Mint Velvet- why so expensive?

[MumblingsonMN]

It used to be somewhere that I'd but the occasional top from or trousers but now everything is almost £100 for a blouse.

Why is anything expensive? Why does a retailer choose to price at that price point rather than a different one? Cos they are tapping into that end of the market, and there are presumably enough people willing to pay for the brand to make this sustainable.
Many brands pricing at this level will anticipate shifting most of their stock in the sales and in effect have two pricing strategies, full price for those who can afford it and don't want to wait for the sales and sale price for those shoppers who would rather get a bargain, they will shift what they can at full price then discount the rest.

I think it's all horrendously over priced and wouldn't go near a mint velvet item at full price, even at sale price it's probably not worth it for me, but someone somewhere must be buying them.

I love their T shirts. Great quality so happy to pay full price for them

I agree. I’m lucky in that someone in our village must buy a lot in Mint Velvet and is my size as our local charity shop turns up some gems. However there’s no way I’d be paying full or sale price in the stores.

I bought a rubbish dress from there last summer. It was £70-£80, which is double what I’d normally spend on a dress but I really liked the style. It was thin and unlined and no better quality than new look or H&M.

The point I was trying to make is that they have changed.

I used to buy a few jumpers and some tops and considered them 'reasonably' priced when they did 15% off (not the cheapest of course but not more than Jigsaw, for example.) I never felt I was being ripped off. This was about 10 years ago.

They seem to have tried to elevate themselves when a lot of the stuff is polyester.

I was going to start a similar thread - though not specifically about Mint Velvet - I'm just at a loss of where to shop - mid range - for basic but half decent items. Loads of shops have drastically slashed the quality of their clothing yet hiked the price up... it's infuriating. Re Mint Velvet - about five years ago I bought a pair of suede trainers and an evening-y top and they were great but I've noticed - as you say - everything more recently seems to be made of cheap polyester at ridiculous prices.

I wore the trainers to death, ordered a different pair but they were nowhere near any good - just poor construction/ uncomfy.

Other brands I've noticed have really gone downhill yet the prices gone up... Boden, Crew (though I only started buying things the last few years), Hush.

I bought a lovely Xmas black sequin dress from there for £180 which I will wear for several more Christmasses.

MV was always a luxury brand for my budget though- can't justify £££ for items that might not wash well or might date.

I buy less and always think can I see myself wearing this in 10 years.

Boden is really just sales for me.

I never loved Hush - its basically how I dressed in my 20s for three times the price! No thanks.

What these brands do brilliantly is photographing models wearing clothes In photo shoots, it's all just marketing.

What I do think is the whole fashion industry is broken, due to outsourcing. Enormous amounts of waste. Clothes made and never bought.

No idea. I’m happy to pay those sort of prices (or more) for good quality stuff, but it’s not quality stuff.

There’s a good TikTok account which comes up on my fyp sometimes and she’s a clothing designer type person, done a fashion degree, etc. she examines clothes in shops for their quality, so seams, cut, hems, stitching, material, button holes, etc. she’s never impressed with Mint Velvet. Like a pp said, there’s a lot of polyester these days too!

Vinted is your answer.

@LogicalBlodge

Glad you scored a nice dress! I think a lot of these shops you can get decent stuff but there's no consistency which makes shopping way more tiresome.

Haha Hush - yes, I have two decent dresses and a t shirt / joggers... but they've really gone down the pan. What's worse - the photos of the models in the dresses don't even look nice any more! I'm just thinking maybe young women who are only just buying clothes now won't know any different? I'm just agog at what they think they can get away with. I'm looking at stuff I bought from La Redoute 10-15 years ago, which, at the time were good but I was always looking to upgrade - thinking I'd get a really top notch trench coat that will last me years... it now looks absolutely amazing compared with what's in the shops and it only cost £35..it's a bit tight, now, mind you..

I agree. Used to be affordable. Now seems expensive and nothing really tickles my fancy anymore. It’s all a bit generic and like the stuff you get in F+F

@MoominUnderWater do you have the name of the Tiktoker? Sounds like a useful account to follow.

I don't buy 2nd hand- just don't like the idea of who's worn it. Sorry.

I have a few peices from mint velvet but I only buy in the sale, nobody's child often get mentioned on here, and have just ordered a pair of wide leg cropped trousers, on me they are nearly full length as I'm petite, I do love them as I've been looking for something like this that looks like a skirt but are trousers, I suppose you could call them culottes, the only problem is they are recycled polyester, which I'm trying to not buy, at £55 I'm wondering if I should return them,

Depends on quality. I have some crepes polyester trousers and some polyester blouses that will still be going long after I am dead. So good value I guess.

I find MV significantly better quality than Nobody’s Child. I’ve bought two pairs of trousers from MV for spring, both are excellent quality cotton. Worth the £90

I agree MV has definitely changed the quality of its clothing. Over the summer and now this autumn I’ve gone into the shop and wandered around thinking what in the world has happened? I used to like the slightly quirky nod to whatever was deemed fashionable or filtered down from the catwalks and the cut was always flattering mainly because the fabric used was great quality. So I didn’t mind splurging now and again. That said I don’t think it’s just MV that this has happened to. I’ve gone from shop to shop looking at dingy colours, over sized clown clothes and items I can see my underwear through it’s so thin. It seems like to me cost of materials has gone up and so what they’re using not only is cheaper and flimsier, it looks cheaper and flimsier.
There is definitely a “smoke and mirrors” effect of using drop dead gorgeous models in arty poses, usually with legs akimbo or up like a stork :)) I’m hoping they will return to glory but I can’t imagine paying £99 for an acrylic cardigan that will bobble after 2 washes any time soon now matter how seductive the photography is.

Im constantly returning clothes at the moment. I don’t buy cheap but everything is either massive, looks cheap, or made from awful fabric. Seriously considering learning how to machine sew

@Lotusflower75 I remember on Clarkson's Farm when he had a foray into sheep farming - the fleeces would only fetch pennies so I don't understand why wool jumpers have gone expensive and everything being made with acrylic - I did hear someone say that the mark-up on women's clothing is x10. I guess it's just general inflation + profiteering. I went shopping with my mum last week and she's a bit of a magpie and good at shopping but even she said she didn't see anything which tempted her which is very unusual.

As for the models - I've actually seen some look almost dumpy in the clothes they are that unflattering (not MV though) - can you imagine - tall willowy models looking dumpy!

@notnorman I keep thinking the same - but presumably it would still be hard to find quality fabric to make your own things :-(

Completely agree OP! I used to treat myself occasionally but now I think everything is way over priced. Bought a tshirt in the spring and its shrunk a ridiculous amount .Also the designs are just so uninspiring

I never used to mind spending on MV as the fabrics used to be really good quality but they seem to have gone really downhill in the past year and I can’t justify three figures for 100% polyester!