Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten, her new clothing line for Steve & Berry’s, purveyor of college sweatshirts and athletic gear, boldly claims that “Fashion is not a luxury!” Regardless of the criticisms of the lack of style in her line, the price is pretty impressive for any clothes. Who can argue with a new outfit for under $50? You can’t help but wonder just how Steve & Barry’s keeps their clothes so cheap.

Though their products certainly aren’t made in the USA, Steve & Barry’s admits they manufacture their clothes at factories in China and various African nations. There’s a lot of gossip out there about the likelihood that their apparel is made in sweatshops. Steve & Barry’s claims to keep their prices low by leasing space in malls hurting for tenants, ruling out middlemen and paying nearly nothing for advertising.

“Steve & Barry’s also saves money in purchasing. It buys direct from overseas factories, like many others, but cuts costs by accepting longer lead times. It also saves by offering steady production throughout the year rather than seasonal ramp-ups. The chain cuts expenses further by deft navigation of import quotas and duties, says Prevor, who can rattle off such rules the way a tax lawyer does the Internal Revenue Service code. That’s why it buys more from factories in Africa and less from China than many rivals — most African countries face neither U.S. quotas nor duties. Advertising isn’t an expense Steve & Barry’s wrestles with, either — it relies mostly on word of mouth. Salaries are modest, and a third of its 220-person headquarters staff are recent college grads.”

[From Businessweek]

Amanda Bynes, who costars in the musical “Hairspray” out later this month, is also designing a line for Steve & Barry’s called “Dear,” available August 16th. It looks like it has a little more of an edge to it than Bitten, and is aimed at a younger, likely teenage buyer.

It’s possible that Steve & Barry’s just use low quality materials. How many $20 pieces of clothing do you still have that you bought a year ago?

Picture note by Celebitchy: Header is from the myspace for Amanda Bynes’ Dear clothing line (link has automatic video). All of the pictures are black and white, and the video features only very brief glimpses of the clothing. When pictures came out of SJP’s Bitten line before it hit stores, Steve & Barry’s threatened a blogger who published the photos of the clothing. It does seem like they have something to hide.