Ready-to-wear pricing must, of course, have followed the same basic structure of computing direct and indirect costs to come up with the price for a dress. In addition, however, ready-to-wear manufacturers had to figure in the hefty markup by the retailer. As Hawes pointed out, "the cheap wholesaler gets his profits by selling a very large volume, multiplying his 50-cent profit over and over again."(81)

A random sampling of prices in Vogue and Harper"s Bazar over three decades indicates that moderate-priced, ready-to-wear silk day dresses could be had for around $29 in the 1910s and 1920s, while the price drops somewhat in the early and mid-1930s before rising again by 1939. During the 1930s, however, the dress was more likely to be made of rayon or acetate than silk. Cottons and linens were less expensive than silk; woolens about the same. Suits and ensembles, coats, and evening dresses were all higher priced. Sportswear was the least expensive category of clothing. In 1915, Spalding sportswear outfits were sold for $75 made-to-order and $35 plus for ready-to-wear. Vogue"s "Seen in the Shops" feature quoted prices of $29.50, $35, and $49.50 for ready-to-wear dresses, while Mazon"s, a company established in 1899 that purchased Paris models to sell "after they have been shown to illustrate the Parisienne modes," offered model sizes only within the range of $20 to $75. Franklin Simon & Company, New York, offered ready-to-wear suits in 1916 at $29.50 or $39.50. In 1924, Best & Company offered ready-made copies of French dresses for $38 and $55. Other retailers in that year advertised ready-to-wear dresses at a wide range of prices: "Queen Make" washable linens, voiles, and ginghams ranged between $7.95 and $13.50, Stewart & Company"s linen dresses could be had at $19.50 or $24.50, and R. H. Macy"s linen frocks at $11.74, $13.74, $14.74 or $16.74. Barbara Lee silk day dresses cost $39.50 with the added attraction that they were "shown exclusively" at one department store only in each city. In 1935, ads for ready-to-wear in Harper"s Bazaar included a Bergdorf Goodman original evening gown for $160, silk sports dresses for tennis and golf from Lord & Taylor for $16.95, and day dresses from Bonwit Teller for $49.75. In addition, Bullock"s Wilshire (Los Angeles) touted authorized copies of an Irene original day dress. Bullock"s copies sold for $35 for linen, $45 for solid-color crepe (whether silk or rayon is not clear), and $55 for printed crepe. The original Irene cost $145. In 1938, Russeks (a New York specialty store) offered a topcoat and suit ensemble for $50, or $25 each for the suit or coat. The following year, "scrupulous copies of our own Paris imports" of six coat styles by Mainbocher, Molyneux, Schiaparelli, Paquin, and two by Alix sold at $135 each. It is unusual to find mentions of copies of an American designer: the Irene day dress is the exception to the rule.(82)

How did pricing in the Tirocchi shop match up with prices for comparable garments elsewhere? A black dress by Premet, purchased in 1924 for $89 from Maginnis & Thomas, importers of French gowns, was sold to a client for $145. The same client purchased a Drécoll gown from the Tirocchis for $125 a few months prior. That gown, too, came from Maginnis & Thomas for a price of $89. A three-piece day ensemble from Callot Soeurs sold in 1925 for $175, a modest markup from its purchase price to the Tirocchis of $140.(83)