Going back to the "active" conversation.

I look at my house and say "this is half a million dollars!?" But, it would be if we decided to sell right now.

Disney is responding to the market and what it will bear and to what the diverse audience will buy. Fred Segal is making tons of money off of Disney characters at the moment, why should they make all of the money when the demand is there within their own fan base? I think it is a pretty smart business decision.

Because it's their only distinguishing feature from anything else around it.

Here's my question...had they priced those Reyn Spooner shirts at the standard 'Aloha shirt' price level, would anyone look at them and think, "OMG, these are only $39? I don't believe they're not charging $80 for this!!"?

Certainly there is a market for overpriced goods and Disney is never one to let a dollar slip bye.

Some people like to pay top dollar for stuff. It shows a "Hey I can afford this and you cannot" type of vibe. Paris Hilton is the poster child for this.

To an extent, it does not matter what the item is just that's it's more than most people are willing to pay. You could take the price tag off the shirt and move it to another one with the same result. As long as there were not too many available. Part of what you would be paying for is having less copies on the market.

I have to admit, I don't always get why one item of clothing costs more for another. When buying swimsuits for example, I am really annoyed at the price. I mean, there's hardly any material there, what's all the money for? It was explained to me that it's because swimsuits are a pain in the ass to make, and take more effort than your average pair of pants.

I would rather have 2 pricy but beautiful shirts that fit well than 10 cheap and ugly ones that fit like crap. (And it usually happens that way) It's when I want too many pricy ones that I get into trouble. ;)

Hmm, you've asked the wrong Jew on that one.

I just want enough shirts that don't make me look even worse than I already do so that I can make it through my work week without having to do laundry midway.

And, I'm not Jewish.

And, I'm an educated art snob to boot.

And if these were limited edition, I'd have been far less shocked.