Brand name clothes’ prices are becoming more and more expensive. Is it really worth the price to be so stylish?
Photo by: Brea Jones, Photographer

By: Adrian De Guzman, Reporter

Currently, it is very common to see brand names almost everywhere you look. From Hollister to Nike, it’s nearly impossible to walk around school without seeing someone wearing brand name clothing. It is easy to yearn for the fancy Hollister eagle on the shirt or the big Nike check on shoes, but are they really worth it? The Hollister logo on a blank white shirt should not make its price go up from as low as $0.99 to $13. Brand names are a huge waste of money because people are paying more than they need to when they could get similar clothing at a cheaper cost.

While brand names are generally considered better quality, that isn’t always the case. Only about 20-25% of the clothing sold at outlets for brand name stores, such as Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue, come from the actual curated inventory from the last fashion season. The other 75-80% of clothes come from factories that specifically creates the clothes for the outlets. This means that instead of receiving quality goods, one will receive products that were mass produced like many other generic brands.

Jamira Perkins, president of Seminole High School’s fashion club, points out that the expensive price tag doesn’t always indicate superior style. “Just because you have [brand name clothes] for a long time, doesn’t mean it will stay in style for a long time,” says Perkins. “I feel like a lot of people like the brand name clothes because they’re popular and show wealth, but I personally do not because I could get more [fashionable] clothes for less money.”

Economics teacher Mrs. Melanie Craven says, Designer brands “put pressure on people. It causes them to be envious or to judge people unfairly. [Your clothing] is all about your personal choice and your idea of good value.”

The necessity for such brand name clothing items also comes into play when one considers the modern economy. With the recent recession, people would rather spend less for items that look the same as the ones produced by big companies. However, when the economy get better some will be willing to spend more, but others will still have a heavy hand on their wallet in order to save as much as possible.

Also, companies such as Nike, H&M, and others use sweatshops, which are factories that mass produce their products. These sweatshops violate numerous basic labor laws in order to extort as much profit as they can from their poor workers.

There are very few logical reasons for buying brand name clothes. The amount of money brand name companies squeeze out of the public’s pocket should be enough reason never to buy these clothes again. Big name brand clothing lines market their products as cool and ‘in style’, but these clothes are no different than the non-brand clothes except for their logo and high price.