On the Street.....After Mac, West Village

Like I mentioned yesterday, the streets of New York are overflowing with young ladies in print dresses. Usually the fit of these dresses are quite good- but the prints, unfortunately, are often very unfortunate.

It had reached a point where I really started to believe that maybe a young lady couldn't buy a great print without spending a lot of money.

However yesterday I saw this young woman leaving the Mac store on 14th with her new purchases. The fit of the dress is obviously great, but I was really struck by the beauty and sophistication of the print. My faith in Summer dresses was renewed when she told me she bought the dress at a flea market for $20.

This is one of those times when I ponder the question of quality vs. appearance.

I'm guessing that for $20 the dress is not silk. I didn't inspect it super closely but the stitching is probably fine. I'm trying to imagine what you could do to the dress technically to justify a higher price, because visually it looks perfect.

For example, if the dress had a higher stitches-per-inch ratio would that make any difference to you?

If the dress was all silk would you happily pay more? It is easy and chic to say yes - but lets be honest, a dress like this is not an investment piece. If you can get two Summers out of it then it has served you well.

So I guess the question is: "Is quality always worth paying for if the item functions fine the way it is?" (I think 'functions' is the key word there).