Sui Generis

My recent post over at free!grechen got me thinking, how high is too high? How much is just too much to pay for vegan boots, or an organic cotton top? I’ve written extensively on this subject already, mainly in support of the idea that eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean wallet UN-friendly, but some of these ethical/”green” designers aren’t making this an easy position to hold!

Case in point…

These are handmade hemp fabric/faux leather shoes by Sui Generis, and exclusive line from UK Vegetarian shoes designer Beyond Skin, and are $619 at Endless.com.

Granted, these are handmade and limited run, so the price will reflect that. But only up to a point, in my opinion. Also, the exchange rate doesn’t work well in our (the US) favor at the moment, but I’m still thinking that $400 would even be too much for me to pay for these shoes.

The “regular” vegan shoe line by Beyond Skin is very reasonably priced though, these are $238.61 USD retail price (on sale now for $120 USD), and they’re also made from hemp fabric and faux leather. Is the fact that the other shoe is handmade worth nearly three times the price? I think these are pretty cute and much more versatile than the shoes above.

I’m not trying to compare apples to oranges, or deny designers the prerogative to set a certain value on their products; I understand economies of scale, and the premium placed on exclusive goods, but I have to draw the line somewhere. And more than $600 for fabric/faux leather shoes is about $300 over that line. Especially since I know there are lots of very cute vegan shoe options out there for that price range from Cri de Coeur, B Boheme, and Olsen Haus.

And believe me, I know from what I speak. Several years ago, I purchased two handbags for more than $1,000 and will not do it again. I loved the bags, but don’t think I’ll ever get more than $1,000 worth of value from them. I think my handbag price limit now is about $500 – I realize that’s very high for some, but to me, it’s reasonable (as long as it fits in my budget). And I have several bags in that price range of the highest quality – certainly on par with the quality of the $1,000+ bags. So, I know that I don’t need to spend more than $500 to get a very nice bag.

I’ve also have a pair of vegan Stella McCartney sandals that I purchased at full-price – which I think was a little over $300? So not worth it, it’s not even funny. They were nice, but I didn’t get a good cost-per-wear from them, and haven’t worn them in 2 years. (they’re in pristine condition actually, look for a giveaway this Spring!)

I can only speak for myself, and to the value that I place on things and therefore what I’m willing to spend on them. BUT…I do think that many designers recently, took advantage of the eco-friendly fashion movement to charge a little more for organic cotton, bamboo, or hemp clothing because of the perceived exclusivity, and feel-good factor. And we as consumers gave into that the last couple of years. I do think that now, because of market forces, items that are artificially inflated price-wise will either naturally come down in price, or disappear altogether in favor of more affordable & accessible options in the next year or so. Already, Stella McCartney’s Organic pieces I featured in a previous article are on sale at Barney’s for LESS THAN A QUARTER of their original retail price. I would argue, that is where the price needed to be in the first place…but Stella doesn’t listen to me

So, what do you think? Would you pay more than $600 for a pair of vegan shoes? for ANY pair of shoes? How do you determine where your limit is? chime in please!!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }