Clotheshorse Episode 255: I'm With The Brand (the price is right?), Part Eight

Host: Amanda Lee McCarty
Release Date: March 3, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Amanda Lee McCarty continues her acclaimed series "I'm With The Brand," diving deep into the concept of perceived value in fashion and retail pricing. Drawing from personal experiences and industry expertise, Amanda unpacks how price tags are far more about psychology, branding, and illusion than about actual quality or cost. The episode provides insight into why things cost what they do, the ways in which fast fashion has warped our sense of value, and the challenges and ethics of pricing for small business owners—offering practical advice and calls for solidarity along the way.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Personal Reflection on Remake and Movement Transitions

• [00:00–10:00]
  • Amanda addresses the recent closure of Remake, an advocacy group for garment workers, and shares a deeply personal and traumatic anecdote regarding the organization's mishandling of her experience with bipolar disorder and shopping addiction.
  • Despite personal pain, Amanda acknowledges the genuine impact Remake’s community has had, and urges listeners that the closure is not the end of the slow fashion movement, but a point of growth and expansion into broader issues: “Fast fashion is part of a larger set of interconnected issues that threaten our planet and our future. Uncontrollable greed, the rise of fascism, widening wealth inequality…” [09:33]
  • Quote:

    “Fascism and fast fashion, they're just fruits of the same poisoned tree… But the thing is, we can cut down that tree.” — Amanda [09:53]

  • Emphasizes the importance of solidarity across movements—spanning human rights, anti-racism, environmentalism, and more—and the need for collective, intersectional activism.

2. Decoding Perceived Value: Buyer’s Perspective Imagination Exercise

• [10:01–20:50]
  • Amanda leads a playful yet instructive visualization of a buyer’s job—how internal brand discussions center not on personal value, but on “What will our customer pay?”
  • Introduces perceived value as the subjective assessment of worth by a customer, based more on psychological and emotional cues (“vibes”) than actual, tangible quality.
  • Quote:

    “95% of the reason we buy anything, where we buy it and when we buy it is purely psychological.” — Amanda [17:14]

  • Explains how brands manipulate perceived value with cost-trimming product tweaks and, more powerfully, with psychological cues and branding.

3. The Illusion of Value: Branding Tactics in Action

• [20:51–44:00]
  • Amanda gives examples from her career, including how Urban Outfitters could price the exact same jewelry higher simply by antiquing metal finishes.
  • Tactic details:
    • Packaging changes (matte cardstock, trend-aligned graphics)
    • Small product tweaks (e.g., swapping in synthetic “softer” yarn to increase perceived value though it’s cheaper)
    • Contextual cues (store look/feel, website design, product placement, hang tags, and unboxing experiences)
  • Quote:

    “That's the thing about perceived value and pricing. In this century, more than a decade into the fast fashion era, it's all about building an illusion of value.” — Amanda [26:35]

  • Contrasts “premium” branding (Anthropologie, Free People) with “deal” environments (TJ Maxx, Ross) and how physical and digital environments set value expectations.
  • Explores the impact of website/email design and the negative effects of AI-generated copy and imagery on perceived value.

4. Case Study: Wet n Wild and the Struggle of Shifting Perceived Value

• [44:01–57:00]
  • Amanda discusses the challenges faced by drugstore brand Wet n Wild in trying to raise their prices:
    • Limiting factors: the brand name, teen associations, cheap-feeling packaging, and undesirable in-store placement.
    • Compares to brands like e.l.f. and NYX that elevated their perceived value through packaging and art direction.
    • Suggests that if true “premium” status isn’t feasible, the “hidden gem” or “insider knowledge” strategy can be powerful (“super value that only those in the know get to use”).
  • Quote:

    “Making people feel like they are part of this secret super smart club is a highly potent form of emotional branding.” — Amanda [54:23]

5. The Anatomy of Premiumisation: Store Design, Merchandising, and Tactile Details

• [57:01–1:17:00]
  • Discusses how Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and Free People create the appearance of premium value through curated store environments: lighting, music, aesthetics, merchandising choices.
  • Explains that even small, inexpensive upgrades (e.g., higher-quality hang tags, woven labels, custom shopping bags) can radically increase what customers expect to pay.
  • “We expect that cheap brands like Shein will have ugly websites and it makes sense to us. But we will gladly spend more when the photos take up half, half the page and look like maybe they were taken with film.” [1:13:14]

6. The Competitive Landscape and the Role of Location

• [1:17:01–1:26:00]
  • Price expectations are contextual: a $500 dress at H&M versus at Chanel, or a $50 item at Dollar Tree versus Anthropologie, are received completely differently due to context and branding.
  • Amanda notes that perceived value is greatly influenced by the competitive landscape and by proximity to other products and brands: “Not only is branding, an emotional branding, about getting you to spend money—branding is about getting you to spend the right amount of money.” [1:21:20]

7. The Small Business Trap: Underpricing and Its Broad Impact

• [1:26:01– end]
  • Amanda spotlights the damaging effects of fast fashion’s artificially low prices on small/independent businesses and the broader economy of creative labor:
    • How “affordable” prices often mean the maker is not paying themselves for substantial, skilled labor.
    • Detailed math breakdown: a made-to-measure linen dress for $150 only nets ~$18/hr (and that’s excluding all materials and other costs, so real hourly is lower).
    • Quote:

      “I always say, as you know, it’s cheap because someone didn’t get paid. But also, sometimes it doesn’t seem cheap, but it’s still too cheap for someone to actually get paid fairly.” — Amanda [1:29:34]

  • Critique of accessibility logic: affordable prices that aren’t sustainable for the business lead to business closures, reducing true access to ethical goods over time.

8. Solutions & Calls to Action

For Small Business Owners:

• Take the time to calculate the real cost of making products (materials, labor at a living wage, overhead, platform costs).
• Plan pricing transitions strategically—use them as an opportunity to educate customers about the realities of ethical production.
• Consider alternative accessibility measures (sliding scale for a small subset, giveaways) but don’t default to self-exploitation.

For All Consumers:

• Actively rewire your own perception of price and value.
• When an ethical product seems “too expensive,” remember the exploitative reality beneath fast fashion prices and the real costs of quality and labor.
• Consider buying secondhand or saving, and shift away from the mindset of needing a constant stream of trendy new things.
• Quote:

  “One good dress is better than five unsatisfying dresses, even if those five unsatisfying dresses cost $5.” — Amanda [1:45:17]

• Never leave negative comments about pricing—this only reinforces unhealthy price expectations for everyone.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the psychology of price:

  “What we are willing to pay is based on something far less tangible. Vibes.” [15:52]

• On branding mastery:

  “All of the urban brands… are making fast fashion and really fast everything look like it’s not fast fashion.” [54:02]

• On the future of premium branding:

  “In an AI world, we are starting to value human work a lot more… the perceived value of human work is gradually increasing.” [1:37:54]

• Final advice to all:

  “When one business underprices, it forces everyone to underprice. And so pricing your products to cover a living wage actually lifts up every small business around you.” [1:43:21]

Key Timestamps

• [00:00–10:00] — Reflections on Remake’s shutdown, Amanda’s experiences, and the interconnectedness of social justice and fashion
• [10:01–20:50] — Buyer’s perspective & the definition of perceived value
• [20:51–44:00] — Manipulating value with branding and product tweaks; "premium" cues vs. "deal" cues
• [44:01–57:00] — The Wet n Wild case study: why some brands can’t “premiumize”
• [57:01–1:17:00] — Store design, merchandising, and the psychology of sparse vs. crowded retail
• [1:17:01–1:26:00] — The impact of physical and competitive location on perceived value
• [1:26:01–end] — The ethical pricing trap for small businesses, solutions, and calls to action for both sellers and buyers

Takeaways

• Price is both a number and a feeling. Branding, presentation, and market context shape what a customer is willing to pay far more than objective quality.
• The “race to the bottom” price war fueled by fast fashion hurts everyone: consumers, small businesses, and creative laborers across industries.
• It takes collective action—not just as consumers but as citizens, workers, and creatives—to reshape our relationship to fashion, spending, and value.
• Individual actions matter: support ethical pricing, educate your community, and be mindful both as a shopper and as an entrepreneur.

For anyone interested in how branding, psychology, and capitalism intersect—especially in the slow-fashion movement—this is a must-listen episode packed with practical insight, candid reflections, and a rallying call for justice and sustainability.