A lingerie expert reveals a common misunderstanding among consumers

Mallory Schlossberg

Jun 6, 2016, 22:00 IST

William Lucas Walker/The Good Men Project

It's no secret that people don't want to shell out money for clothes anymore.

Thanks to endless promotions and the rise of fast fashion, they've been conditioned to look for the sale tag or a low price.

But there's a downside to this expectation that everything should be inexpensive: if they're unwilling to pay a premium, they can't demand a premium product.

Cora Harrington, lingerie expert and Editor-in-Chief of popular blog The Lingerie Addict, recently broke this down on Twitter, specifically when it comes to bras.

Her primary argument is that something that is actually high quality shouldn't cost that little. In fact, she tweeted, "cheap clothes are cheap b/c a few corners got cut."

There are ways to get premium products for a cheaper price, like buying discontinued styles on EBay, she said.

And of course people don't want to pay full price if for poor quality. But Harrington asserts that if it is high quality, they should be ready to fork over the money and understand why they're paying what they're paying.

Here's what she had to say:

Let's talk briefly about bras and pricing. I've seen variations of this particular thread in a few places:
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

"OMG...I just found the best, most comfortable bra ever! It fits perfectly. It's beautiful. I forget I'm wearing it. I love it!"
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

"Only downside is it costs $75. Can anyone find me a bra *just like this one* for $25?"
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

First up: actual shopping advice - Ebay is a great resource for inexpensive discontinued sizes and styles from a whole lot of bra brands.
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

The two big caveats here are 1) they're probably non-returnable (that's the trade-off for super steep discounts)
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

and 2) your local bra shop/department store/lingerie boutique will never feel any pressure to bring in more of your size if no one buys it.
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

And that's not because someone is trying to rip you off. It's because all the stuff that made the $75 bra good is left out of the $25 bra.
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

(Which is why it costs $25.)
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

This thread isn't about telling people to spend $ they don't have. Rather, it's a reminder that sometimes clothing prices aren't arbitrary.
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

Sometimes a higher price reflects better materials, better construction, better fit, etc. etc. This is especially true for plus & full bust.
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

Cheap clothes are cheap b/c a few corners got cut - in fabric quality or pattern grading or work conditions. Fixing that means increased $$.
- Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) June 3, 2016

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