High-tops with High prices

 

The great 90's weight loss infomercial guru--Susan Powter--created a catchy phrase that caught on like wild fire. By calling on all the fatties in America to "STOP THE INSANITY," she made a simple but powerful point. Her rally cry for clarity for common sense for people to wake up and smell the Sanka resonated with a population who was fed up.

In a way, I'm also fed up. I'm tired of the $100 t-shirts, the $300 jeans, the $600 sneakers. I propose a chicken and egg analogy. Did the $1 Hanes t-shirt come before the $100 Dior t-shirt? Did the $5 Levis Strauss jeans come before the $500 denim that fashion editors obsess about? And did the $30 Nike sneakers come before the $600 version?

The fashionable types might argue the sense of design supports the value that designers are asking for and how the designers have refined the common every day items that have existed. It's true a dress is just a dress. Pants are just pants. But put a seam here, taper it there and use striped fabric in an interesting way and it's no longer just pants or just a dress.

I agree with that. Thoughtful design deserves the extra charge. But a t-shirt with a designer logo, a high-top sneaker with a strip of exotic crocodile and jeans given a worn used look don't qualify for me.   

Let's STOP THE INSANITY and stop wasting money on the frivolous.

YES: You can spend whatever you want if buying a Michael Kors cashmere hoodie is your equivalent to shopping the Gap
 NO: It's not worth putting yourself in debt for a designer t-shirt
MYABE: You can use the money you save on basics to help a charity. I recommend Heifer International.