Labels
There was a time, believe it or not, when labels actually meant something. Buy Levi's jeans and you know you are getting a good pair. It is a lot more expensive than the usual pair, something like 5 times more, but you know it's worth it. The thinking was, you have to pay for quality.
When I was young, I could never afford to buy Levi's jeans. But I was lucky enough to have been gifted by someone with an original pair. That lasted me all of 5 years. And even when it was already thread bare, ratty, and had holes in it, it was still a pair of Levi's. That meant something. It was cool to wear old ratty Levi's, holes and all.
But somewhere along the way something went terribly wrong. Some marketing genius figured, why not just create an expensive label? Sell jeans as expensive as Levi's without bothering with the quality to make an even bigger profit. That worked well -- for them. Indeed, a lot of consumers were bamboozled into thinking that expensive naturally meant quality. Heck, you can even buy new jeans with fake holes in it! Imagine the sheer stupidity of that.
Of course, you can not fool everyone all the time. And so, a whole lot of us do not buy "labels" anymore. I, in fact, have a healthy disdain for it. I figure, the more expensive your pair of jeans, if it is not Levi's quality, the shallower you are. Haha.
It is unfortunate, but the underhanded tactic employed by some would taint not only their own names but even quality makers like Levi's. I heard Levi's is not doing too well nowadays. Now that's just sad. I still want one. I am saving for one.
How much does a pair cost nowadays?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I find it stupid for Levi's to set up their production facility at Laguna only to ship their pants to the US just so they could attach the buttons then ship them back here.
That's a terrible waste of resources.
But when it comes to confort, nothing beats a good pair of jeans made by your tailor. (depends on how good the tailor is)
But that could end up more expensive than the usual brands. For me, I find it hard to see a pair that fits perfectly. I'm not that fat but my legs are naturally large by heritage. So I don't really get to choose the pair i wear. I just wear whatever fits that doesn't feel bad. Hehehe.
- The first time I saw jeans sold "pre-torn" shook the whole cost is quality argument out for me. Plus my mother used to work in a garment factory where all these jeans and shirts get done, then were sent to their home countries to be fixed with the almighty label. If there's a decrease in quality, maybe because there are less garment factories in the Philippines nowadays?
ReplyDeleteSo, it's not just Levi's huh? lmao!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering why a delicately high priced Hanes T-shirt would be unbelievably comfortable to wear brand new but would be like $h!t after a few washings and would most probably end up as your next wet rag...
Blue Corner, a locally made brand of T-shirts which is locally made here in Meycauayan, Bulacan produces Shirts of lasting quality while the tag is still around 1/3 of that with Hanes.
I've not had a new pair of Levi's in 10 years. I am not too sure about the quality now. They are not making it the way they used to? That would be a shame. I loved that it was both durable and comfortable, a very rare combination.
ReplyDeleteIs this true? Is the quality not the same as before? What a shame.
ReplyDeleteI was dreaming of actually owning a pair.
In a tangent, what happened to Crispa and the Redmanized shirts?
ReplyDeleteHey, I had one of those as a kid. Now, that was a tough shirt.
ReplyDelete