Someone explain Prada to me

[Craig234]

People with money often like to use it for 'status symbols' or similar luxuries. Think expensive wines (and cellars and wineries), for example. Did you know IIRC that wealthy men average spending $300,000 on watches - per year? Why do you think wealthy women spend fortuned on expensive handbags and clothing? Should we talk yachts and private jets? Supercars? Regulars get you places.

One thing they're sure of, though - they need to keep the money, not for a more equal society. And they'll spend heavily to buy the government to ensure they do. And c(R)aven politicians will happily accommodate them.

 

[Nickyjo]

The hinges on 15 dollar frames will wear out fast and when you go to tighten them, the screws strip out because they are made of crappy metal.
The lenses are also usually cheap plastic as opposed to scratch resistant glass on more expensive brands
Higher quality lenses in more expensive brands usually provide better UV protection which your eyes deserve.

Good to know. But $500?

 

[HenryChinaski]

Good to know. But $500?

The persol and Rayban that I wear are in the $120 to $200 range.
You can get Italian made Bolle for less than $100.
Purchases in a certain price range are supposed to buy features and quality.
I stopped wearing Levis because the quality went down and the price shot up.
Now I only wear Japanese Denim, particularly the Sugar Cane brand.
Japanese textiles are bar none the best in the world.
Don't get me started on my Aloha shirt collection.

 

[Visbek]

Can someone explain this to me?

Maybe. I can say the words, but if you don't understand it intuitively by now, I'm not sure if you'll truly get it.

It's all about status. People buy expensive clothing and accessories to flex their wealth and taste.

Hilariously, these days all the ultra-rich are trying to look like normies, so that they can simultaneously indicate their wealth to their peers, while hiding it from the huddled masses.

 

[ASHES]

A Rolex is worth every penny although I prefer Omega.

Not to me.

 

[BirdinHand]

I think the question was really "why is there a market for $500 sunglasses?"

Because capitalism?

Because egos?

Because consumerism?



I wear Costas. They’re good quality sunglasses with polarized lenses. Price point is around $100-150. We are “sponsored” by them though - so full disclosure, we get them for free.

But we gained the sponsorship because we wore the brand before…because we liked the quality/product.

 

[phoenix2020]

In a publication I was reading (NYTimes?) I saw an ad for Prada sunglasses, costing up to $500. Why would anyone pay that much? Worse, I then saw ads for headbands, the most expensive of which was $850. My wife pays $10-12 for her headbands. I pay a bit more for sunglasses.

Can someone explain this to me? Do the $500 sunglasses not break when you forget you had placed them on the driver’s seat and plop down on them? Do the $500 headbands eliminate dandruff?

I looked online and found in a Wikipedia entry that Prada “takes advantage of slavery in China.” I guess the devil does wear Prada.

Back to my question: why do people in their right minds pay so much for this stuff? (Prada’s HQ is in Milan. And northern Italians look down on Sicilians as crooks?)

Luxury brands seem to have bifurcated into one of two paths. Some charge high prices for the brand recognition and exclusivity, not necessarily for the cost / nature / materials used in the product. Prada seems to fit nicely into this camp. I've only owned a couple of pieces (a pair of jeans and a belt) and neither were particularly well crafted nor used particularly nice materials. You buy the thing because you want to be seen owning that thing, because that's important to you. These brands like to feature prominent logos or other branding aspects.

The other path are brands where the prices and markup are still extreme and ridiculous, but there's enormous quality or "finish" that went into the product. Think brands like Loro Piana--items made with extremely high quality materials utilizing designs that lean toward being classic and timeless. Yes, it's over the top expensive. However, the item is a bit more akin to a heirloom item - the odds are pretty good that you'll still be using it 10, 15 years from now so long as you take care of it. Some of the recent "quiet luxury" stuff that's making waves falls into this category.

Put differently, you could put $900 into a pair of Prada shoes or $900 into a pair of say Crockett & Jones shoes. The former will fall apart relatively quickly. The latter should last a lifetime. And yes, some people will say "my $30 sneakers are just fine" and yes, some people will say "hell no, only $3,000 bespoke hand-crafted will touch these feet."

I don't wear expensive sunglasses because twice I bought one and twice I immediately lost them on the first trip I took them on. I have concluded that I am not sufficiently responsible to keep track of sunglasses, that I will constantly take them off and leave them behind, and therefore I should have 5 cheap identical sunglasses in a box that I don't care about losing or breaking.

 

[Visbek]

Put differently, you could put $900 into a pair of Prada shoes or $900 into a pair of say Crockett & Jones shoes. The former will fall apart relatively quickly. The latter should last a lifetime. And yes, some people will say "my $30 sneakers are just fine" and yes, some people will say "hell no, only $3,000 bespoke hand-crafted will touch these feet."

Prada shoes aren't disposable junk, the quality is very high. People just get rid of them because fashion operates on a short schedule.

 

[mrjurrs]

I think the question was really "why is there a market for $500 sunglasses?"

For the same reason there are $2600 Knicks tickets.

If you have to ask, you can't afford it...

 

[phoenix2020]

In a publication I was reading (NYTimes?) I saw an ad for Prada sunglasses, costing up to $500. Why would anyone pay that much? Worse, I then saw ads for headbands, the most expensive of which was $850. My wife pays $10-12 for her headbands. I pay a bit more for sunglasses.

Can someone explain this to me? Do the $500 sunglasses not break when you forget you had placed them on the driver’s seat and plop down on them? Do the $500 headbands eliminate dandruff?

I looked online and found in a Wikipedia entry that Prada “takes advantage of slavery in China.” I guess the devil does wear Prada.

Back to my question: why do people in their right minds pay so much for this stuff? (Prada’s HQ is in Milan. And northern Italians look down on Sicilians as crooks?)

I found an $870 option in case $500 doesn't seem like enough:

https://www.prada.com/us/en/p/made-in-japan-sunglasses/SPR53W_E05Q_FE05I_C_050

That said, I do like that case it comes with.

 

[Gaius46]

I don’t understand. I have sunglasses that cost $15. I assume they block the glare as well as yours did, leaving aside the prescription thing. What makes some sunglasses better than others? (Or headbands, for that matter?)

Randolph are (were) standard issue sunglasses for military pilots and many civilian pilots, like myself, use them because they are very high quality, use high quality metal and glass, and are virtually indestructible.

How long does your $15 pair last? My Randolphs will last decades.

 

[phoenix2020]

Prada shoes aren't disposable junk, the quality is very high. People just get rid of them because fashion operates on a short schedule.

Fair enough, that was a sweeping generalization on my part.

That said, I am aware of many a Prada footwear that are glued junk.

 

[zincwarrior]

I think the question was really "why is there a market for $500 sunglasses?"

Mine are about that, but they are really just cheap glasses with hardened prescription sport lenses...

 

[phoenix2020]

Randolph are (were) standard issue sunglasses for military pilots and many civilian pilots, like myself, use them because they are very high quality, use high quality metal and glass, and are virtually indestructible.

How long does your $15 pair last? My Randolphs will last decades.

Ooh, and they don't appear to be owned by Luxotica like everybody else!

 

[Nickyjo]

Not to me.

Here’s my question on wristwatches. My phone has the time. So does the computer, and there is a clock in my car, and at times on my TV screen. Why wristwatches?

Am reminded of an old line from an Indian: “white man look at wrist to see if hungry.”’

 

[Mr Person]

In a publication I was reading (NYTimes?) I saw an ad for Prada sunglasses, costing up to $500. Why would anyone pay that much? Worse, I then saw ads for headbands, the most expensive of which was $850. My wife pays $10-12 for her headbands. I pay a bit more for sunglasses.

Can someone explain this to me? Do the $500 sunglasses not break when you forget you had placed them on the driver’s seat and plop down on them? Do the $500 headbands eliminate dandruff?

I looked online and found in a Wikipedia entry that Prada “takes advantage of slavery in China.” I guess the devil does wear Prada.

Back to my question: why do people in their right minds pay so much for this stuff? (Prada’s HQ is in Milan. And northern Italians look down on Sicilians as crooks?)

Status symbol, one of humanity's oldest hits.

Because capitalism has convinced them it’s “luxurious”.

A certain percentage of humans in any economic system love their status symbols.

 

[Jason Warfield]

In a publication I was reading (NYTimes?) I saw an ad for Prada sunglasses, costing up to $500. Why would anyone pay that much? Worse, I then saw ads for headbands, the most expensive of which was $850. My wife pays $10-12 for her headbands. I pay a bit more for sunglasses.

Can someone explain this to me? Do the $500 sunglasses not break when you forget you had placed them on the driver’s seat and plop down on them? Do the $500 headbands eliminate dandruff?

I looked online and found in a Wikipedia entry that Prada “takes advantage of slavery in China.” I guess the devil does wear Prada.

Back to my question: why do people in their right minds pay so much for this stuff? (Prada’s HQ is in Milan. And northern Italians look down on Sicilians as crooks?)

The same reason that folks will pay for a Trump Bible, Trump gold sneakers....all about the Brand and wanting to run with the "in" crowd.

 

[NewfieMom]

I assume most or all of you missed that hit movie "The Devil Wears Prada"?

I absolutely love that movie. It is very ironic; the humor is very tongue-in-cheek. Seeing a size 4 (or was it 6?) intern referred to as "the fat girl" was priceless.

 

[anatta]

Excuse me, but those are ugly glasses. Might look good on a young Arnold Schwarzenegger but on most people they are too angular.

all your taste is in your mouth. they are striking and way cool looking. And I was the guy who wore vintage round
John Lennon type most of my life. These gave a lot more vision, no dropdown drop outs when looking at a keyboard

Now that I think about it, I've never been happy with my glasses. My current specs are from the women's range and I chose them for durability (the arms can go all four ways and the bridge is unbreakable titanium) but I'm still a lot more pleased with my face WITHOUT glasses on. Perhaps it's time to stump up for vision correction surgery and sunglasses only when I really need them.

it makes life a lost easier.. I wore eyeglasses for 60 years -dont miss them at all

 

[Old 'N Chill]

In a publication I was reading (NYTimes?) I saw an ad for Prada sunglasses, costing up to $500. Why would anyone pay that much? Worse, I then saw ads for headbands, the most expensive of which was $850. My wife pays $10-12 for her headbands. I pay a bit more for sunglasses.

Can someone explain this to me? Do the $500 sunglasses not break when you forget you had placed them on the driver’s seat and plop down on them? Do the $500 headbands eliminate dandruff?

I looked online and found in a Wikipedia entry that Prada “takes advantage of slavery in China.” I guess the devil does wear Prada.

Back to my question: why do people in their right minds pay so much for this stuff? (Prada’s HQ is in Milan. And northern Italians look down on Sicilians as crooks?)

RayBans cost a couple of hundred, so it doesn't sound too outrageous to me. I'm not into buying for brand name at all, but I bought a pair of aviator RayBans over a decade ago and paid a lot, don't remember how much, but I wanted a pair with glass lenses and I really liked them, still have them. If I buy anything pricey like that, I take good care of it.

https://www.ray-ban.com/usa/sunglasses/view-all?cid=PM-SGA_300419-1.US-RayBan-EN-B-NA-SunglassesCore-Exact-Prs-Desktop-Ecom-NA_RayBan-SunglassesCore_ray-ban+sunglasses&s_kwcid=AL!16196!3!669634730845!e!!g!!ray-ban%20sunglasses!18664551335!149467409264&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5czK7OLvhQMVKQ-tBh32EQ2XEAAYASAAEgINHfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Old 'N Chill]

Here’s my question on wristwatches. My phone has the time. So does the computer, and there is a clock in my car, and at times on my TV screen. Why wristwatches?

Am reminded of an old line from an Indian: “white man look at wrist to see if hungry.”’

I have an inexpensive sports watch that I use only when camping. Usually no cell service, no computer, etc.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I absolutely love that movie. It is very ironic; the humor is very tongue-in-cheek. Seeing a size 4 (or was it 6?) intern referred to as "the fat girl" was priceless.

"You eat CARBS for God's sake!"

 

[Walt]

There are plenty of people who don't see any significant difference between spending 5 dollars and 500 dollars.

There are people who pay tens of thousands for Rolex watches when they have a phone that keeps time for them.

A $20 quartz watch will keep time literally 100 times better(at keeping time) than a million dollar Patek Philippe. 99.999% of the people cannot recognize a Patek Philippe to save their lives, so it is not really about boasting rights. There is something beautiful about old world craftmanship, and having a piece of mechanical machinery with hundreds of parts on your wrist. Also it is a "masculine" way to wear jewelry.

I have been slowly upping the amount of money I am willing to spend on a mechanical watch, but I still feel spending a million on watch is a sin while children are starving. An old man in a bar gave me the advice to spend no more than 1% of my income on watches, that way your family is not put out. You can look at a $1k watch, and know you earned $100k to get that watch. Right now, I spend considerably less than 1%, more like 0.1%.

Not kidding about that 100 times better. A good mechanical watch will gain or lose 10 seconds a day in the real world. A $20 Casio will gain or lose 3 seconds a month. There are 30 days in a month, so that is 300 compared to 3... 100 times better.

 

[jnug]

In a publication I was reading (NYTimes?) I saw an ad for Prada sunglasses, costing up to $500. Why would anyone pay that much? Worse, I then saw ads for headbands, the most expensive of which was $850. My wife pays $10-12 for her headbands. I pay a bit more for sunglasses.

Can someone explain this to me? Do the $500 sunglasses not break when you forget you had placed them on the driver’s seat and plop down on them? Do the $500 headbands eliminate dandruff?

I looked online and found in a Wikipedia entry that Prada “takes advantage of slavery in China.” I guess the devil does wear Prada.

Back to my question: why do people in their right minds pay so much for this stuff? (Prada’s HQ is in Milan. And northern Italians look down on Sicilians as crooks?)

One word....Couture

 

[dseag2]

In our local mall, there is always a line outside the Gucci store. It is filled with people who don't look like they can afford their next meal.

The reason these high-end brands are so popular is because Influencers are promoting them and young people will buy anything they recommend. It isn't about quality. It is about prestige.