As kid, I hated when my mom dragged me to Target. It felt tacky. But as an adult, I can’t remember the last time I felt a blouse from a traditional mid-market store was worth the retail price. As one costume designer told me, many fabrics used across the industry these days already teeter on overly synthetic. Outlets provide another option in an ever-expensive mid-range market that has alienated many customers against its better judgment.If the fabrics are lesser, it works into the company’s bottom line, Poteat explains, and while I felt uncertain touching jackets and jeans at the factory equivalent of my go-to stores, I also felt silly for dismissing a cheaper cotton shirt that might only have a slightly different cut. In an industry that's more and more about the bottom line, it's become crucial for brands to figure out how to cut corners while offering the illusion that consumers are still getting all the benefits of big-label product. Whether it's a dishonest strategy or an inconsequential practice is up to the shopper. And, like most things today, the individual consumer has all the resources to make up their own mind. Outlets just provide another option in the modern fashion economy.