Rodarte is such a beloved brand, from their high-end dresses to their collaboration with Opening Ceremony. While expensive clothing brands such as Rodarte can be frustrating, you can't help but love their playful but pricy Radarte sweatshirts. Run by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, Rodarte is a brand I'd want to see team up with a mass retailer at any time and as often as possible, since their contemporary pieces are legit. Even so, Rodarte's mermaid gowns for S/S 15 are crazy gorgeous — and they come with a just-as-nuts price tag. These beyond beautiful couture gowns hover around $25,000. So, yeah, they're pretty much equal to the cost of a down payment on a mortgage. Or a moderately-sized SUV. Where's that fashion fairy godmother when you need her?
The gowns are astonishingly expensive, even if you are not on a tight budget. The reason, however, that the dresses are so pricy is because they are hand-painted, are hand-feathered, and are decked out with Swarovski crystals. While it's true that some levels of fashion are meant to be unattainable, which is essentially what makes certain pieces or elements "high fashion," the prices of these gowns border on ridiculous.
But they are works of art and that would make anyone who is blessed enough to wear them look like a princess.
The dresses do beg these questions: How much is too much? Is it this? Is this too much? The answer is probably "NO!" if you have the means, but that's a pretty small percentage of people interested in being stylish. These dresses are supremely unattainable, so much so that I can't even see knockoffs trickling down to discount or mass retail in a way that is beholden to or does any sort of justice to the original.
The embroidered pearl and net beaded gown with iridescent sequins is black and blue and is seriously drool-inducing. This is how it feels to want. Sigh. The dress is nearly $22,000 and requires an $11,000 deposit.
The hand-painted net embroidered gown with hand-embroidered feather lace is a princess x warrior type mermaid frock with an $25,300 asking price. It's breathtaking, both in look and in cost.Still, that won't stop me (or anyone with good taste) from gawking at them... relentlessly.
Images: Giphy (1); Getty Images (2)
