price of clothes - astronomical!

[RWS]

Thanks, Bob. On the northern side of Av. de Mayo?

 

[Ries]

I find that some of the designer stuff in Buenos Aires is expensive- but stuff like Martin Churba is not bad, for what you get- I am sure his clothes are more expensive in NYC or Tokyo.

I am a man, but I wouldnt be caught dead in a pair of Alden shoes- and they do cost $250 to $350 a pair, in the USA, in dollars- so I find places like Mancini, in Palermo Soho, where I get flashy, but well made shoes upstairs from the sale rack for $200 pesos or so to be quite a deal.
I also really like the Patagonia line of shoes- there is a store on Plaza Dorrego, in San Telmo, that sells them- elegant, unique, well made mens shoes, in the range of $300 pesos. Which, in the USA, would easily go for 2 to 3 times the price.
The thing is, in BsAs, you can often find shoes and clothes that are made in runs of a few dozen pieces at most- unlike the mass market stuff in the USA, which is dirt cheap, made by virtual slave labor in China, and without any design, quality, or verve.

Imported clothes are silly expensive, especially stuff like those quilted hunting jackets all the wanna be aristocrats wear on international flights, or Bally shoes- but there are reasonable local clothes by smaller designers.

For mens stuff, I like Hermanos Estebecorena, on El Salvador near the Pulgas, for example, where a very high fashion leather jacket is maybe $1500 pesos- which would easily be twice or three times that in a similar store in LA or Seattle or NYC.
I think the prices on genuine Carpincho coats and shoes are not bad, even at the fancy stores, and where else can you get shoes made from the worlds largest rodent?
The shirts from Balthazar, on Defensa, in San Telmo, are gorgeous- and pretty well made, as I bought one each (from the sale rack, of course) for my 14 and 18 year old sons, and if they cant shred them in a month, then nobody can- and they both look snappy and great almost a year later, with repeated machine washings.

If you look around, you can find interesting young designers, of both mens and womens stuff, that is not expensive by world standards.

Or, theres always Zaras.
Cheap. Generic, but a definite step up from trashy US stores like the Gap or Abercrombie.

Me, I buy local, where ever I go, and I find there is always interesting stuff if you look.

 

[RWS]

Quoting "Ries": ". . . . I buy local, where ever I go, and I find there is always interesting stuff if you look."
You're right, Ries. I do buy locally, and locally made goods. But to find clothing that fits me (I'm tall and slender) and which comports with my own aesthetics (I don't like most modern designers' work), I've been obliged to go to craftsmen: a fine and enjoyable experience, but expensive (though not, of course, by North American or Western European standards). 'Too bad!

 

[jp]

There's loads of women's stuff about, my other half has been pretty stunned by what you can get for very little money. Few issues on quality and finishing here and there, and depends very much on what sort of stuff you're going for. Judging by the "made in" labels you're not buying mass produced stringent quality controlled items from a sweatshop out in a controlled export zone in China, so this will mean quality control goes down a bit, and prices go up. Clothes in the UK & US are ridiculously cheap but there's different supply chains and logistics at work.Big brands don't charge much less than euro prices over here, but go with local brands and you can find some great designs for decent prices. Just need patience and an eye for things....

 

[JG]

I find most things quite expensive in argentina. Im going to buy sneakers in payments. its the first time in my bloody life that ill have to do that. Im not charging it for convenience, but because i wont have the necessary cash in one month.
I saw a candy bar today that was a half an hours wage. Many of my students tell me prices will continue to soar, that the dollar is now set to rise making imports more expensive and that if the crooked arg. govt. (theres never been any other as far as i know since they started making argentines) wrecks the economy any more and cant continue the high subsidies it pays to keep transport costs down etc, there will be violence in the streets as we saw in 01 and periodically since. things get ugly fast here.
yes, prices are high. Sheets, towels, and blankets are like top prices back home and most wont last one season. In fact, i hardly have anything made in arg. that lasts very long.
As a friend said to me when I first moved here, "That's why they call it Third World!"

 

[marie]

Yes, I was wondering about this too. I have a tight budget but also a love of fashion...are there many vintage clothing shops in BA?

Have you tried Avellaneda Street in Flores??? they sell extremely cheap, of course there are no tourists but you can buy there anyways as any Argentinian. I bought one shirt for 13 pesos and other things very cheap.
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