If you read the DeletablyChic! Closet, you might have noted my “typical summer wardrobe” piece on BCBG jersey dresses. What I didn’t note is that there seemed to be fewer jersey options this past season. Instead, BCBG MaxAzria boutiques were mostly dominated by bandage dresses this past season. Yes, the same “body con” dresses that Max Azria creates for the higher end Herve Leger collections. Though many people would love to covet an Herve Leger-like piece, I’m not really sure it was necessarily such a great business decision to make “cheaper” versions of the dresses in a legitimate fashion.
The dress on the left is BCBG, while the one on the right is Herve Leger. Isn’t the style too similar?
When other brands have more affordable lines, they tend to operate under a similar name. For example, Ralph Lauren’s CHAPS is clearly marked as a Ralph Lauren brand. On the other hand, I’m not sure everyone knows that Max Azria runs both BCBG and Herve Leger and may merely think that BCBG is ripping off an iconic look, making it less elaborate looking and selling it at five to 10 times less. If all one wants is a bodycon dress and can only afford BCBG, the whole idea of saving up for that Herve Leger is just not a special, especially if you’re merely going for a look. And usually, a fashion company’s high and mid-range brands tend to differ because they are going for different markets. This was the case with BCBG until recently.
These days, BCBG boutiques are dominated by body con dresses (can we say Herve Leger LITE?), followed by cocktail and formal gowns and at select locations, the runway collection. Casual dresses, especially ones that can be worn at an informal office, are few and far between compared to, say, 2010 or 2011. I don’t know what it is – perhaps it’s due to company restructuring (there was, at one point a Max Azria namesake line available at select BCBG boutiques, but that has since shuttered), but I feel that BCBG has somehow changed. It’s not the BCBG I knew when I started wearing their jersey dresses some eight to 10 years ago. While restructuring is often a good thing, it doesn’t seem to be the case here. What’s the point in making everything so similar?
Images from the BCBG and Herve Leger sites.
