(Since 1996 there has also been Ultra, a second line with more costly fabrics and trimmings, priced from $500 to $1,000.)

Even in their regular high-end collections, designers have held prices down by emphasizing less costly fabrics.

Cashmere, the famously soft and costly fabric spun from the wool of goats, is making a debut in a great many women's collections.

Reorders are impossible for designers who work with costly, limited-edition fabrics, because they usually cannot get more material.

Another way of controlling prices is by using less costly fabrics.

She wore the costliest fabrics in the empire and refused to eat from any platter which was not gold or at least fine silver.

Ms. Karan herself will order hundreds of samples in costly fabrics, ultimately rejecting most, several people close to the company said.

With nothing between them but the costly fabric of their clothes, Michael felt the man's need, twin to his own.

The seemingly endless lengths of costly fabric which the masked ladies bought when they were in London were almost entirely presents for family and friends.

"Although these are costly fabrics, it takes little material to cover a pillow, and adds a feeling of richness to a room."