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I really don't understand why anyone is paying $300+ for a t-shirt when you can get really amazing t-shirts for $10.

megaman8 8y ago
despite all the advertising, it may surprise you to learn that it's actually quite rare for people to buy expensive clothes. i looked it up one time. i think it said less than 1% of the jeans sold in the US cost more than 50$
- max76 8y ago
  Off topic, but I think jeans are a great example of a product where more money leads to a better product, especially for a well informed consumer. Japanese Selvage Denim[0] (starting at ~$80)[1] uses higher quality denim, is woven tighter, comes unstretched/untreated so that the fabric better forms to the wearer's unique body shape, and often uses natural dyes which fade slower. In my experience they last longer, feel more comfortable, hold a better shape, keep a better color. [0]https://www.highsnobiety.com/2012/11/16/japanese-denim-a-history-of-the-worlds-best-denim/ https://www.highsnobiety.com/2012/11/16/japanese-denim-a-his... [1]https://www.amazon.com/Unbranded-Brand-UB401-Indigo-Selvedge/dp/B00YE2KNM0/ref=cts_ap_4_vtp https://www.amazon.com/Unbranded-Brand-UB401-Indigo-Selvedge...
  - bubblethink 8y ago
    True, but like most things, there's the law of diminishing returns. You'll extract most value out at your $100 price point (or even lower), and yet there are fads for Japanese denim costing a few times that. Same deal with audio etc.
longerthoughts 8y ago
Status symbols. That's why people are also eager to buy knock-off products of those with loud, visible branding (e.g. Supreme).
sonnyblarney 8y ago
Market for $300 T-shirts is very small. Niche, not really consumer.
- inscionent 8y ago
  Yeah NO ONE has ever made money selling luxury consumer goods, ever. /s
  - umeshunni 8y ago
    Not enough to warrant a near-trillion dollar market cap.
  - threeseed 8y ago
    LMVH made about $50 billion in revenue last year. Not great. But okay for a tiny market like luxury consumer goods. Probably should look at shutting up shop at some point.
  - sonnyblarney 8y ago
    It's a good point but most luxury goods are beyond $300 T-shirts. And when they are, it's because of the brand and everything else going on with the brand.
mayankkaizen 8y ago
Can't speak for other countries but in India, people buy iphones only as a status symbol. They don't really care about privacy or excellent hardware or Apple ecosystem.
- threeseed 8y ago
  Do you have any data to back that up ? Or are you suggesting you speak for 1.3 billion people.
- sho 8y ago
  Oh, you've gone and personally asked every single one of them, have you? What a ludicrous generalization. Not only do I personally know Indians who own iPhones and Macbooks for exactly the same reason I do - we like them better - but you could make the same specious argument about anything, anywhere. And really, does merely owning some sort of iPhone really confer status anywhere anymore, if it ever did? I haven't noticed anyone besides high-schoolers caring at all about whatever brand of phone someone happens to prefer for a decade. Time for that old trope to lay down and die.
  - claudiawerner 8y ago
    >And really, does merely owning some sort of iPhone really confer status anywhere anymore, if it ever did? No, but owning a newer one impresses those easily impressed. It says to others that you can afford it. The Internet, at the least, is rife with memes about Android users being "cheap". Gifts of iPhones are often also highly valued over Androids as gifts. The same sort of person impressed by expensive handbags and highstreet designer clothing in everyday situations is the same sort of person impressed by iPhones and sport cars in cities. I don't mean to pass any judgement when I say that, but I find the notion that people simply don't think "but I'll look poor if I use that" (perhaps unjustifiably, perhaps unconsciously) to be simply absurd. The vast quantity and desire for such show off products would show you wrong. The truth is that few people (and I know that this might sound unbelievable to a HN reader) simply don't care very much about a phone's functionality beyond availability of apps (which is almost at parity level between Android and iPhone), performance (the minimum accepted being met by almost all popular phones) and integration with other tech (which seems to matter less now that people have moved from using iTunes to Spotify, YouTube and Netflix). The look and high price are absolutely reasons why someone might prefer to buy and iPhone. It may not confer status to you but it seems to for a lot of others.
baroffoos 8y ago
Thats an even better example of mindless consumerism. At least an expensive phone actually has slightly better features. A tshirt is a tshirt, if it feels good and looks good thats the only meaningful statistics. The expensive ones don't last any longer than the cheap ones in my experience and its purely to show off that you have an expensive brand name shirt.
- ctvo 8y ago
  There's more to an item, especially one like a piece of clothing which involves design, than its utility value. For a t-shirt, these things jump immediately to mind that may increase its cost: - A limited batch - A particular cut - A particular print - Supporting a clothing brand / designer you have a connection with Why judge someone so harshly because they value some other aspect of the item differently than you? There's something incredibly ugly about being confident in your ignorance and casting judgement on other people.

despite all the advertising, it may surprise you to learn that it's actually quite rare for people to buy expensive clothes. i looked it up one time. i think it said less than 1% of the jeans sold in the US cost more than 50$

max76 8y ago
Off topic, but I think jeans are a great example of a product where more money leads to a better product, especially for a well informed consumer. Japanese Selvage Denim[0] (starting at ~$80)[1] uses higher quality denim, is woven tighter, comes unstretched/untreated so that the fabric better forms to the wearer's unique body shape, and often uses natural dyes which fade slower. In my experience they last longer, feel more comfortable, hold a better shape, keep a better color. [0]https://www.highsnobiety.com/2012/11/16/japanese-denim-a-history-of-the-worlds-best-denim/ https://www.highsnobiety.com/2012/11/16/japanese-denim-a-his... [1]https://www.amazon.com/Unbranded-Brand-UB401-Indigo-Selvedge/dp/B00YE2KNM0/ref=cts_ap_4_vtp https://www.amazon.com/Unbranded-Brand-UB401-Indigo-Selvedge...
- bubblethink 8y ago
  True, but like most things, there's the law of diminishing returns. You'll extract most value out at your $100 price point (or even lower), and yet there are fads for Japanese denim costing a few times that. Same deal with audio etc.

longerthoughts 8y ago

Status symbols. That's why people are also eager to buy knock-off products of those with loud, visible branding (e.g. Supreme).

sonnyblarney 8y ago

Market for $300 T-shirts is very small. Niche, not really consumer.

inscionent 8y ago
Yeah NO ONE has ever made money selling luxury consumer goods, ever. /s
- umeshunni 8y ago
  Not enough to warrant a near-trillion dollar market cap.
- threeseed 8y ago
  LMVH made about $50 billion in revenue last year. Not great. But okay for a tiny market like luxury consumer goods. Probably should look at shutting up shop at some point.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  It's a good point but most luxury goods are beyond $300 T-shirts. And when they are, it's because of the brand and everything else going on with the brand.

mayankkaizen 8y ago

Can't speak for other countries but in India, people buy iphones only as a status symbol. They don't really care about privacy or excellent hardware or Apple ecosystem.

threeseed 8y ago
Do you have any data to back that up ? Or are you suggesting you speak for 1.3 billion people.
sho 8y ago
Oh, you've gone and personally asked every single one of them, have you? What a ludicrous generalization. Not only do I personally know Indians who own iPhones and Macbooks for exactly the same reason I do - we like them better - but you could make the same specious argument about anything, anywhere. And really, does merely owning some sort of iPhone really confer status anywhere anymore, if it ever did? I haven't noticed anyone besides high-schoolers caring at all about whatever brand of phone someone happens to prefer for a decade. Time for that old trope to lay down and die.
- claudiawerner 8y ago
  >And really, does merely owning some sort of iPhone really confer status anywhere anymore, if it ever did? No, but owning a newer one impresses those easily impressed. It says to others that you can afford it. The Internet, at the least, is rife with memes about Android users being "cheap". Gifts of iPhones are often also highly valued over Androids as gifts. The same sort of person impressed by expensive handbags and highstreet designer clothing in everyday situations is the same sort of person impressed by iPhones and sport cars in cities. I don't mean to pass any judgement when I say that, but I find the notion that people simply don't think "but I'll look poor if I use that" (perhaps unjustifiably, perhaps unconsciously) to be simply absurd. The vast quantity and desire for such show off products would show you wrong. The truth is that few people (and I know that this might sound unbelievable to a HN reader) simply don't care very much about a phone's functionality beyond availability of apps (which is almost at parity level between Android and iPhone), performance (the minimum accepted being met by almost all popular phones) and integration with other tech (which seems to matter less now that people have moved from using iTunes to Spotify, YouTube and Netflix). The look and high price are absolutely reasons why someone might prefer to buy and iPhone. It may not confer status to you but it seems to for a lot of others.

baroffoos 8y ago

Thats an even better example of mindless consumerism. At least an expensive phone actually has slightly better features. A tshirt is a tshirt, if it feels good and looks good thats the only meaningful statistics. The expensive ones don't last any longer than the cheap ones in my experience and its purely to show off that you have an expensive brand name shirt.

ctvo 8y ago
There's more to an item, especially one like a piece of clothing which involves design, than its utility value. For a t-shirt, these things jump immediately to mind that may increase its cost: - A limited batch - A particular cut - A particular print - Supporting a clothing brand / designer you have a connection with Why judge someone so harshly because they value some other aspect of the item differently than you? There's something incredibly ugly about being confident in your ignorance and casting judgement on other people.