"Last month, hundreds of people lined up at The Row's Sample Sale - or paid linesitters as much as $40 an hour to do so - for the privilege of spending $130 on a plain white T-shirt designed by Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen. That price, more than 10 times the price of a classic Hanes V-neck, is a steal for an item from The Row. The brand's classic Tori tee - a 100% midweight cotton shirt with a ripped neckline - typically costs $520."
"If a $130 shirt didn't beg the question, a $520 one does: What makes one of a closet's simplest items worth more than a round-trip flight from New York to San Francisco or some laptops? There's no logo, no cashmere, no silk. To the untrained eye, the only distinction is a straight line of stitching running down the back. It's emblematic of how expensive luxury goods have gotten."
A plain white T-shirt from The Row sold for $130 at a sample sale, while the brand's Tori tee typically retails for $520. Consumers sometimes paid linesitters up to $40 an hour to secure purchases. The garment lacks overt luxury markers like logos or exotic fabrics; visual distinctions include a single stitch down the back. Handbag prices rose dramatically from 2019 to 2023, with some increases reaching as high as 100%. Luxury pricing hinges more on perception, design, and the production process than on basic material costs, attracting customers who are often price-agnostic.
Read at Business Insider
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