To all of those who wonder as to, “What makes that shirt so expensive ?”, here’s the answer.

The Design : The designs are important and certain patterns or prints can make or break the shirt. I’ll explain this with an example. Couple of days back I saw a shirt, it was a simple white shirt and everything looked perfect at the first glance. But when I turned the shirt towards its rear, there was a small black patch on it. From the designer’s perspective the black patch was probably a print that was there, perhaps to enhance the beauty of the shirt. But unfortunately it didn’t serve the purpose and it ruined the beauty of the shirt. In simple words the design isn’t taken into account pretty seriously in an INR 500 shirt.

Well, now you may ask, “What if the shirt is plain or without any design ?” This question is answered in the following paragraphs.

The Buttons : In the above paragraph I mentioned about wrong design but if the shirt is plain, then there isn’t a question of wrong design. Then where does the INR 500 shirt go wrong ? The buttons is the answers. In simple words the buttons don’t match or go along with the shirt so well. The fabric might be great, the design might be great but a wrong choice of buttons ruins the overall look.

The Distance between the Consecutive Buttons : Oh well, this might sound a little weird but it is true. If the consecutive buttons aren’t placed at the right distances it can cause discomfort or uneasiness, especially if you prefer not to put on the first button. For example if the first button is placed too low it could be too revealing and if the button is placed too high at the top it can cause ventilation issues.

The Collar : There are wide variety of collars a shirt can have. But most of the INR 500 shirts come with standard collar and they lack variety. Another point about the collars is, the stiffness or the firmness of the collars. A not so firm collar on a formal shirt results in a not so good look.

The Stitches : This might sound a little too simple but it isn’t. The stiches too play a vital role in making a shirt more eloquent. In fact most designer labels carry out R&D with respect to stiches. One such example is stichless shirt from Arrow. However this example may not hold good with the title of this post, the reason being stichless shirts are more expensive than the INR 2500 price tag.

The Material : Explanation not required, the term ‘Material’ says it all. The better the material more expensive is the price.

The Cuffs : Full sleeve shirts are subjected to this parameter. Some mistakes that brands make are again with respect to buttons but this time it is in the cuffs.

Not everyone out there goes to the gym, which implies not everyone out there have bulky forearms. Therefore when a person’s forearm isn’t so bulky and when he puts on a full sleeve shirt the cuff region of the shirt might feel too loose, due to a lack of extra button on the cuff. The extra button is usually used to tighten the cuff which in turn tightens the sleeve to a certain extent. This results in a more comfortable and proper fit. But when brands fail to install this extra button, the fit goes for a toss. Another aspect that can make the shirt pricier is presence of fleets above the cuff.

The brand value : Years of excellence and hard work deserve the reward and this again increases the price tag. So brand value is another aspect that distinguishes the price tag between an INR 500 shirt and an INR 2500 shirt.

Operating Expenses : Designer labels maintain a good store ambience and experience and creating one requires lots of expenses like rent, air conditioners, store personnel and their wages etc. At the end of the day profit also matters and that hikes the price tag.

These were some of the differences between INR 500 shirt and INR 2500 shirt. With this the post comes to an end. 🙂