The current fashion trend among preppy and upper middle class teenagers are the hot brands like Vineyard Vines and Patagonia. Sure, the pull overs are comfortable, and often times have very unique designs, and their t-shirts are very cute.

The real question is why these brands are so expensive? Vineyard Vines cotton t-shirts cost upwards of $35. Patagonia pull overs are more than$90. Their clothing is unique, but not any better than a cotton t-shirt or quarter zip pull over that you can buy at Target. 

Let’s take the shirt pictured above for example. It looks like a very comfortable and relaxed long sleeve t-shirt. I would buy it, except that it costs $48 that I don’t have.

The Vineyard Vines description of this product reads as follows “Deja vu all over again! Remember that favorite tee you just couldn’t wear enough? This soft, comfortable cotton men’s t-shirt brings back that feeling.”

I could probably build a time machine and go back to when I had that favorite tee for less money than buying this shirt. The t-shirt is made of cotton. I could buy a grey cotton t-shirt on Amazon for no more than $8, and have a whale printed on the back. Vineyard Vines is basically charging people $40 to just print that whale, which isn’t even that special. If I really wanted to, I could draw a whale on the back of my t-shirts for free.

The next must have item on many people’s christmas lists, as patagonia Synchilla Snap-T fleece pullover.

The designs for these are certainly one of a kind. These fleeces also come in plain black. These fleeces go for $99, just for the “light weight” material. If you want a heavy duty fleece you’re looking at $119. I got my Regina quarter-zip for less money than that, and that is plain black. I could see how the bold designs could come in handy, though…if you lost your parents at the supermarket or you’re trying to give someone a headache.

What ever your reasons may be for wanting this, it still isn’t worth what they’re asking. You could just hit someone over the head with a pan if you wanted their head to hurt, and that comes at no cost. I couldn’t last a week without my Patagonia leggings ripping, and I should hope that this sweater would last longer, especially since they’re asking for a 2-weeks-worth paycheck for it.

When I see merchandise like this, at these prices, I don’t know whether to laugh or scream. Who do these brand think they are? These brands are making it very hard for me to look rich, even though I’m not. I could pull it off in 7th and 8th grade with faux Uggs. I could even go to a North Face outlet store. These stores, and believe me I’ve looked, don’t even have outlet stores. Don’t be fooled by these companies. These may be in style now, but trust me when I say that you (and your bank account) will thank me when you have saved the money you could have spent on these clothes.