J Crew's 'wedding shorts' show that the word 'wedding' is good for a 1000% markup

Are you thinking that your wedding day needs to be a little more casual? Do you aspire to walk down the aisle with your summer tan legs on full display? Maybe you aren't quite sure about what you're about to do, and just need an easy getaway outfit?

J Crew has the perfect piece for you: the wedding short, for the low, low price of $450.

In all seriousness, J Crew is marketing these as a reception or honeymoon look, not actually for walking down the aisle. Here's the product description for the shorts, which are found in J Crew's special wedding section of its site:

You don't have to be a bridesmaid-or even be invited to a wedding-to wear these shimmering shorts with hand-applied sequins for a slinky meets sporty look (read: stunning). Our favorite part? If you are a bride, they works [sic] at the reception, at the after party, on your honeymoon and for pretty much any occasion after that.

But it does show the ridiculous markup retailers feel they can put on a garment if it is white and they throw the word "wedding" in front of it. J Crew sells white chino shorts (not marketed for your wedding reception) for $45 - 10% of the wedding short price.

J Crew

Sure, the wedding shorts are made of lined sequin fabric, rather than cotton, but having been a figure skater in my youth, I can tell you that sequin fabric isn't where most of the $450 price is coming from.