Originally Posted by catladyquilts
people don't understand the love and hours of work we put into a quilt, not to mention the cost of fabric, batting and thread. remember the utube about the binding? the lady bound an entire quilt in seconds while her "overseers" stood around. it's the opposite with designer clothing - it is so expensive because their name is in it but it is made by these same people that make no money
Pret a porter is mass produced and the prices reflect it. Haute couture is almost completely handmade... and the prices reflect it.
My father's suits and dress shirts were all bespoke. He let me take one suit apart when I wanted to learn about tailoring. Except for the topstitching, the rest of the suit was sewn by hand and clearly shaped by hand (for instance, one shoulder pad was slightly thinner to compensate for his higher shoulder and the armscyes were each formed to adjust for the slight differences in musculature). There were no fusibles and there were all sorts of details that off the rack suits don't have (extra pockets, what quilters call prairie points finishing the edge of the inside breast pocket, a trouser stay, etc).
Those suits and shirts also lasted forever. They look as good today as they did when he was still working.
While the original cost was many times the price of a suit off the rack, he knew that there was no slave labour involved in making them and that the higher cost would be offset by the longer wear.
I think that being a doctor gave him more insight into the true cost of working with one's hands that maybe some other people don't have.