06/06/2026
I don’t usually post things like this… but at a recent market, a shopper felt the need to very loudly exclaim “I’M NOT PAYING THAT MUCH FOR THIS”.
Sadly, this is not the first time someone at a market has made a rude or hurtful comment regarding the price of this dress directly in front of me. Countless people pull it off the rack and say “This is so beautiful”, take one look at the price tag and either roll their eyes or promptly put it back (as an aside, the tag also states that this dress is one-of-a-kind and has been hand embroidered with an original pattern…).
I try my best to let looks and comments roll off, but it does sting at least a little bit every time. I put a lot of effort into crafting these pieces, restoring the vintage clothing on my racks and making sure everything is organized and presented nicely. Unfortunately, most people have become so disconnected from what goes into manufacturing the things they buy that there is no concept of labour involved. While some people still DO know how to craft, mend and properly care for clothing, the majority have no idea, making it even easier to make misguided statements about the price tag.
If I’m being honest, every single item in my shop is UNDERPRICED. The prices often don’t even pay me for my time (or costs associated with running a business). Why does it seem ok to go to a box store with unethically and immorally mass produced items and pay the same, if not more, for a similar item without making these kinds of comments?
Sometimes items are out of a person’s budget and that is completely understandable and perfectly fine… but we’ve been conditioned by huge companies and corporations to believe that everything should be cheap and that craftsmanship is “unskilled labour”. This just simply isn’t true, everyone deserves to be paid for their time and skill, regardless of what it is they do.
All this to say, I really appreciate all of you that recognize and value the things I work really hard to craft and restore. I am always hopeful that by having these conversations, we can slowly shift the narrative and get back to a society where we value skill, ethics and other people’s time.
