In reading back posts on Manolo for the Big Girl, I came across this post by my the awesome Plumcake.  She says it better than I could about the styling but I have to say something about the price.

THAT is priced at $349.  I decided to break it down as if I was going to make it myself.  Please note that I zoomed in on the images on the Saks website for some of these and did not go see it in person.  I have better things to do with my time.  Like snark about tents that pretend to be dresses.

Hem — Not even a rolled hem!  Double-turned and badly so.  Totally machine.  My time: 30 min for messing with the georgette.

Sleeves — Hah!  Can they even be called that?  Two rectangles sewn into the armscye.  Maybe 30 min.

Body of the dress — very little fitting, pretty easy to cut with a few torso measurements.  About an hour to design and cut.  Maybe including the sewing since there’s just the two side seams and they’re serged.

Lining — the page says there’s a “slip lining” but since I see no evidence of one in the close-ups, I’m going to (probably wrongly) assume it’s two rectangles and not fitted at all.  Time: 5 minutes to rip and sew.

Neckline — I’l be generous and say 30 min since it has a smaller finish than the hemline.

Including picking out fabric, let’s say 3 hours.  So I would charge my customers $45 for the sewing time and $20 for design work.  I’m almost embarrassed to call that design but there is some pattern drafting in the actual size of the bodice.    Silk Baron sells their georgette for $12/yard and I’m guessing there’s about 3-3.5 yards involved there.  About the same for the lining.  So about $50 for fabric to be generous.

I think the dress is way overpriced.  For almost the same price ($365), you could have this:

A much better use of the $300-ish I don’t have to spend on dresses I don’t need.  But I’m still lusting after that violet Tadashi number.  And the damned thing about being able to sew is that I can’t justify buying expensive clothes because the little annoying miser-in-my-head always says “You can make that!”

Hey, miser-in-Deana’s-head?  Yeah, that’s more complicated than I have time for right now.

The miser says that I don’t need it, then.  Boo.  Hiss.