Now I'm sure that someone would say that its not a "designer" jacket as its not made by <insert name of overpriced company here>. Last year an Explorer Scout parent asked me if I could lend her son a waterproof, when I said I had she asked me if it was a good make as her son would only wear Nike! When I explained the pedigree of the jacket she again said "...but is it as good as a Nike jacket..."
Earlier this week I suggested that everything has a "designer" but it was pointed out that this starts to become a more philosophical grumble than I wanted it to be. So I am just going to grumble about what people refer to as designer wear without really giving it any thought.
When I got married my suit was made to measure (de rigour for the time) by a good old fashioned tailor - not sure how much it cost but I remember noting that a suit from Next (just down the road) was considerably more. And yet the Next "off the peg" suit would probably be regarded as more designer than the made to measure one......yes, it is odd.
On a non-uniform at school a couple of years ago one lad had a hat that cost him £45. I asked why it cost that much and his reply was "its from Hollister", I explained how much my Lowe walking hat had cost and why was his almost twice as much? The reply came "because its from Hollister". Realising that the lad didn't fully understand my question I went through the details of the Lowe hat (Gore-tex, warm lining and how well it has worked in the hills) and again asked why his was so much. Again I was met with "because its from Hollister"! I retired from the discussion in defeat. Now I know I always appear to have a downer on the likes of Hollister but when people automatically assume that they are buying quality because its expensive then maybe you can see my point.
So, I am sitting at a non-designer table drinking tea from a non-designer mug. Of course that doesn't make sense - they were obviously both designed by someone, it's just that they are not overpriced with a big badge on them
Back to NEXT - they sell designer gear, yes? The company was headed up by George Davies for many a year and his influence on fashion is well recorded. But then you look at George at Asda - designer clothing? Obviously not I hear you cry and yet its the same bloke!
I suppose this week's message is to think about what you buy? Don't just buy a label - if you spend £45 on hat make sure it is something a little more than a 50p hat with a badge on it.....even if that badge does say Hollister.
Grumble over.
