(Click the link to read about the where title of this post originates - it's worth the read!)
We were thumbing through the pages of a new J. Crew catalog earlier this evening and as my girlfriend points to a picture of a mildly attractive woman, wearing an ensemble that she would probably never wear, she proclaims how much she likes the coat that the lady is wearing. I tell her that I don’t care for it much, but of course, in this discussion, my opinion will not matter!
However, I quickly noticed numerous other issues that I had with the picture that were in little relation to the actual outfit. The first thing I noticed was the fact that the woman was standing in a fountain. Why? What does that have to do with selling clothing? After I noticed that, I glanced at the background of the photo, which was a picturesque garden of sorts. The kind you would think of when describing an old English or French manor with a large plot of land behind the house. Again, what does this have to do with selling clothing? How does someone see this picture and say to themselves, “This is a practical time to be wearing this outfit, while walking around my enormous backyard!” If the person was wearing this outfit and standing in an office, walking along a city street, sitting at an outdoor café or even standing in front of a mirror while getting ready to go out, I could certainly see it as a reasonable idea to sell the product, but in a scenic garden? I don’t get it.
The next and most important problem with the picture, in my opinion, was the price of the clothing: $250 for that jacket, $300 for the skirt and $180 for the blouse. The ironic thing about seeing those ridiculous prices was that the two of us had a conversation earlier in the day about the outrageous cost of a pair of jeans that I almost bought.
I went to The Gap earlier in the day because fall has arrived and I was in need of new jeans. First of all, I’m not a victim of fashion as any one of my friends will tell you. I like shorts/jeans and a t-shirt or polo, but none of it has to be a name brand and I don’t care what people think of that. I’m not preppy, nor would I want to carry a look that screams “pretentious”, whether I am or not. I’m not grungy, nor would I want to carry a look that says “scrubby”, whether I am or not. I just don’t care what people think of what my clothes say about me, even if they say “I don’t care what you think of me!” I can, and do, look good wearing the clothes I wear and most important, I’m comfortable in them. Anyway, the past 6 or 8 pairs of jeans I’ve bought have all been from The Gap and I like how they look and feel on me and they seem to last a couple years, which is great considering how much I’ll wear one pair. So I went again today, walked over the area where all the jeans were and picked up a couple pair to try on. Now, as I said, I’m not a slave to fashion, so when I tried on the first pair and I couldn’t see my feet because the bottoms of them were so wide open or flared-out, whatever it’s called, I quickly dismissed this pair, whether the rest of them fit correctly in other areas or not. I then tried on the other pair and while the opening at the bottom was a little better, but still not how I would like them, the other areas did not fit that well. Well, two pairs down and hopefully not too many more to go. I walked back out and looked for more styles and when I couldn’t find any, I asked for some help. Surprisingly, the pretty young associate (read: blonde hair, blue eyes, big breasts and I admit, I assumed air-headed) was attentive and knowledgeable as she lead to me to the area of what I was looking for. She asked if this was what I was in search of and I nodded, thanked her and said I would come find her if I needed anymore help. She said, “You’re welcome”, which I was a little shocked at, but no less happy to hear and she walked away to tend to other customers. On a side note, I have issues with customer service these days, if you couldn’t tell, but that’s for another day. I found my size, walked back to the dressing room and proceeded to try on my 2 new pairs of jeans. The first pair was almost perfect in fit, except the waist was a little tighter than I’d like. I figured they would stretch, but I would prefer to just be able to put them on without worrying about it. Anyway, I took them off and went to put on the 2nd pair when I noticed the price tag on the first pair - $44.50 – for denim, blue jeans. One of the least expensive fabrics and least expensive products to assemble was selling for $44.50. I could not believe that a store could charge that amount for a product that costs so little to produce!
How have we valued the material goods in our lives that a pair of blue jeans costs this much money? Maybe I sound old and dated, but seriously, $44.50 for blue jeans! People should stop paying these prices and start being outraged about them. I could go on about numerous items that are overpriced and overvalued by society, but that would just be redundant, so I’ll spare everyone those words.
So let’s go back to the J. Crew catalog now: $250 for that jacket, $300 for the skirt and $180 for the blouse. Need I say more?
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