I am the queen of cheap. If I'm wearing it, it either came from a thrift store or was significantly marked down, and you can bet that I didn't pay more than $20 for it.

    I read all these fashion magazines, and nothing in them is less than $100. Yet, with my cheap wardrobe, everyone tells me that I have the best fashion sense of anyone they know.

    So I am, in essence, beating the fashion industry at their own game.

    Do they have Goodwill or something like it in the UK?
    The Freshmaker, Nov 1, 2008
  2. Wreybies
    When I was a woman's apparel buyer for Dayton Hudson in the states I was given a sneak peak into where all the stuff we pay way too much money for comes from. And guess what. You are more correct than you think. Many labels from high end to bargain basement get made in the same factories by the same people on the same machines. Tommy Hilfiger (a premium label in the states) is made by Jockey (America's leading producer of socks and underwear)! :eek:
    Wreybies, Nov 1, 2008
  3. Banzai
    I'm not sure what Goodwill is, to be honest Fresh, but we have charity shops...

    And yes, I knew that Wrey. Well, not your specific fact, but that generally high end brand stuff is identical to the nonentity stuff, aside from the logo. Not that I'd know what a high end brand is, because anyone who shells out an extra £100 just for a label is someone who I reserve the right to punch in the face whenever I feel like it (on the basis that no sense = no feeling).
    Banzai, Nov 1, 2008
  4. Torana
    Well I tend to pay an extra $100 for label, mainly because I AM buying for quality over price. I am fussy with what I wear and I don't care what others think about that.
    If I am willing to pay an extra $100 for something you may pay $50 for, then so be it. It's my decision. But I do know that the clothing I buy is better quality than the clothing that I could buy from Target here where I live. Target clothing IS dodgy. It never lasts, unless it is kids clothing...

    Plus, you want decent looking clothing, and decent looking goth/punk clothing, you have to buy label and pay the extra money.

    Oh, and one of the shops I used to spend hundreds of dollars in, on the smallest of tops, skirts, etc. The clothing was made here in Australia. I knew the owner well, and she made sure that nothing she put in her shop came from another country. Pity she closed down due to health reasons... :(
    Torana, Nov 2, 2008
  5. Banzai
    Well Torana, I'd add that in that case, my (somewhat acidically phrased) comments were not intended for you. I have no issue with people going for brands in a search for quality. It's the people who do it just to look like walking advertisments, and have more product placement on their person that I, Robot, out of the frankly ignorant belief that it makes them "cool".

    Personally, I remain unconvinced that the tat which the major brands pedal is any better quality than the tat which the bargain shops pedal. But I'm willing to accept I may be blinded by my own bile, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

    But shops such as Primark (I don't know if it's a worldwide chain, but I can guarantee there are equivelents everywhere) sell clothes at stupidly cheap prices, and I know that they are made with what essentially constitutes slave labour. And the worst part is that they are very good items, and in any first world country (or, indeed, in a fair world) craftsmanship like that would mean at the very least a decent living for the makers.
    Banzai, Nov 2, 2008
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