MovieChat Forums > Pretty in Pink (1986) Discussion > The prices

The prices

posted 8 years ago by GirlwonderReturns
1 reply | jump to latest

Am I the only one who thought things seemed really expensive for 1986? I was 12 when this movie came out and a middle/upper middle class kid, but the average household income in the U.S. then was $22,000. First, Andie says she got her shoes secondhand for $15. I just got a pair of new shoes on clearance last month for $20 (75% off, but still - no one else's feet had ever been in them, eew). Got another pair of new shoes on clearance not long ago for $25. The dress she looks at in the fancy shop is priced at $650, if I remember correctly. My sister has a Gucci jacket that went $1,200 retail about 5 years ago... if this shop was THAT high end, why would Andie even go in? Then, Steff says at the end that the hotel is $300 a night, and he says it derisively, like that's cheap. I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton on a business trip a couple of years ago (company paid for it because the event was held there) and regular rooms went for like $350 and up. Obviously I realize that if they had a suite it would be more expensive, but what the hell kind of amenities could they offer you at a hotel in 1986 that would merit $400+ a night? A personal chef in your room plus free cocaine and blow jobs?

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.

[–] cocobuttr72-311-53542 8 years ago

I didn't think things were inflated. Since the film's setting was supposed to be Chicago (actually filmed in LA) I assumed things would be more expensive. Second hand shoes in a vintage boutique (not your run of the mill Goodwill/Salvation Army) would probably cost that much but we don't know the brand. A pair of $80 Jazz Made in Spain loafers second hand, yes. Converse or Buster Brown, no. My homecoming dress (cocktail length) in 1988 was $200 and I live in a city with a tenth of the poulation of either L.A and Chicago. I bought it from a bridal boutique which are somewhat more expensive than off-the-rack. Also be mindful, this is about a decade before the garment industry exploded in China or India so dresses weren't that cheap and again it's in a big city. Hotel rates I'm not sure. Doubt they were that expensive but the movie was filmed at The Millenium Biltmore in LA. Suites average $2400.