Finding Quality At Any Price, Part 1 of 4

I’ve written in the past about comparisons between high priced and more moderately priced clothing. But I only compared two gowns at that time. Today, I plan to cover a more comprehensive range of clothing.

What should you look for in a pretty summer dress, a dressy blouse, a pantsuit? Of course a lot depends on what you’re planning to spend. But, that’s not the only issue. 

You can sometimes find a beautifully made garment in a fine fabric for less than you’d spend on something mediocre with a big-time designer name on the label.

I must say that although I have found this fairly often, in most cases you actually do get what you pay for.

First, I’m going to compare the pretty, feminine dress-up dresses that are trending right now. Then I’ll compare the kind of tailored goods you need for professional dressing. Unlike in the past, this week I’m going to name names.

First up, let’s take a look at the highest priced of three comparisons: Zimmermann, a label that specializes in beautiful, romantic dresses, blouses and a few gowns, often in dreamy water-color prints. They’re starting to tip-toe into the tailored market, but it’s not what they’re known for and I’m just beginning to see the tailored pieces at retail.

Zimmermann brings a lot to their line. Their workmanship is superb and they always work in environmentally conscious fabrics, most often linen/silk blends, cotton/silk blends, pure linen, pure cotton, pure silk and, occasionally, lightweight wool. 

They put a lot of detail into their clothing - embroidery, appliqué, smocking, tucking and ruching, all of which add, not only to the look of the garment, but to the cost of production.

You can expect to pay $2,000 — $5,000 for a gown, but for a dress, the price is between $750 and $1,800 early in a new season. So, it’s pretty pricy if your sister is getting married this month or if you can’t wait to get your hands on it or can’t take the chance that that dress will still be there when the sales start in a few weeks.

By the middle of the season, six or eight weeks after a dress hits the stores, you’ll begin to find it on sale for 20% to 25% off. By the end of the season, when the next season starts to ship, you’ll find it for as much as 60% off - or even more if you shop outlet stores.

Next up, a mid-range label, Alice + Olivia. They frequently offer the same kind of ultra feminine looks as Zimmermann, but design in a broader range of styles. They usually provide reliably high quality workmanship.

They do use some environmentally friendly fabrics like cotton/silk blends, pure cotton and viscose, but you’ll more often find polyester blends and all polyester. They sometimes work with embroidery and smocking, but usually stick with ruffles, flounces and other less expensive detailing.

They make a few gowns that run in the $1,000-1,500 range. Their dresses sell for $350 — $700 in a new season and drop throughout the season at about the same rate as Zimmermann or a bit faster. Pretty standard in the clothing industry.

Finally, Needle & Thread which specializes in pretty feminine dresses, along the lines of Zimmermann in style but without the environmental consciousness. About half of their styles are maxi-dresses. Their workmanship is good, but not as reliable as Alice + Olivia.

I’ve seen a few of their dresses in viscose, but most of their line is made of polyester and occasionally nylon. They feature all-over machine embroidery, sometimes sequin embellishment, but more often ruffles and flounces.

Their price range is from $250 — $650 and sometimes a bit higher for a particularly special maxi-dress. Price reductions follow standard mark-downs.

Next: Tailored Goods

Tailored goods include skirt-suits, pantsuits, blazers, skirts, trousers and tailored dresses. These are your professional and drrss-up mainstays. You can usually afford to pay more for them than for a pretty silk dress because they go from season to season and if you don’t buy exaggerated styles, they can serve you for years if you update them with trending accessories..

There are any number of designers that make high-end tailored goods, like Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCarthy. I particularly like Gabriela Hearst.

Gabriela Hearst designs updated classic dresses, blazers, skirts, trousers and various shirts and sweaters intended to be worn with the major pieces in the collection. I’ve rarely seen her produce anything stodgy or unimaginative, but, at the same time, she designs garments that will go from year to year. 

She works only in the finest natural fibers like wool, cashmere, silk, cotton and various natural fiber blends, such as wool/silk or cashmere/silk. Her tailoring and details are impeccable.

Take a deep breath and remember you’re shopping for the long haul. This season her dresses run from $2,000 - 7,000. Blazers: $2,500 - 6,500, Skirts: $1,000 - 2,000, Trousers: $1,200 — $2,000. Sweaters and tops are priced proportionally.

One good thing about classic tailoring is that because they’re not trendy, you can afford to wait for the sales when the “New Arrivals” prices drop at about the same rate as I described above.

For our mid-range line, I’ve chosen Veronica Beard. This label produces a line of tailored blazers, pants, skirts and sportswear aimed at young professionals and women who like to wear blazers with their jeans and other casual pants.

The thing that sets Veronica Beard apart from much less expensive blazers and pants is quality tailoring. You can buy a blazer at Walmart for $35 and it will be worth $35 all day long. Veronica Beard’s sportswear is well cut and well made. They look good and that’s what makes them worth more.

Most of their garments are made from Rayon/polyester or viscose/polyester blends or all polyester. I’ve seen a smattering of polyester/wool and polyester/linen here and there.

Blazers and other jackets average between $350 and $650. Skirts and pants go for between $250 - $450.00.

Discounting and mark-downs happen early with this label, so if you spot something you like, wait a few of weeks if you can. You’ll probably get it for less without waiting until the middle or end of the season. 

My least expensive line is going to surprise you, it’s Banana Republic. Yes, that Banana Republic. Of course the store offers some version of just about everything in women’s wear, but here, I’m talking about Tailored Goods.

Their choices in tailored garments are somewhat limited, usually offering about half a dozen styles of lined blazers in basic colors - black, navy, gray, red, cream and an occasional subdued plaid. 

Skirts and Trousers are even more limited, usually two styles each in black, navy, gray and cream, but, with colorful shirts and trending accessories, you can build an impressive professional wardrobe with these pieces.

The surprising thing about Banana Republic’s tailored pieces is that they use better fabrics than all but the highest priced labels. 

Here’s a breakdown of some of their blazer fabrics: 52%/46% wool/recycled poly blend, 64%/36% recycled poly/Rayon blend, 64%/36% cotton/rayon blend. 

Their skirts and trousers are all 52%/48% wool/poly blend. I am impressed by their wide use of wool, Rayon and viscose, even more impressed by their consistent use of recycled polyester.

They take justifiable pride that their tailored pieces are all made in Italy at Mill Marzotto where many very pricy tailored clothing is also manufactured. The quality is high to very good. Sizing is consistent. 

Blazers are priced at $199, trousers at $110, their A-line skirt is priced at $110. and their pencil skirt at $98. They all go on sale early. I checked and now, at the end of March, most of their pieces are already running at 30% off.

Since I am limited in the number of issues I can cover in any one blog, this is the first of four I’m devoting to these kinds of comparisons. I hope this one has been helpful to you in terms of what’s going on, what to expect and when.

Next week: Casual Dresses and Separates

- Gabrielle