Musings on the AP Cost Increases
Something came across my feed where people were talking about Angelic Pretty being low quality & over priced for polyester, and I'm not quoting it because I don't want this to be like... an attack against that person's specific personal oppinion when it's really not. It just brings up a topic I've been thinking about recently and I wanted to go into it a little deeper. I think as a community we really need to acknowledge a few things when it comes to the price increases happening with AP.
First of all, the yen is weak. [1] If AP was making everything in Japan using Japanese fibers, this wouldn't be a huge deal, but they don't. Japan doesn't grow a lot of cotton [2] so they have to buy cotton internationally. That means when the yen falls, the cost of materials goes up. AP also makes a lot of their garments in other countries. This means when then yen falls, the cost of labor goes up.
So, when we see AP releasing a fully shirred cotton JSK for ¥37,400 in 2025 [3] when a similar dress was ¥26,800 in 2020, [4], and ¥24,990 in 2012 [5], what we are seeing is inflation. It's worth noting that in countries where the currency is stronger, like the US, the cost of those 3 dresses is more flat. In USD at the time it was $262 (2025), $260 (2020) and $288 (2012) for those 3 dresses. In other words, even though the yen cost of AP's cotton pieces has increased dramatically over the price a decade ago, the price to US customers is basically the same (or even lower).
Their polyester dresses are similar in price, but, I will say, if you compare something like Decoration Ice Cream [6] to something like Happy Cakes, they are putting some more expensive design elements into some of the polyester dresses, like the belt on decoration ice cream. Cutting details on the cotton dresses can be a way to cut cost and keep from raising the price. Cutting details in general can also be a way to cut labor costs. So can switching to lower cost factories, which is going to get you lower quality sewing work.
It's also worth noting that cotton is currently trading at 66 cents per pound right now, but in April 2022, it was trading at $1.55 USD per lb. [7] That recent spike in cotton prices likely impacted Angelic Pretty (and other brands) textile selections for 2022-2023, and possibly into 2024 depending on how long it took the actual cloth prices to come back down.
The other thing to consider is that we are now about two decades out from when Angelic Pretty really started doing custom prints. So they have about two decades of experiance seeing how cotton and polyester pieces have aged, and I can say from what I have in my own closet that the polyester pieces are more colorfast. They are also generally easier to care for and take up less space, two things designers have mentioned their local Japanese customers prefer.
I also want to say that I don't think AP is overpriced. If anything I think most lolita is underpriced. As in we are under paying for the labor involved in the construction of most lolita pieces.
I do not know of any lolita brands that are significantly cheaper and equal or better quality than AP that are operating with the same costs as AP (custom textiles, custom lace, physical shop cost, etc).
I just paid Meta ¥38,000 yen for the last custom print JSK I bought from them. [8] Baby's latest print release is ¥44,880 for a JSK [9] (and totally sold out, and I'm never going to be accusing Baby of being the highest quality of all the Japanese brands.) [10] IW's Rose and strawberry cross ribbon JSK is one of their few recent custom prints and it was ¥43,890. [11] And IW closed their physical shops and their international webshop, which means they cut a LOT of overhead.
It's totally fine to not like AP and not buy AP. For some people, a lower price point garment is more in line with their budget. For some people, the things that make AP cost more just aren't value added to them, and thus aren't worth the increased costs. (For example if a person isn't super in to custom lace, a brand producing cheaper garments with commercial lace may be a better value to them). And some people have strong feelings about specific fibers, and that also is fine.
But, at the same time, if the market doesn't support higher prices, (and to be clear: I do think AP needs to raise their prices to produce higher quality garments than what they are making right now), then that product isn't going to exist. I don't know everyone's buying habbits, but historically when I've run polls [12], the international English-speaking market has focused a lot more on second hand purchasing than first hand purchasing. That doesn't push a brand like AP to produce higher cost garments because of preferences in that market while alienating their local customers who are already seeing actual cost increases due to the weak yen.
Basically, in short: lolita is expensive and it's OK to have preferences for quality and price. But I think we need to be realistic about what can and can't be produced at specific price points. If quality is the most important thing, then maybe a highly skilled indie designer who makes bespoke pieces at a higher price point is the best option. If lower price is the most important thing, there are indie brands who cut costs in various ways to get their prices lower than AP's.
But the only way to get high quality and a high level of detail at a very low cost, is with unpaid labor or other forms of theft. It's not possible.
