This is some sort of sick joke, right?

[Moonliner]

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.

[Stan4dSteph]

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.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Part of what you would be paying for is having less copies on the market.

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

[mousepod]

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!!"?

[Not Afraid]

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.

[Prudence]

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.

[katiesue]

Originally Posted by Prudence

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.

This is my current fashion philosophy as well.

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by katiesue

This is my current fashion philosophy as well.

It's good to know I'm not alone! I've always been fashion impaired. If I have to go somewhere important, usually my mother consults on attire - in some cases this extends to outright buying things for me because I have Nothing Suitable.

Here's my take on the initial argument:

The shirts were described as being poorly made. I haven't seen them, so I really have no idea if this is true or not.

Poorly made goods are my bugaboo. I have so many silly hobbies that I can't possible begrudge anyone their very expensive shirt. UNLESS the shirt is poorly made - seems ripping out, patterns don't match where they should, pieces that should be cut on grain or bias not cut that way, etc... Not a design issue, but an assembly issue.

I can accept that this is not an issue for some people. And for all I know it's the height of fashion to have a blown seam or dragging hem.

But it still causes me to channel my grandmother and make disapproving noises because I'll never understand the attraction.

And then I remind myself that my family saves Pringles cans to store various bits of things and thus is likely not a good source of fashion advice.

[Not Afraid]

This is new I have posted before in another thread that I am too lazy to locate, but Disney's been on to the high fashion train for a while now, and it's been very successful.

Originally Posted by Reuters Oct 2005

LOS ANGELES - The marketing of Mickey Mouse and his friends is getting curiouser and curiouser.
The Walt Disney Co. is taking consumers down the rabbit hole to a land where crystal-studded Mickey Mouse T-shirts cost $1,400, Tinkerbell earrings run $630, and a Cheshire Cat wrap sells for $500 -- and consumers are gladly paying.
Disney's consumer division, better known for peddling kid-oriented fashions at Wal-Mart, has been cashing in on a hot trend in haute couture for vintage art.

It's chic and they'd be stupid not to cash in on the trend. God knows it will be gone soon enough.

[BarTopDancer]

If the Bambi thermal in question was a "standard" DL price I would have probably purchased it. I would not have gone "omg it's only $36" or "why isn't this $110?". $36 is about what I would expect to pay for that type of shirt at that local. If I saw a similar shirt in Kohls I'd probably go "That's cute but not $36 cute" and wait for it to go on sale. It's all about where you are and your internal spending values.

I just paid $26 for the Jack Skellington messenger bag from the Villians Shop. At DL it's worth it to me but I doubt I would pay $26 for that bag at Hot Topic. It's all about where you are. Or where I am.