And nothing says “mainstream” like a $700 polka-dot cardigan.
When I saw what Commes des Garcons plans on charging for their H&M debut, I assumed the decimal points had been erroneously omitted. That black velvet dress couldn’t possibly be $1290…could it?
Look, Commes des Whatever, I don’t give a fuck what you charge at your Guerrilla stores. You want to do a line that masquerades as reasonably priced high fashion, kudos to you. You can even pretend that women will pay $499 for shorts that make them look like they have penises. But you cannot, and will not, do it on my turf.
H&M is Cheap JAP country. I don’t shop there to have my hopes dashed by clothing that costs what I might spend on a massive leather handbag: If I find something fabulous, I presume it’s something I can afford too. This is NOT an unreasonable expectation for a chain that “offers fashion and quality at the best price.” At least it wasn’t, until Commes des Crap arrived on the scene.
Shame on you, H&M, for promoting a line that’s an insult to 98% of shoppers who patronize your store; to us gals who love clothes but can’t pay for high fashion. You just put the “H” in hypocrisy. Ohhh Snap!
Later that day…
@ 7:18 pm on October 13th, 2008, re: H&M Drinks the Kool Aid, Rita wrote:
So, I looked at the website that you linked to, and you seem to have missed that the prices given are in Hong Kong dollars- 1 US dollar is approx. $7.75 Hong Kong dollars. Therefore, that dress is actually $166 dollars, and those penis shorts are approximately $66.00
Clearly these are a bit higher than the usual H&M fare, but the designer did make the point that she tried to make these clothes with the same care she puts into her regular comme des garcons collection.
The point is, you can get a lot of things for low prices at forever 21 and h&m, but avant garde fashion really isn’t one of them. And yes, perhaps not everyone can afford even the h&m comme des garcons clothes, but I doubt that lower prices would significantly make more people buy them.
DAMMIT! I KNEW that rant was too good to be true. And I thought my uber righteous anger was justified. Fine, Commes des Pou-Pou for H&M’s prices aren’t quite as ridiculous as the Hong Kong dollars led me to believe. Whatever. Those shorts are still penis shorts.
(Thanks to Rita, KD and co. for setting the record straight).
tags: 
Genius post. K
OK wait. I’ve been reading about this collaboration for flippin’ MONTHS and never cottoned onto the fact that Comme was going to charge outrageous prices for their H&M duds. I assumed this would be a Target-esque deal, with regular person prices. OY. What a dumb move on H&M’s part.
Well said! That’s pretty outraegeous. I suppose we’re all supposed to be giddy that they deigned to “mark down” their designs so much for us, but what a load of crap!
Wait, you know that that’s 700 Hong Kong dollars, right? Thats still 90 bucks, though. For a cardigan.
So, I looked at the website that you linked to, and you seem to have missed that the prices given are in Hong Kong dollars- 1 US dollar is approx. $7.75 Hong Kong dollars. Therefore, that dress is actually $166 dollars, and those penis shorts are approximately $66…
Clearly these are a bit higher than the usual H&M fare, but the designer did make the point that she tried to make these clothes with the same care she puts into her regular comme des garcons collection: http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/rei-kawakubos-hm-shocker/4233#When:17:22:01Z
The point is, you can get a lot of things for low prices at forever 21 and h&m, but avant garde fashion really isn’t one of them. And yes, perhaps not everyone can afford even the h&m comme des garcons clothes, but I doubt that lower prices would significantly make more people buy them.
I checked out that website with the prices for the clothing, and I think they might be in Hong Kong Dollars… roughly 7 times more than US Dollars. Correct me if I’m wrong though, not sure.