Luxury Fashion

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Luxury fashion starts with price but is better defined as an extravagant indulgence that gratifies a fastidious appetite; luxury can be considered anything delightful to the senses. Luxury fashions are found at fine retailers such as Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, and leading luxury brands include Louis Vuitton, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Burberry, Gucci and Valentino. When selecting luxurious clothing, take into account the garment's silhouette, drape, stitch quality and fabric: designers can purchase the most expensive fabrics and hire the most experienced pattern makers, but that does not guarantee a fine luxury garment, so the garment being purchased should always be inspected — most definitely when purchasing at luxury prices.

Luxury Fashion by Apparel Search - Terms of Interest to the Fashion Industry

Fashion Terms  Fashion Terms Directory  Fashion Terms by Category  High-End Fashion  Defining Luxury  Luxury Spotlight 2008   Luxury Fashion Stores

What is luxury fashion?  For that matter, what is luxury anything?  The first thing that comes to mind is "expensive".   A better definition would be an extravagant indulgence that which gratifies a fastidious appetite.  Also, luxury can be considered to be anything delightful to the senses.

Where can you find luxury fashion?  If you are searching for luxury fashions you can try fine retailers such as Barney's New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.  Certainly, there are other luxury retailers, but we do not plan to list them all for you here..  Who makes luxury fashion?  A few of the leading luxury brands are Louis Vuitton, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Burberry, Gucci and Valentino.  You can find additional famous brands that manufacture and sell luxury items at the Fashion Week Photos website.

When selecting a luxurious clothing, you should take into account the garments silhouette, drape, stitch quality, fabric etc.  You do not want to purchase a well crafted dress and discover that the seams have not been properly constructed.  If you utilize a well known luxury brand, you will most likely NOT run into this dilemma.  However, if you are purchasing from a new designer that is entering the realm of luxury fashion, be certain to stay on guard.  Designers can purchase the most expensive fabrics and hire the most experienced pattern makers, but this does not guarantee a fine luxury garment.  Again, if you stick with the well know fashion houses, you should have no worries.  Certainly, you will also find that the majority of new comers will provide a product that exceeds your expectations.  The key is that you should always inspect the garment that you are purchasing.  Most definitely when purchasing at luxury prices...

When you wish to look voluptuous and dress in a luxurious manner, be certain to buy the best.  Shop with your heart, and be certain to bring your credit cards.

By the way, if you have to ask for the price, that means you can not afford it.

Luxury Fabrics:  Cashmere >>  Camel Hair  >> Fine Silk >> Egyptian Cotton >> Linen

When searching for luxury fashion you may hear terms such as exclusive collection, premium fabrics, custom made, couture, ready-to-wear etc.

Here is a small portion of the luxury definition from Wikipedia (from 8/1/07) "Certain manufactured products attain the status of "luxury goods" due to their design, quality, durability or performance that are remarkably superior to the comparable substitutes. Thus, virtually every category of goods available on the market today includes a subset of similar products whose "luxury" is marked by better-quality components and materials, solid construction, stylish appearance, increased durability, better performance, advanced features and so on. As such, these luxury goods retain or improve the basic functionality for which all items of a given category are originally designed.

There are also goods that are perceived as luxurious by the public simply because they play a role of status symbols as such goods tend to signify the purchasing power of those who acquire them. These items, while may not being any better (in quality, performance, or appearance) than their less expensive substitutes, are purchased with the sole purpose of displaying wealth or income of their owners. These kinds of goods are the objects of a socio-economic phenomenon called conspicuous consumption and commonly include luxury cars, expensive watches and jewelry, designer clothing, yachts, and large residences such as mansions and vacation homes."

In addition to the fine retailers listed above in this article, you can also find luxury fashion and luxurious fashion accessories online. 

Welcome to the world of luxury fashion.

Learn about high fashion.

Written by ML at Apparel Search August 1st, 2007

You may want to also learn about fashion opulence.

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Learn more about luxury retailers:

Neiman Marcus Group

Barneys New York

Bloomingdale's

Bergdorf Goodman

Women's Luxury Knits

By the way, you may want to check our women's cashmere fashion section.

Fashion Links to Fashion Luxury ...

LVMH - one of the world's leading luxury product groups - top quality brands, elegance, & product excellence.

Richemont - Swiss luxury goods, top brands including Cartier, MontBlanc, Piaget & more.

Cartier - Famous French watchmakers & Jewler.

Dior - prestige perfumery, fashion & accessories.

Tiffany & Co. - respected New York house of style for fine jewelry & precious gems.

Henri Bendel

Visit the Haute Couture page and celebrity fashion page.

Luxury Fashion

Learn about more luxury fashion brands and discuss those brand names at the Fashion Industry Network.

Luxury Fabrics and Luxury Words

The fabrics named for luxury are cashmere, camel hair, fine silk, Egyptian cotton and linen — materials whose cost comes from fiber quality and scarcity before any brand mark is applied. Around them sits a vocabulary shoppers learn to read: exclusive collection, premium fabrics, custom made, couture and ready-to-wear each promise a different level of making, and the high-end fashion and defining luxury pages linked on this page unpack those neighboring terms. Opulence in fashion, covered on the Fashion Blog piece linked here, is the expressive end of the same idea.

The 2008 Spotlight as a Companion

The luxury fashion spotlight 2008 page, linked on this page as a companion, tested this definition against a soft economy and found five-figure luxury items launching alongside a return to classics and seasonless collections — evidence that the top of the market answers to different pressures than the middle. Readers comparing the two pages can see the definition here and the market behavior there, with high fashion as the next term in the chain.

Common Questions

What is luxury fashion?

Fashion that is an extravagant indulgence gratifying a fastidious appetite, and delightful to the senses — expensive, but defined by superior design, quality, durability and performance rather than price alone. Luxury goods also act as status symbols signifying the purchasing power of their owners, a pattern called conspicuous consumption.

Who makes and sells luxury fashion?

Leading luxury brands include Louis Vuitton, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Burberry, Gucci and Valentino. Fine retailers selling luxury fashion include Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, with additional luxury accessories available online.

What should a buyer check in a luxury garment?

Silhouette, drape, stitch quality and fabric — and the seams' construction. Expensive fabrics and experienced pattern makers do not by themselves guarantee a fine garment, especially from a designer new to luxury, so inspect the garment before buying at luxury prices.

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