Haute Couture

Haute couture. The French phrase, which literally means "high sewing," is tossed around casually these days, into fashion magazine headlines and onto the labels of irreverent knitwear brands.
But in fashion parlance, haute couture is something very specific: A garment that is completely custom-made, from impeccable lining to hand-stitched hem. Not only is the dress bespoke, the fabrics and embellishments are of the highest quality, and the tailors, seamstresses, embroiderers, lace makers and other craftspeople who spend hundreds of hours assembling these pieces are the most skilled in the world.
"The insides are as magnificent as the outside," says George Simonton, fashion designer and professor at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. Customers will pay anywhere from $25,000 upward for a couture gown; in extreme cases, the costs can reach into the millions. Couture is almost like a private club.

"For the girl who really, really does love fashion, it's the most exhilarating experience in the whole wide world," Couture is the perfect example of something that is always the central issue in any kind of luxury goods economy, that is to have something that is virtually unique, and not quite unique. You don't want to have someone looking like you at the Oscars, but you do want to know that you'll have the best style of the season."