A Bazaar Reason to Save Our Pennies

Bazaar’s “Hottest, Newest, Latest: Great Finds,” June, promotes a $160 bow-tied belt from Jovovich-Hawk:

It’s hard to resist adding another belt to your wardrobe, especially one this budget-friendly.

That’s a joke, right?  $160 for a belt seems the polar opposite of budget-friendly to us. Seriously, that much money for a belt? Is it hand-crafted from the skin of a unicorn and is the buckle plated in platinum? Because otherwise, we’re not sure that price is justified. Or at all justifiable.

Though we find the belt’s price completely unmanageable (for us—wealthy fashionistas, spend away!), we resent that the belt is presented as an exceptionally well-priced item, which could be true for only a tiny portion of Bazaar’s readers.

Are we out of line? Perhaps a designer’s perspective on the matter will enlighten us. Here’s what Phillip Lim says on the next page in “Designer Watch”:

“I’m making clothes that look like they could work in a designer market, but they’re for people with day jobs, bills, and other things they want to spend their money on.”

Oh, got it. Apparently our expectations are indeed out of whack, because Lim’s supposedly down-to-earth collection includes a $575 jacket, a $196 belt, and $920 boots. Pricy, but his belt makes the Jovovich-Hawk one a tremendous bargain in comparison.

Exactly what kind of “day jobs” do Phillip Lim’s potential customers hold down? (Or should we ask exactly how out of touch Lim is with reality?) Because we too would like the kind of job that allows us to purchase a $798 tote and still have the bulk of our cash for other things.

Then again, maybe it’s just a matter of priorities.  If we hadn’t spent $3.50 on this issue of Bazaar, we’d be that much closer to owning one of his pieces.  Only $794.50 to go!