It's the Brian Lair Show on WNYC. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Bridget Bergen, filling in for Brian today.

Inflation over the past few years has made a lot of things so much more expensive, from your streaming subscriptions to services like haircuts and especially food.

But one thing that has held steady until recently is clothing.

A new article in The Cut explains how regular clothing brands, which used to be mid-tier in terms of pricing, are now struggling

to stay competitive with fast fashion. That can lead to not only artificially high prices,

but also cutting corners when it comes to fabric and design. Joining us now to explain what's going

on is Chantelle Fernandez, features writer who covers fashion for the cut. Her

latest piece is titled, Why Does a Simple Summer Dress Cost So Much Now? Shantel, welcome to WNYC.

Hi, Bridget. Thank you so much for having me. And listeners, if you're one, I'm wondering who out there has

noticed this simultaneous hike in clothing prices.

Maybe you're shopping for a big event like a summer wedding or summer work clothes.

Have you noticed pricing go up and maybe the quality of those items go down?

And if you're in the market for a certain item, do you have any tips or tricks on how to find the best deal?

Give us a call and share your story.

The numbers 212-433 W-N-Y-C. That's 212-433-9692. You can also text at that number.

We're talking about how much more expensive clothing is just recently.

Chantelle, you write in fashion where pieces stood still for decades, the sticker shock

often feels more like a jump scare.

Can you tell us more about that moment that the fashion industry is in right now?

How much have fast fashion brands like Sheehan or Zara changed the industry?

Oh, man, they've changed it so much.

I mean, I would argue that we were overdue for a price increase,

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