Whether you’ve been anticipating its arrival for the past seven months or you just happened to be at the mall on Thursday, then you’re definitely well aware that November 13th marked the début of the Comme des Garçons for H&M collection. In fact, so many people must have been aware of this monumental event that, as New York Magazine reports, the Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan sold out the most coveted pieces of the women’s collection in under an hour — with shoppers lining up outside the night before.
So I think it’s safe to say that I’m not the only one who gets really excited over diffusion lines (which, as I explained earlier this year, are particularly advantageous to the shopper who has a taste for high fashion but lacks the unlimited funds to support such a habit). In reality, the key part of the whole concept of these collaborations is that they bring together couture designers and mass market low-cost retailers — so people like me can incorporate great style into their wardrobe for a low price. For this reason, do you (as I do) find it slightly confusing that one of the most sought after pieces of the limited edition Comme women’s line retailed for $350 (and can now actually be purchased on eBay for a whopping $600)?
Now I know a garment designed by a name as highly regarded as Comme des Garçons would normally cost at least four times that amount, so I suppose you are doing pretty well (if you really are extremely devoted to fashion labels)… but isn’t it hard to ignore the fact that the dress is still from H&M (a store where, whether you’re male or female, 13 or 30, you can buy an entire wardrobe without going over $60 on nearly any singular item)? Don’t get me wrong, I adore H&M, but in my opinion, the people who shop there probably do so because they don’t want to spend several hundred dollars on a dress. And those who are willing to spend that kind of money aren’t doing their shopping at H&M. Am I the only one a bit bewildered here?
Are you ready to drop three-hundred-plus dollars at H&M just for the sake of having the Comme des Garçons label?
However, if maybe you’re not feeling too comfortable spending so much cash on a dress at a place where you can find another dress on the next rack for a fraction of the price, then I suggest you take a look at the other great diffusion lines that are available on an on-going basis:
- Vera Wang at Kohl’s
- Abaété, Alice + Olivia, and Lela Rose at Payless
- Issac Mizrahi at Target
- Nicole Miller at JCPenney
Also, while you can still find pieces by Jonathan Saunders at Target, here’s something you can really get excited over: the next GO International designer is Alexander McQueen.
