Royal Wedding

Kitsch Me, Kate. Attack of the wedding swag
By Feifei Sun

LOVE IS ALL PRINCE William and Kate Middleton need: they've asked that charitable donations be made in lieu of gifts. But that doesn't mean the rest of town isn't cashing in. Economists predicted the royal wedding would give London a business boost, and already there's no shortage of swag for sale in anticipation of William and Kate's April 29 nuptials, from the classy (commemorative china) to the... less classy (Crown Jewels condoms, nail polish called No More Waity, Katie).

     "People want to be a part of this wedding, and there's money to be made," says Barbara Kahn, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Even more robust than the lowbrow merch trade  is the market for knockoffs of items worn by the future princess, which has benefited from an extremely short production cycle. Within 24 hours of the engagement, the Natural Sapphire Co. was offering a copy of the famous blue ring, and many other jewelers soon followed. Natural Sapphire's versions range in price from $550 to $1.5 million; so far , it has sold more than 1,000 rings. (It took the company almost two months to produce a replica of the same ring in 1981, and it sold only 30-something copies.) Customers simply ask for the Kate Middleton ring, says Evan Guttman of Natural Sapphire. "And when they walk out, they're almost prancing."

     Middleton's sartorial choices have generated equal excitement, with the blue Issa dress she wore to announce her engagement spawning a handful of hard-to-get knockoffs. One look-alike "Kate" shift by Tesco appeared two weeks later and sold out online in less than an hour, which means that while Middleton herself is no longer in waiting, those who want to copy her princess style may have to be.

      


       Three days ago, I remembered wanting to skip class, my 4:10-5:40 class particularly, because I wanted to watch the royal wedding so bad. I can't miss it! But because I have a good conscience, I decided not to. By the time I got home, the ceremony was already finished. Good thing, I was just in time for the first royal kiss in the balcony. 

The First Royal Kiss

Observations: There were, of course, so many people. The streets were jam-packed. It was as if everyone was there! It was like the world stopped just to witness or be part of the history-in-the-making event. And then I realized, right.. it was declared a holiday. No wonder.

The People

               Now, after having learned a little about supply and demand, I could not stop thinking.. in what ways could have the royal wedding affected the economy of England? My first unintelligent thought was, "Most probably it declined that day. Owing to the fact that everyone stopped working and went to the streets. Well, there goes productivity!". However, after reading the article above, I thought wrong. It was somehow the other way around. Even before the royal wedding, the quantity demanded for stuff like wedding memorabilia, what Kate wears (mind you, she has become a fashion icon. royal swag!) , and most importantly Kate's Sapphire engagement ring soared! And the demand is still on even up until now.

Kate's engagement ring which is apparently very in demand right now.
This ring costs a fortune!!

            

             The people of England were not the only ones affected by this royal wedding craze. I am in it too. I want Kate's engagement ring too, plus I want to get hats or headdresses like hers. 

 

          Therefore, though productivity might have stopped for a day there, England's economy can surely recover by the increase in demand and supply for many royal-wedding-related goods!

Additional thoughts:

           I felt a little disappointed for our country after watching the royal wedding on TV. I wondered why it seemed like everyone was economically stable in their place. It's like poverty is not in the country's vocabulary, even though their cost of living is very high.

           Talking about costs, I also realized how great the opportunity cost of making April 29 a holiday - minus 1 day to work, gain profit, and be productive. 

            Lastly, I also realized that the Natural Sapphire engagement ring is a normal good. When the people's income increases, the quantity demanded for the ring also increases. Also, replicas of the ring, and other Kate Middleton stuff, are substitutes for the pricey original ones.