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comment by mk
mk  ·  3590 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Eve Fisher: The $3500 Shirt - A History Lesson in Economics

I largely agree. IMO the $ price tag doesn't translate well, because time of manufacture was the real cost, and likely the limiting factor on production. But then there was also limited demand. I doubt more money would go to a fourth shirt; there wasn't much class mobility, and a the benefit of a fourth shirt was likely less than money spent in another sheep, a hammer, etc. You lived the life you lived. Why buy a shirt you didn't need? Shirts serve a different function today.