I love reading a lot of other blogs because I get inspired by certain trends, the styling of an outfit or an awesome product review. I enjoy supporting others in the blogging community and learning about their perspective and sense of style. The blogs I read vary from bloggers who tend to wear more high-end pieces to ones who wear exclusively more affordable items, to some who mix pricier items with inexpensive ones (hello Forever 21 accessories!)
Personally, I like to have a balance but I do like to feature a lot of affordable clothes. I tend to buy higher-end cosmetics, but when it comes to clothes and accessories, I like to mix pricier items with totally inexpensive ones (and I consider "pricey" to be any one item that costs more than about $80 or so, for reference.) One of my favorite accessories of the moment is a key necklace I paid $4.50 for at Forever 21. Nearly every time I wear it someone compliments it and they never believe it when I tell them were I got it!
My reason for writing this post is to ask the question- Do you judge clothes on the brand name and how much they cost, or do you judge them by how they look and how they're styled?
I've gotten comments before basically "poking fun" at the fact that a lot of the clothes I feature are from Forever 21, Target, Express, etc.. (more inexpensive stores)
Personally, I think it shouldn't matter where a garment is from, but what it looks like. It's odd to me when people say everything from a certain store is cheap or doesn't look good. Sure, there's some horrible, tacky stuff at Forever 21...but there are also so many incredible items...again, it's about balance.
A lot of magazines have a feature called "splurge vs. steal" and oftentimes the looks are nearly identical with the "steal" costing sometimes as little as 1/4 of what the "splurge" cost.
So, does price really matter? Does a higher price always mean better quality? Do you think it matters where someone buys something, or does it matter more how it looks? Do you ever judge someone or think that if they wear clothes from more inexpensive stores, they look cheap?
I often wonder if people would judge clothing differently if bloggers didn't post where they got the item and/or how much it cost. There may be a psychological association with low price meaning low quality for some people.
I think you have to assess each garment on a case by case basis, no matter where it's purchased. I've gotten items from Forever 21 that I can wear years later, and others that haven't held up so well. I've also purchased expensive cardigans from stores like Club Monaco that I can't even wear anymore because they look so horrible after having worn and washed them.
Tell me what you think! Does the price or brand of a garment change your opinion of it? Any other thoughts on the topic are welcome.
Before I go, I'll say this- I'm always impressed when someone is able to balance expensive and inexpensive pieces and when someone manages to find an incredible piece of clothing or an accessory that looks amazing only to find they got it for $20.00! I think the fashion industry has evolved a lot in the last five years or so. Women have better access to stylish and trendy clothes and accessories at a variety of price points. It's easy for almost anyone to look stylish and cute (no matter what the price!)
As always, thank you for reading.
xoxo,
Veronika.
PS- for all you fashionistas out there looking for great deals, I have to give a shout-out to the blog "The Look 4 Less" because she really does an incredible job at finding "dupes" for items that are pricey!