A few months ago I was texting a friend when she sent a picture of a plain light blue hoodie with stars on the back and asked if she should buy it. The hoodie also happened to be $120, and when I told her that she could get at least four hoodies for the exact same price she got huffy and, with an eye roll emoji, told me that she was buying it for the brand. This mindset isn’t uncommon in today’s society, but it does make one wonder: why exactly do certain people typically stick to or buy certain brands of clothing? And why are some of them so expensive?

For reference, the average pullover hoodie can cost anywhere from $20-$50 USD. However, this price range mostly applies to either the hoodies from lesser brands or towards unbranded hoodies. However, a hoodie from a well known brand, such as Nike or Under Armour will typically run from $50-$100, and certain brands will have their lowest prices be around $100.

There is a massive price gap between the hoodies, and while it seems like there is no other difference than the logo placed upon them, there can be potential differences. More recognized brands are typically associated with quality, especially through advertisements and prior experience with the brand. For example, Nike, which began as a simple shoe company, is now a clothing giant by offering branded versions of nearly every article of clothing. The reason the company expanded was because they had built up their reputation as a reliable brand among consumers and felt confident enough in their consumer base’s loyalty to expand to other areas of the fashion industry. The company couldn’t do this if their products were of lesser quality, as people wouldn’t continue to buy their products if they only lasted a few months. It would make sense that higher manufacturing costs would cause a company to have higher prices, but having higher quality products isn’t the only reason why these brands have inflated prices. As a brand grows more popular and gains a consumer base, they can simply raise the prices. If a company is confident enough in their consumer base to expand their range of products, then they can also comfortably inflate their prices, as people will continue to buy their products regardless of the higher price. For example, Nike shoes typically cost 20-25% more than Adidas shoes, and they’re considered to be nearly functionally identical.

But what exactly is the correlation between prices and buying for brands? People wear certain types of clothing in order to express themselves and/or fit into a certain subculture, such as skaters and baggy clothes, or emos and chain accessories, etc, but even outside of mainstream fashion, brands will exist. When people see that everyone  is wearing a certain brand of clothing, they’re much more likely to buy that brand in order to fit in and feel validated about their role within their own subculture. This is also how designer brands, such as the creators of the aforementioned $120 hoodie, can stay afloat. Certain people may want to portray themselves as more materialistic and wealthy, so they choose to buy those specific brands for no reason other than its high price and the prestige that comes with it. People feeling pressure to buy certain brands ultimately generates more revenue for these brands, which allows them to do the aforementioned increasing of prices. 

To summarize, while popular brands can be more expensive due to higher fabrication costs, they will also inflate their prices in order to maximize profit; as they already have a loyal consumer base that they know will continue to buy their products in order to fit in and try to portray themselves in a certain light. This is why so many familiar brands can have clothes upwards of two to three times as expensive as unbranded clothes: they have a higher perceived worth than clothes of lesser brands, despite minimal differences in build quality.