Retail Trend: Cheap Chic Fashion, Part III
November 9th, 2005
We’ll close this series with the line in the SF Gate article that we found particularly interesting. Lois Huff, senior vice president for Retail Forward, a market research firm, noted that “The idea of disposable as opposed to building a wardrobe is more popular now.”
Interesting idea, but we don’t think it’s a black and white issue. As with everything in life, there are shades of grey, and while people certainly aren’t meticulously building a static wardrobe, the average consumer is likely not replacing the entire closet each season (or every couple of seasons) with cheap chic clothes.
Our wardrobe advice? First build a solid foundation of good quality clothes. On top of that foundation, you can then have some fun with cheap chic, disposable fashion. Buy the cute, but cheap uber-cropped jacket that will last till the end of the season. Buy the slim tailored wool pants whose quality will elevate the look of everything you pair with it.
But know what to invest in and what to buy on the cheap, as that’s the key to a balanced wardrobe.
Need help? That’s what we’re here for. Leave a message, or shoot us an email at styleintelligence at gmail dot com!
Entry Filed under: News
2 Comments
1. La BellaDonna | December 1st, 2005 at 1:19 pm
Hmmm. Am I one of the few who expects what she buys to last as close to forever as possible, and wears it that long? Regardless of whether I pay a lot or a little for something, I expect it to last, um, for years. I take care of it, I mend it, as needed, or get it relined, altered, etc., and wear it either in a new configuration or with an old favorite. I want to wear that cropped jacket next year, too – it suits my figure. I want to be able to wear it when no one is selling cropped jackets. Is that so unusual?
Mind you, storage does get to be a bit of a problem …
2. Trisha | December 1st, 2005 at 9:18 pm
Nope, you’re not the only one. My closet is heavily weighted towards the good-quality foundation garments as well. I’d estimate that only about 10% could be considered “disposable.” And that 10% is mostly questionably constructed (but cute) tops from Forever21 and the like.
I’m all with you on the cropped jacket–I have a small frame, and regulaly proportioned jackets just don’t work for me
How do you deal with the storage problem? I left a bunch of clothes at my parents’ house and took over my sister’s extra closet space, my hall closet, the closet in the spare bedroom at my grandmother’s house, and I still run out of room in my own closet…