Though they all have the power to make us feel glamorous and accomplished, not all luxury brands are made alike. If you want to impress friends and family, which brand should you go for? Burberry or Versace?
When comparing like items, Versace tends to be more expensive. Prices start higher than Burberry and they sell fewer items that are lower in price such as simple t-shirts. However, it’s worth considering the resale value of the products if you should want to resell at some point. On the resale market, Versace is one of the brands that loses its value the fastest.
To understand some of the difference in pricing, it will be helpful to understand how the brands are perceived.
Versace
This iconic Italian brand is most known for its incredibly sexy dresses. It’s not for the weak-hearted; clothing from the brand tends to be short, tight and embellished quite aggressively.
The brand has had a tumultuous history, with charismatic founder Gianni Versace tragically being murdered on his own front step, and sister Donatella stepping up to take over the reins. She is the quintessential Versace woman, still looking incredibly sharp and glamorous well into her 60s.
Items like chains, safety pins, and the iconic medusa head logo feature heavily both on clothing and accessories. Despite this, the brand manages to stay away from being perceived as sloppy or messy. The Versace woman’s attitude is always glamorous, with a devil may care attitude.
Of course, it doesn’t come cheap, with dresses starting from $900 and only going up from there. That old quote by Dolly Parton comes to mind, “it costs me a lot of money to look this cheap”!
Burberry
Classic British brand Burberry is the polar opposite. Where Versace is bold and brash, Burberry is much more refined and subdued. Most known for its trench coats and the iconic Nova Check pattern, this brand is one that exemplifies the craftsmanship associated with designer goods.
The brand was once seen as too old and associated with an aging customer base, but in recent years the public’s view has once again turned to positive. Considering the brand is over 160 years old at this point, you’d expect some ups and downs in that time.
Burberry’s association with the trench coat goes deeper than just making them really well. You may not know that they were the first to invent what would later become the trench coat.
Patented in 1912, their first version of the trench coat was a button-less tie-front coat that came to be the brand’s biggest contribution to the fashion world.
While it is less expensive than Versace, prices are still hefty, with dresses starting from $700. And if you want to grab one of their signature trench coats, expect to pay somewhere in the region of $1,200!
Resale Value
One of the reasons people feel comfortable spending their money on designer goods is because they know it will be of good quality and hold its value over time. Not all fashion brands fetch equally good prices on the resale market, however.
Designer resale marketplace The RealReal collects data on all the pieces sold through their website, and they found that Versace was one of the worst-performing brands.
This won’t matter to everyone, but for those who are hoping to recoup their investment at some point Burberry’s classic trench coats will be a better choice than Versace’s glamorous dresses.