Twenty-eight thousand dollars.
What would you do with that money?
As college students, we would use it toward tuition, maybe even put it in savings or spoil ourselves and friends with a nice dinner downtown in Market Square.
Surely, we wouldn’t waste it all on one purchase.
Like the Marc Jacobs “Puffy Clouds Embroidery Dress.”
The dress, which debuted in Jacobs’ latest fall/winter collection, was made in a Swiss embroidery mill, according to The Cut. The ankle-length gown is covered with flowers made of organza, each hand-stuffed with three meters of yarn. Also according to the article, the fabric cost 8,000 euros a meter and required three sets of hands to create.
There’s a reason why high fashion is called high fashion: it only reaches to a certain part of society. The part of society that is very affluent and can afford to spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars on clothing, shoes and handbags. The sad thing is, Marc Jacobs’ dress is just one of several multi-thousand dollar pieces that debuted on the runway this past fashion month in February.
When considering $28,000 as a UT student applying it to tuition and fees, bear in mind it costs $4,842 in total for a returning in-state student per semester. That would mean, according to my calculations, that that one dress is equal to roughly six semesters and three years of school, leaving a total of only $1,052 for you to pay out of your pocket. Just let that sink in. You could receive three years of education at an almost Top 25 school… or you could own a Marc Jacobs dress.
I guess it all depends on your prerogative, but I’m going to go ahead and say most of us would opt for a higher education over just one designer dress. Even though I’m a huge fan of fashion and could talk about it for hours, I know the amount of that dress is ridiculous even for a millionaire.
Fashion can be depressingly expensive. But what’s important to remember, my fellow broke college students, is that the person who can afford to spend money on fashion doesn’t necessarily in turn have good style.
For example, Snooki, who rose to fame alongside her American/Italian companions on the MTV show “Jersey Shore,” got paid around $150,000 per episode. Even though she got in shape and started a family, her style still lacks a certain pizzaz and creative element that makes other sartorially mindful people style icons.
Style is what you make it, but it definitely doesn’t have to be expensive. I’ve met UT students who are beyond creative with their ensembles and can experiment with textures and patterns and colors in a way Snooki can’t, even with the large digits in her bank account.
Style is the ability to make something extraordinary out of something ordinary. Have a pair of black leggings? Pair it with your boyfriend’s leather jacket and a cool band T-shirt you’ve had since high school. That old dress you wore to a date party freshman year? Wear a comfortable oversized sweater with a pair of your favorite boots.
Marc Jacobs is without a doubt a covetable name to have in your closet, especially if you’re clothes-minded. But remember, money does not equal style and style does not equal money. Style is an individual expression of the self and can be created through anything you like.
Although, I can’t help but wonder what wearing a $28,000 dress would feel like.
Melodi Erdogan is a second year in journalism and electronic media. She aspires to work in the fashion industry. She can be reached at [email protected].
