8: The Difference Between Designer and Non-Designer Dresses

I just realized while practicing my presentation is that my best answer had the shortest explanation. I'm not necessarily certain if that's a bad thing or not because if it's something that is really noticeable and Ortega doesn't like that, I CAN back up why it's the shortest answer, but I'd rather just avoid it. I feel I might have to just talk more about my best answer. I do have to avoid being repetitive, though. That's another worry of mine. I found that my longest explanation was for my third answer because for sewing and sketching, I'm going to show an example of one dress that is not a designer dress. Therefore, on this non-designer dress the seams will be noticeable. I will then go on to show an example of a designer dress and compare the two. Clearly, the designer dress has the prettier stitching because customers are PAYING for that. This explains why designer dresses/gowns are so much more expensive than dresses you see at Forever 21. 

My mentor always became so frustrated with me when I would show up to work wearing a cute top or dress from Forever 21 or H&M because she would always point out how lazily made they were. She'd continuously talk about how dresses I would pay $25 for from H&M would cost them no more than $5 to make. Especially because they buy so much because they stock up in great bundles. Also, their materials are considered pathetic and those in the design world scoff at stores like that. 

I've witnessed first hand a lot of the pricings for dresses/gowns that David Meister creates and they legitimately cost quite a lot to make. The dresses range from $50-$200 for fabric alone and then extra for labor. They then sell it to stores for anywhere between $300-$500 and then these huge stores like Nordstrom or Bloomingdale's will put it on the rack and sell it for $700-$1,000. It's hard to believe, but definitely true. This is something I want to talk about during my presentation because it was one of the first things that I'd ever learned from my mentor and it's really important for my third answer, which is sewing and sketching.