Who wears Designer Ready to Wear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm French. In Paris, women who buy their entire seasonal wardrobe exclusively at the haute couture designers like Dior and Chanel are often the wives and mistresses of Middle Eastern sheiks and magnates, the wives and girlfriends of Russian oligarchs, and the wives and mistresses of Asian billionaires. They wear them in their daily life, when having friends over, or getting-together with equally wealthy friends. It is a level of sartorial focus that a lot of billionaires of American and western European extraction just aren't interested in, even if they have the same level of wealth.

I assume it has something to do with patriarchal societies and how women in these locales perceive each other. They have higher beauty standards to maintain and must look their best at all times: their best also meaning a certain attention to cosmetic modifications, and runway and cultural trends. For the men, it manifests itself more in collecting the latest vehicles and electronic gadgets.

I have been in these circles and agree completely.

But that doesn't answer who is buying them in Northern Virginia.

I agree with the OP - i am fascinated by stores like these existing in areas like DC that don't really have that same vibe as Paris.

To the people saying "oh if your DH makes $1m as an exec, then that's who".

Because i'm a woman who makes well over $1m. And my husband makes another $1m. And I couldn't bring myself to buy stuff at that price point, and i'm not cheap. And i'm not going to events or even know of events in DC where stuff like this would make sense to own.

Our net worth is way higher than yours and I nor my friends by those items.

That are for the Russian girl friends and people like Lauren Sanchez or other girl friends of the Oligarchs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm French. In Paris, women who buy their entire seasonal wardrobe exclusively at the haute couture designers like Dior and Chanel are often the wives and mistresses of Middle Eastern sheiks and magnates, the wives and girlfriends of Russian oligarchs, and the wives and mistresses of Asian billionaires. They wear them in their daily life, when having friends over, or getting-together with equally wealthy friends. It is a level of sartorial focus that a lot of billionaires of American and western European extraction just aren't interested in, even if they have the same level of wealth.

I assume it has something to do with patriarchal societies and how women in these locales perceive each other. They have higher beauty standards to maintain and must look their best at all times: their best also meaning a certain attention to cosmetic modifications, and runway and cultural trends. For the men, it manifests itself more in collecting the latest vehicles and electronic gadgets.

I have been in these circles and agree completely.

But that doesn't answer who is buying them in Northern Virginia.

I agree with the OP - i am fascinated by stores like these existing in areas like DC that don't really have that same vibe as Paris.

To the people saying "oh if your DH makes $1m as an exec, then that's who".

Because i'm a woman who makes well over $1m. And my husband makes another $1m. And I couldn't bring myself to buy stuff at that price point, and i'm not cheap. And i'm not going to events or even know of events in DC where stuff like this would make sense to own.

Our net worth is way higher than yours and I nor my friends by those items.

That are for the Russian girl friends and people like Lauren Sanchez or other girl friends of the Oligarchs

PP didn't cite her net worth. She said their household income is $2 million. No telling what her NW is.

[Anonymous]

If you say the same size and buy semiclassic pieces you can build a wardrobe and then get a couple new things a year including one trendy or memorable piece.
You can also get rid of stuff on consignment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Midwest.

We have an upscale mall that has a Neiman Marcus and a Saks.

Some hypotheses for you:

Wives of executives making in the $1M+ range

Pro athletes, their wives, girlfriends, and hangers on (piece by piece if necessary). This is who will buy the $900 Moncler toddler parka.

Splurge one-time outfit buyers...particularly for dresses priced at <$1,000.

This is not a forum for the midwest. Bye.

$1m is not rich here.

Yeah, I understand you don't care about flyover country. But, we do have these stores and the merchandise here. And execs here aren't paid NYC money. It's much cheaper to buy mansions here, etc. And a lot of the highly-paid execs are in manufacturing which doesn't pay like finance, etc.

I see the designer dresses in social pages for charity events and galas.

Our pro athletes are paid insane money. Maybe it's more that ecosystem. We also have some locals who are A-list celebrity musicians.

We do have wealthy immigrants but I do not think there are a ton of the very richest with wealthy families overseas. More like high-end surgeons and so forth.

The executive class is the only one left that has the kind of money needed.

We do have old money preppy types here...they do not dress in Euro designerwear here either.

[Anonymous]

I met Simone Biles recently through a random work thing. She was wearing all LV jeans, blouse, etc.

Some people would balk at my spending $150 on a pair of jeans, but with my HHI (~$1.5M), it's reasonable. If my HHI were higher, then I could see adding a zero to what I consider "normal" for a piece of clothing.

[Anonymous]

People who prioritize it. It’s not my thing but I spend $100k a year on the things I like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Midwest.

We have an upscale mall that has a Neiman Marcus and a Saks.

Some hypotheses for you:

Wives of executives making in the $1M+ range

Pro athletes, their wives, girlfriends, and hangers on (piece by piece if necessary). This is who will buy the $900 Moncler toddler parka.

Splurge one-time outfit buyers...particularly for dresses priced at <$1,000.

This is me and, keep going up 😂 maybe $2mm+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of rich middle eastern people in NOVA, even visitors will go shopping and buy some branded stuff. A friend of mine had a wealthy visitor from the middle east and she went out and bought absurdly expensive stuff and felt she got a steal because it would be even more expensive or hard to find in the middle east.

I was going to say this. Foreign tourists are who is buying this stuff-not Americans. Even in nyc and Vegas, the big buyers are foreign tourists.

That’s why if you interview to work at these stores, it is a huge plus if you speak Mandarin, Arabic or Russian. I worked in luxury retail and I speak two of these languages (not native fluency but well enough to hold a conversation and sell you a coat), and it was a huge plus to both my employer and customers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of rich middle eastern people in NOVA, even visitors will go shopping and buy some branded stuff. A friend of mine had a wealthy visitor from the middle east and she went out and bought absurdly expensive stuff and felt she got a steal because it would be even more expensive or hard to find in the middle east.

I was going to say this. Foreign tourists are who is buying this stuff-not Americans. Even in nyc and Vegas, the big buyers are foreign tourists.

That’s why if you interview to work at these stores, it is a huge plus if you speak Mandarin, Arabic or Russian. I worked in luxury retail and I speak two of these languages (not native fluency but well enough to hold a conversation and sell you a coat), and it was a huge plus to both my employer and customers.

OP here - Please tell us more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of rich middle eastern people in NOVA, even visitors will go shopping and buy some branded stuff. A friend of mine had a wealthy visitor from the middle east and she went out and bought absurdly expensive stuff and felt she got a steal because it would be even more expensive or hard to find in the middle east.

When I go to the Galleria I usually see middle eastern people walking around in expensive outfits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of rich middle eastern people in NOVA, even visitors will go shopping and buy some branded stuff. A friend of mine had a wealthy visitor from the middle east and she went out and bought absurdly expensive stuff and felt she got a steal because it would be even more expensive or hard to find in the middle east.

My parents lived in Saudi Arabia for a few years for my dad’s job. My mom became friendly with some Saudi women who were connected to the royal family and would go to their social events. She said the amount of wealth displayed there was jaw dropping. The ladies would go to Paris and buy out entire designer collections just to wear once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Midwest.

We have an upscale mall that has a Neiman Marcus and a Saks.

Some hypotheses for you:

Wives of executives making in the $1M+ range

Pro athletes, their wives, girlfriends, and hangers on (piece by piece if necessary). This is who will buy the $900 Moncler toddler parka.

Splurge one-time outfit buyers...particularly for dresses priced at <$1,000.

This is me and, keep going up 😂 maybe $2mm+

Same. Our HHI is about 1.5 and my clothes are from J Crew and Target. A $5000 dress is not in my budget.

[Anonymous]

The women who buy this stuff are billionaires, wife's or mistresses of billionaires or daughters of billionaires. There are enough billionaire on this planet so sell our Chanel couture every year, believe me. This isn't mass produced stuff. They probably make 100 of each style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm French. In Paris, women who buy their entire seasonal wardrobe exclusively at the haute couture designers like Dior and Chanel are often the wives and mistresses of Middle Eastern sheiks and magnates, the wives and girlfriends of Russian oligarchs, and the wives and mistresses of Asian billionaires. They wear them in their daily life, when having friends over, or getting-together with equally wealthy friends. It is a level of sartorial focus that a lot of billionaires of American and western European extraction just aren't interested in, even if they have the same level of wealth.

I assume it has something to do with patriarchal societies and how women in these locales perceive each other. They have higher beauty standards to maintain and must look their best at all times: their best also meaning a certain attention to cosmetic modifications, and runway and cultural trends. For the men, it manifests itself more in collecting the latest vehicles and electronic gadgets.

I have been in these circles and agree completely.

But that doesn't answer who is buying them in Northern Virginia.

I agree with the OP - i am fascinated by stores like these existing in areas like DC that don't really have that same vibe as Paris.

To the people saying "oh if your DH makes $1m as an exec, then that's who".

Because i'm a woman who makes well over $1m. And my husband makes another $1m. And I couldn't bring myself to buy stuff at that price point, and i'm not cheap. And i'm not going to events or even know of events in DC where stuff like this would make sense to own.

Totally. You could wear a Tahari purchased from TJ Maxx years ago and Americans at any event will compliment it today just as much as a designer item. I like that about us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of rich middle eastern people in NOVA, even visitors will go shopping and buy some branded stuff. A friend of mine had a wealthy visitor from the middle east and she went out and bought absurdly expensive stuff and felt she got a steal because it would be even more expensive or hard to find in the middle east.

I was going to say this. Foreign tourists are who is buying this stuff-not Americans. Even in nyc and Vegas, the big buyers are foreign tourists.

That’s why if you interview to work at these stores, it is a huge plus if you speak Mandarin, Arabic or Russian. I worked in luxury retail and I speak two of these languages (not native fluency but well enough to hold a conversation and sell you a coat), and it was a huge plus to both my employer and customers.

OP here - Please tell us more.

I also want to hear more!