为时尚买单是否真的物有所值？

 

为时尚买单是否真的物有所值？

Is Today's Fashion Really Worth its Price?

不同的时装品牌决定了我们将在世人面前呈现出何种形象，它可能价格高昂，如今更是如此。然而，美丽的外表不一定要靠金钱来包装，享受时尚可能要付出代价，为气质买单却另当别论。

The world of fashion brands play a key role in the type of image we wish to portray to the outside world, but it may have its costs, today now more than ever. Meanwhile, looking good does not have to be expensive, fashion may come at a price, but style certainly should not.

这么说吧，“爱马仕Kelly手包10年内价涨63%，Carrie Bradshaw著名的Manolos从$485涨到$755”，Acne小羊皮夹克（我一直密切关注着）的定价在不到2年的时间内上涨了30%，10年来奢侈品价涨60%。（数据源自美国劳动统计局）

Lets put it this way, “In 13 years, the price of a Hermès Kelly bag has gone up to over 63% in ten years, Carrie Bradshaw’s famous Manolos have risen from $485 to $755”, in less than two years Acne’s sheep skin jacket ( that I’ve been closely having my eye on), increased to over 30 ％ where the average cost of luxury goods has risen over 60 ％ in a decade (According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics).

导致奢侈品价格膨胀的原因何在？

But why is this luxury fashion inflation happening？

一些人认为珍稀动物皮毛的选用、劳动力和原材料成本的上升导致了价格上调，另一些人则认为价格上升有利于增强商品的吸引力，满足少数拥有者独享的愿望。

Some state that the rising costs are due to the use of rare animal skins, increasing costs of rising labor and raw materials, while other say that rising prices have a positive impact on the appeal of the goods giving it a higher exclusivity to the happy few making it more desirable.Nevertheless, premium and luxury goods are now much more expensive than before and this may be due to the repercussion of the demand verses supply effect; middle class and HNWI’s are increasing more than ever before where they are willing to spend more on scarcer rarer luxury goods. In addition, with social media and e-commerce, luxury goods have never been this easily accessible.







不过，换个角度看，时尚设计师和奢侈品牌曾经都采取手工缝制，然而随着富裕人群的增加、经济和科技的发展，这种方式已经难以满足消费者、利益相关者和投资者的需求，也就难以获得更高的利益。奢侈品牌如今也加入了大众传媒的浪潮。时尚品牌通过扩大营销渠道来拓展知名度，靠的不仅是质量，更是全面的品牌形象。此外，“某国制造”也很费脑筋，真正“某国制造”的概念变得模棱两可，不禁让人拷问为时尚埋高价的意义在哪。比如：你有一个手包，它的手柄产自南美洲，皮革底板产自印度，剩下的部件从其他国家进口，又在意大利组装成型，最后成了法律许可的“意大利制造”手包，在我看来这就有点欺骗消费者的嫌疑了。



此外，电商的发展使得时尚民主化，价值5位数的连衣裙得以在全世界的女性手中流转，扩大了消费者寻找独特、半定制商品的机会。

In addition, the democratization of fashion through online retailers have also allowed high fashion five-figure dresses to women everywhere around the world where consumers are seeking for more unique special and semi customized products.

那么，今日时尚的价值到底在哪？

So what is the real value of today’s fashion

是买到那件+5000 $ 标有“意大利制造”的酒会礼服？还是那双你心心恋恋、花费一个月工资的red soul高跟鞋？

Is it buying over 5000 $ worth of “Made in Italy” stated cocktail dresses or the iconic red soul shoes you were dying to have that is almost worth ones one month salary?



说到底，只要我们不是为了消费而消费，衣橱里的品牌再多也无伤大雅。

To set things straight, there is nothing wrong with investing in an uberly branded wardrobe, as long as we’re not consuming for the sake of pure consumption.



一个女人的气质并不取决于衣橱里有多少昂贵的衣服。它很简单，用不着一分一厘，只要拥有一双善于发现美的眼睛就好。如果你能保证收支平衡，放纵自己投资几样时尚单品也并无不可。然而，奢侈品价格膨胀背后的真正价值还有待商榷，你怎么看呢？

A woman of style is not defined by the many expensive items that she has in her closet. It's as simple as having an eye for what is flattering, without necessarily paying a fortune for it. However, there’s really nothing wrong with indulging on several fashion items and “key” investment pieces if you can proportionally afford them while paying the bills, however the real value of inflated fashion prices becomes more and more questionable everyday.

What do you think?



Photos sourced from the Internet, Original text / 图片来自网络，文字原创