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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think wearing a £2600 dress is vulgar?

301 replies

CloudsofBrick · 28/10/2015 12:25

According to This Morning (I'm on half term with a rare child - free day, don't judge) Kate Middleton was wearing some designer flowery thing for a night out this week that cost £2600.

AIBU in feeling slightly sick at the thought of a garment costing so much? Especially when that is almost two month's wages for me.

Even if I got rich, I swear I would never feel comfortable spending that sort of money on clothes Confused

OP posts:
HopefulAnxiety · 28/10/2015 15:02

YY Talkin don't most big designer houses make their money from fragrance and cosmetics?

Thanks for the input - I know it's on a much smaller scale, but it's like when really good quality handmade crafts or artwork get called 'ooh really expensive'*. It's not, it's just that mass-produced stuff can make stuff much cheaper. Handcrafting anything is expensive because of the labour costs.

*talking about professional quality stuff, not glittery shite from FB selling pages!

MrsDeVere · 28/10/2015 15:03

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NewBallsPlease00 · 28/10/2015 15:04

It was a hedge fund event; possibly one of the cheapest dresses worn...

ApplePaltrow · 28/10/2015 15:05

Do people understand how much clothes actually should cost? Yes this is a lot BUT do you understand that ethically "cheaper" is not "better"?

A good example of a company that controls its entire supply chain and manufactures a really small range of items to maintain quality is called Everlane. They manufacture a really small range of sizes and sell online so they don't have retail costs. They don't have to show at fashion shows and they are still really small. They only sell plain well made basics like a t-shirt or a cardigan that are suitable on a wide range of bodies. They still manufacture mainly in developing countries. They sell each item for around $100 dollars each.

If everyone on the supply chain is being paid well, a specially made gown that is hand sewn SHOULD COST HUNDREDS OF POUNDS AT LEAST. A hand sewn gown made in the UK... I don't think thousands of pounds is a ridiculous amount. I wouldn't pay that but I don't think it's unethical, actually the opposite.

TalkinPease · 28/10/2015 15:05

Hopeful
I am not a seamstress but my Mum used to make all of her own clothes and I know how complicated it is to make a bias cut Vogue pattern
anything produced in batches under 500 will either be eye wateringly expensive or loss making

MiL used to hand knit jumpers and people were annoyed that she wanted £150 for 20 hours work .....

HopefulAnxiety · 28/10/2015 15:06

Strawberry sewists nowadays, not seamstresses. Of course many of them like Tilly & The Buttons don't have a clue what actual women wear...

(I am looking into getting into dressmaking but space-limited at the moment)

SeveredHeadsDragOnTheFloor · 28/10/2015 15:07

Her job is to be eye candy. She can't really do that dressed in Primani.

MrsDeVere · 28/10/2015 15:08

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StrawberryTeaLeaf · 28/10/2015 15:08

I don't know Strawberry I haven't seen it yet grin

Oh I see. It had a sheen. Possibly shantung silk or similar but somehow it looked cheap. I only glanced, though.

I am a clothes/fabric nerd. I dabble a bit in sewing but I don't think I am fastidious enough to be a proper seamstress. I go for quick and easy. Nothing quick and easy about couture.

I like to go to the V&A and point out french seams to my eye rolling children

I bet they love that Grin

MrsDeVere · 28/10/2015 15:09

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HopefulAnxiety · 28/10/2015 15:09

Talkin I think people think crafters magic their products out of the air - they don't understand that 20 hours work (for example) really is work.

To me the attitude is a sort of extension of wifework - most crafters are women (and I think a lot of people working for designers making couture items are women) and it's not considered real work because it's making something not sitting at a desk.

AliceTerrapin · 28/10/2015 15:10

I like to go to the V&A and point out french seams to my eye rolling children

You sound absolutely ace.

StrawberryTeaLeaf · 28/10/2015 15:10

Strawberry sewists nowadays, not seamstresses. Of course many of them like Tilly & The Buttons don't have a clue what actual women wear...

Sewists? That's today's new word, then Smile

(I am looking into getting into dressmaking but space-limited at the moment)

Good luck. Sounds fun if you can find a way.

The80sweregreat · 28/10/2015 15:10

Talking, thank you.,my ignorance - I suppose i just imagine they are all loaded - VB seems to be!

CarrotVan · 28/10/2015 15:10

It looked cheap because the bodice was badly fitted and the pleating at the waist was all over the place.

StrawberryTeaLeaf · 28/10/2015 15:13

It looked cheap because the bodice was badly fitted

Yes, I just looked at talk's link. That bodice is dreadful. I can't even tell where the waist should sit. If that's a friend making your clothes... Confused

HopefulAnxiety · 28/10/2015 15:15

Also I too love the pointing out of french seams to eye-rolling children Grin

DinosaursRoar · 28/10/2015 15:16

CarrotVan - I was wondering about that, i'd noticed she's been out in town in a selection of frocks recently, all of which looked a bit wrong on the fitting, like they were a tiny bit too big for her, I did wonder if she'd made time for a selection of fittings a while ago, then lost a bit of weight by the time she got round to wearing them... (Must be annoying for the steamstresses, to spend so much time getting a frock perfect for someone's body, just for them to lose or gain weight before being seen in it and waste their work)

MrsDeVere · 28/10/2015 15:16

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pandarific · 28/10/2015 15:18

Ooooh OP is green. So very, very green.

MrsDeVere · 28/10/2015 15:18

This reply has been deleted

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CarrotVan · 28/10/2015 15:18

I wondered if the postnatal breast changes had caught her out in terms of the fit. A tailored bodice can be rather unforgiving. It generally looks a little too big but the actual design is nasty

TalkinPease · 28/10/2015 15:18

Not just that but if you are going to have darts on the bust, either make the pattern line up or choose a fabric that does not shout SEAM at every join

its just not a good dress
regardless of who wore it and whether they paid for it Grin

totalrecall1 · 28/10/2015 15:20

lordStrange - don't think people are responding on the basis of her royalness, more the assumption that is vulgar to spend whatever the hell you want on a dress