By Ellie Seta
<[email protected]>

Just walking down the hallway the sheer amount of name brand items students display is overwhelming, most of which include iconic images of various animals. But while to some students the brand means everything, sophomore Allison Scott said she could care less. She said she has no desire to pay the steep price for these “high-end” items.

“The main factor for me to not buy name brand clothes is price,” Scott said. “But to me their clothes are cute so it really does not matter to me.”

Although high school students are infamous for their obsession with name brands, students here are finding that although generic brands do not always have the best quality, the price is just too good to pass up, especially in this economic. On the other hand, many still argue the importance of purchasing items for quality rather than buying a greater quantity of less expensive items.

Scott, who regularly shops at discount stores such as Target and Forever 21, said she believes the clothes she buys at these stores are similar to the clothes in higher end stores.

“I think they look just as cute,” Scott said. “You don’t need a label to show that you have cute clothes.”

However, in contrast to Scott, sophomore Laura Rummel said she prefers to buy name brand clothes due to the fact that they usually have better quality.

“In general, I think that name brand clothes are a lot cuter,” Rummel said. “Even though they are more expensive you can usually find some really great sales.” Rummel said in the end she believes in the saying “you get what you pay for,” “and that if you buy cheaper clothes then you should be prepared for the clothes to not last as long as name brand clothes would.

“I would rather buy more expensive clothes and not get as much (clothing) than buy a lot of cheap clothes that are falling apart,” Rummel said. “In the end, you would probably end up spending the same amount because the cheaper clothes will probably not last as long.”

Fashion merchandising teacher, Sharon Robinson said the main reason behind the lower pricing of generic brand clothing has to do with the less expensive fabric and fewer embellishments. Also Robinson said name brand clothing also is usually made in Europe, while generic products are mass produced in Asia which allows the products to be sold at a less expensive price.

“With higher end clothing you are paying more for the original design,” Robinson said. “But with lower end (clothing) you do not have to pay for the original thought.”

Scott said a big reason as to why she often purchases her clothing from cheaper stores is because she is required to pay for her clothes with her own money, which she said greatly limits her clothing budget. However, she said her mom does buy her some necessary clothing items at the beginning of the school year, but after that she is left to pay for most of her clothes with her own money. But Scott admits that even if her mom did offer to buy all of her clothes for her she still probably would shop at the same stores.

“I would feel really bad if my mom spent all of her money that she worked for on my clothes when she could spend it on more important stuff,” Scott said.

Robinson said although to some people dressing in high-end designer clothing is important to them, she cautioned to only spend the amount of money that is financially appropriate for your budget.

“Only spend what is within your means,” Robinson said. “You should not try to be someone you aren’t.”

Although Rummel and Scott do not agree on the type of clothing that they purchase, they both share a common love for Target, a store known for its low prices.

“I especially like Target when they have high-end designers design clothes (for Target),” Rummel said. “I really like H&M also.”

“I think that girls today are too worried about their image,” Scott said. “They believe that wearing name brands will improve their image, but I don’t really care that much about buying name brand clothes. You really don’t need to waste you money.”