GHT
I'll Lock Up
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Yes you are right about the labour cost, it was a silly question on my part because I get quite a few negative remarks about my shirts. My Aloha collection are hand made by my missus, when I explain to those who want her to make a shirt for them that sixty pounds just covers the cost of the paper pattern, the notions and the fabric. Add on twenty hours of skilled labour, and before I can finish I'm usually told that they can get one online for twenty pounds. To which my wife will tell them to do just that, I can never resist adding that the cheaper the shirt the longer some poor soul in a third world country has spent making it.I don't think I can answer your question any better than Brent Black. But basically, it comes down to the time and talent spent to make a hat in 3 days versus 3 months, or more. Imagine how much it would cost to pay someone, even at our minimum wage of ~ $10 an hour, 4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, for 3 months. At 12 weeks, the bill is already up to $2400.
Now, I wouldn't pay an amount that high without seeing the hat in person to make sure the weave was even and consistent, or without viewing a lot of high quality pictures.
https://www.brentblack.com/montecristi-panama-hat-prices-explained.html
What I was really doing was expressing surprise that there's a market for hats at such a price.