Harvey or Me?

This week i went shopping in Leeds with my other sister. We decided to go into a well known high street shop, sometimes there is a door man but there wasnt this time, the shop was Harvey Nichols.
I have always been aware that there is a noticeable difference in designer prices and prices in other shops. Style guru's like Gok Wan are always talks about 'Designer vs High street', and i never really noticed the difference until now.

When we looked around the shop there were some fantastic clothes that i have never seen anywhere else, probably becasue of the exclusitivity that that designer has with Harvey Nicholes. However i did spot somthing that looked familiour. A white top. There it was on the manican. Me and my sister were shocked to see that this white top was very similor to one that we sell in Sasparilla. Its called the 3.1 Philip Lim Burn-out jersey T-shirt. And here it is.

Ok i admit it does look great and the fabric feels fantastic and it is made beautifully. How ever what will you think when you know you would have to pay for this t-shirt; £125. Which when you think about it it is just a t-shirt. Sure if you had a bit of money floating around or you wanted something for a special occasion you might be able to spent that ammount on a t-shirt. But i don't and i couldnt believe how much it would cost me to buy a t-shirt.

Here is our version of the t-shirt. Its cotton, its well made and fits like a dream. You probably would see this in the shop and think 'thats a nice t-shirt' and then look at the price £12.99. Which really is a bargain. Im not saying that one t-shirt is better than the other and its clear to me now, that the inspiration for high street fashion does come from the designers. I suppose thats why Gok Wan is so keen to do his 'Designers vs High Steet' fashion off on his programme, to show that auidence that sometimes the designers are better and sometimes the high street is better.

I wonder how much we are lead by price though?? I know i sure am, and i know which t-shirt i would buy.

But im not the first person to compare the Designers to the High Street. And that was not the only design i saw in Harvey Nichols which we had a "High Street Version" in Sasparill, and im sure there are many other high street shops that have designer 'remakes'.
I wonder how the designers feel about their designs being the inspiration for the high street, do they like it and feel that they have a huge impact on what we wear or would they rather their designs stay exclusive. Who would you rather have a top from Harvey or Me???