The Investor Wears Prada

Abstract

Luxury clothing items are commonly advertised as in the moment, self-enhancing, indulgence pieces that provide consumers with social and emotional values. These products are rarely seen as items with functional value that could be purchased as investments. There is a lack of empirical data as to whether the marketing of luxury clothing items gives the products their social and emotional values or whether it is the product itself that carries these perceptions. This study researches whether luxury clothing items can be seen as investment pieces if they are marketed in this way, similarly to how cars are viewed as investments. Furthermore, it analyzes if marketing a luxury clothing item as an investment piece will change the views consumers have about the products and increase a luxury clothing company’s customer base. In recent years, trends of purchasing vintage clothing and the increase of consignment stores allow for clothing to be resold, making it easier to realize clothing as an investment. The study uses surveys that portray the luxury clothing items in their current form and as investments and utilizes twosample t-tests and correlation to analyze the results.