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Same question for men's ties (though it's been a while since I've been in the market for one). Expensive ties have attractive patterns, and cheap ones have horr

by sowbug 9y ago

Same question for men's ties (though it's been a while since I've been in the market for one). Expensive ties have attractive patterns, and cheap ones have horrifying ones. But the pattern is effectively software. Is a nice tie pattern truly that hard to create?

derefr 9y ago
My hypothesis was always that all the simple, nice tie patterns are "taken" as symbols for various old boys' clubs (Universities et al), leaving only ugly designs "meaningless" enough for general use. The same thing is true, IIRC, of Scottish tartans. All the nice plaid represents some clan or another.
rtpg 9y ago
My theory is that ugly ties are there to sell the nice (simple) ties. I've had similar experiences with dress shirts as well. Plain nice shirts end up costing more than elaborate designs because that's the one people actually want
- Godel_unicode 9y ago
  I've noticed this a lot in men's fashion. If you want a well made garment not covered in a giant logo/design, it's going to be more expensive. I always assumed that, when it comes to logo covered clothing, you were getting a subsidized price in return for "repping" e.g. Nike.
  - wastedhours 9y ago
    Perhaps some brands do it that way, but usually in the luxury goods industry (and quite often in fast fashion like Nike) manufacturers will create "accessible" pieces designed specifically with brand poseurs who can't afford the premium products in the portfolio in mind, with a larger logo/unique design to emphasise the acquisition of a brand's product. I can't find the source online, but I remember reading in "The Luxury Strategy" [0] that the cars at the lower end of the Mercedes line-up had badges 2" larger than those on the premium cars (e.g. A vs S Class), and the LV on the lower end Vuitton bags was larger than the higher end ones - specifically so they could be seen more easily to heighten the ego of the owner. [0] Kapferer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Luxury-Strategy-Break-Marketing-Brands/dp/0749464917 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Luxury-Strategy-Break-Marketing-Bra...
dragonwriter 9y ago
Prices aren't determined solely on the supply side. Patterns that people are willing to pay more for are more expensive because there is more money chasing them, not because they are more expensive to create.
- sowbug 9y ago
  That's probably a component of the right answer, but you'd think that the suppliers of the less valuable patterns would adjust quickly and emulate the more valuable ones.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    Quite often they are the same suppliers, even if the branding is different; the reason they produce both is that the “better” patterns aren't universally preferred, they are just what is preferred by people with more money to spend, and the other patterns are preferred to people with less money to spend. And there is considerable money spent making sure that those differences exist and evolve over time; because it drives spending and market segmentation.

by sowbug 9y ago

derefr 9y ago

My hypothesis was always that all the simple, nice tie patterns are "taken" as symbols for various old boys' clubs (Universities et al), leaving only ugly designs "meaningless" enough for general use. The same thing is true, IIRC, of Scottish tartans. All the nice plaid represents some clan or another.

rtpg 9y ago

My theory is that ugly ties are there to sell the nice (simple) ties. I've had similar experiences with dress shirts as well. Plain nice shirts end up costing more than elaborate designs because that's the one people actually want

Godel_unicode 9y ago
I've noticed this a lot in men's fashion. If you want a well made garment not covered in a giant logo/design, it's going to be more expensive. I always assumed that, when it comes to logo covered clothing, you were getting a subsidized price in return for "repping" e.g. Nike.
- wastedhours 9y ago
  Perhaps some brands do it that way, but usually in the luxury goods industry (and quite often in fast fashion like Nike) manufacturers will create "accessible" pieces designed specifically with brand poseurs who can't afford the premium products in the portfolio in mind, with a larger logo/unique design to emphasise the acquisition of a brand's product. I can't find the source online, but I remember reading in "The Luxury Strategy" [0] that the cars at the lower end of the Mercedes line-up had badges 2" larger than those on the premium cars (e.g. A vs S Class), and the LV on the lower end Vuitton bags was larger than the higher end ones - specifically so they could be seen more easily to heighten the ego of the owner. [0] Kapferer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Luxury-Strategy-Break-Marketing-Brands/dp/0749464917 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Luxury-Strategy-Break-Marketing-Bra...

dragonwriter 9y ago

Prices aren't determined solely on the supply side. Patterns that people are willing to pay more for are more expensive because there is more money chasing them, not because they are more expensive to create.

sowbug 9y ago
That's probably a component of the right answer, but you'd think that the suppliers of the less valuable patterns would adjust quickly and emulate the more valuable ones.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  Quite often they are the same suppliers, even if the branding is different; the reason they produce both is that the “better” patterns aren't universally preferred, they are just what is preferred by people with more money to spend, and the other patterns are preferred to people with less money to spend. And there is considerable money spent making sure that those differences exist and evolve over time; because it drives spending and market segmentation.