Label snobs everywhere, breathe a sigh of relief

Fashion is indeed a cruel mistress. It is one of the great paradoxes of the fashion industry that by the time a woman is able to afford expensive clothes, she has probably lost the figure to wear them.

And the cost of fashion has never been so high. So why do clothes cost what they do? Why does a Chloe shirt with ribbon trim cost US$1,995, and why will a pair of Ralph Lauren peep-toe pumps will set you back a cool $2,150? Even the September issue of Vogue, the fashion bible littered with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cardigans and dresses in every issue, asked: how much is too much?

For starters, some designers design collections as if they were designing for people with money to burn. And these people do exist, you know. How else do you explain the fact that Louis Vuitton stores never succumb to the annual sale season yet still manage to have a waiting list for its line of bags?

Second of all, if the dress is really, truly, kill-your-own- family amazing, and the event in which it will be worn is extraordinary (like a wedding), shoppers will gladly cough up the moolah.

"I think price is an issue only when it's a basic replacement item, like a gabardine suit. But if it's something that is fabulous and over-the-top and they have an immediate emotional response, then price is not going to be an issue." So says Penne Weidig, buyer for a boutique that has stores in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, who recently sold a herringbone Andrew Gn coat for $11,600.

Some store owners seemed surprised that things sell the way they do. Tracey Ross, owner of a namesake boutique in Los Angeles, is confident that Chloe jackets costing $2,000 and up will be snatched up in short time. "We had these $2,500 bags by Chloe. I had people buying two! They were sold out in two days. They didn't even hit the floor!"

Ross believes that the most durable high-fashion goods are most viable in times of high high-fashion prices. With that in mind, she was forced to shun some of the beautiful-but-too- expensive items like a pair of $600 tights.

Last but not least, the consumer also plays a part. The more expensive the item, the more desirable it becomes. Indonesians are known for their penchant for shopping (krismon? What krismon?). If shopping was a sport, we would have a good chance of winning a medal. This is no joke: a relative once put a dress in his shop window along with its actual price of Rp 20,000 (this was in the '80s). Months passed and the dress was untouched. For fun, he added another zero to the price. The dress sold that afternoon.

That's why Indonesians will be pleased to hear that "masstige" is sweeping American shores in a big way. What is "masstige"? Mass plus prestige equals "masstige", affordable luxury, class plus mass. "Take the idea of Chanel No. 5 and apply it to everything," Amanda Brooks, New York socialite and author of a new how-to book on personal style, explained. $38 scented candles? You get the idea. So if you cannot buy the coat, you can at least afford the soap. Label snobs everywhere, breathe a sigh of relief. -- Krabbe K. Piting