Lifestyle Clothing Brands: Are They Worth the Price?

You are in the market for a couple of pairs of jeans. You could go down to the big box department store and get what you need at a fairly cheap price. Alternatively, you could buy the jeans at a high-end department store and pay significantly more. A third option is to buy a lifestyle brand at a stylish local boutique.

This post will explore lifestyle clothing brands and whether or not they are worth the price. For the record, some lifestyle brands are just as expensive as luxury brands. Combine lifestyle and luxury together and you’ll pay a pretty penny for everything from men’s jeans to women’s dresses.

• About Lifestyle Clothing

First thing’s first. Before we get into whether or not lifestyle clothing is worth it, defining it would be helpful. Salt Lake City’s The Stockist, a men’s and women’s boutique that specializes in lifestyle brands, explains that lifestyle clothing is clothing meant to reflect the lifestyle and values of those wearing it.

Lifestyle brands also reflect the values of the companies that produce them. If brands market correctly, their values will appeal to their target audiences. This creates brand loyalty that hopefully leads to brand longevity.

• The Quality Is There

With an explanation of lifestyle clothing out of the way, let us get to the main point of this post. One of the first things you have to look at to determine whether or not higher prices are worth paying is quality. The good news for fans of lifestyle brands is that the quality is there. In fact, quality is one of the hallmarks of lifestyle clothing.

The lifestyle brands that make the women’s dresses and men’s shirts carried by The Stockist tend to be owned by smaller companies. These companies do not mass-produce their clothing in overseas factories where quality may be an afterthought. They are carefully made in smaller numbers and with a deliberate eye on actual and perceived quality.

• The Style Is There

Unlike generic brands that have to appeal to the largest possible audience, lifestyle brands can appeal to a much smaller audience and still survive. The net result is style. In other words, lifestyle brands can focus heavily on a particular style and the audience it appeals to. The Stockist appeals to millennials and young professionals. Another lifestyle brand might be aimed at teenagers.

It might be worth it to pay a higher price at a local boutique featuring lifestyle brands if you cannot find your particular style at the big box or luxury department stores. Likewise, it might not be worth saving money if you don’t like the styles found at those other stores.

• The Shared Values Are There

Most important to some fans of lifestyle brands are the shared values. The fact is that some people are loyal to certain brands because those brands represent the values they feel are important. For example, consider a lifestyle brand committed to manufacturing sustainable clothing. That ideal appeals to a certain audience.

This particular concept might represent the biggest difference between the generations. Older shoppers do not necessarily determine the brands they are going to buy based on company values. By contrast, younger people tend to see company values as being just as important as product quality and pricing.

If the three things mentioned in this post are important to you, lifestyle clothing might be worth the higher price. Otherwise, you might be content with the generic or luxury brand clothing you purchase at department stores. It’s all good. We all have the freedom to buy and wear what makes us feel comfortable.

Paul Watson