Gilding the dandelion?

[Merlin]

So I got home from work yesterday and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a new jacket that my girlfriend had picked up for me. It’s a dark charcoal gray, pinstriped, single breasted with a peak lapel, velvet jacket. It’s the sort of thing that would look best with jeans; it’s hardly dressy. Now here’s where it gets weird. She bought it at Target because it was on sale for $27.98, marked down from a whopping $39.99. She walked out of the store with it in a bag; they didn’t even throw in a hanger. It’s by Mossimo, a brand name that I don’t exactly associate with top-quality menswear. Come to think of it, I’m not sure what I associate Mossimo with, but that’s beside the point.

So I put the jacket on, and it seems to fit reasonably well for an off-the-rack thirty dollar velvet number. Then, as I always do, I start to examine the details. Two flap pockets, single vent in the rear, and – what the hell? – functional cuff buttons? Four of ‘em?

Now, am I way off on this, or was that like finding a burl walnut dashboard, Connolly leather seats, and Wilton wool carpeting in a Daewoo? I’ve bought plenty of suits and jackets before, but I’ve never dropped the kind of coin that functional cuff buttons demand. But a crappy $30 jacket at Target has ‘em? Not that I’m complaining, it’s a nice touch. It just seemed a little incongruous to me.

 

[Orgetorix]

I'd say it's more like plastic chrome fender trim on a rusted-out Caprice.

At one time, functional sleeve buttons may have been a mark of a well-made or even custom-made suit, due to the extra time it takes to make them and the greater precision they require. However, over time clothing manufacturers have picked up on this and other marks of exclusivity (contrast linings, pick-stitching on lapels, functional lapel buttonholes, etc.) and have incorporated them into their mass-produced, cheaply-made garments. The idea is to let a guy look and feel like he's wearing a $2000 bespoke jacket when he really paid $39.99 for it, but in reality it just eventually pulls those details down and makes them pedestrian.

The little details of custom-made clothing can be imitated by machines and unskilled workers. But what sets true bespoke apart is the whole package, including fit, cut, construction, and fabric quality. Those cannot be reproduced on a Target garment (or, for that matter, a Brooks Brothers garment), and those who know the difference won't be fooled.