My very first suit was a Pierre Cardin. I got it when I was 13, just before greedy Pierre licensed his name to anyone with a dollar.  Pierre became very rich as his name was put on a wide array of low-quality crap. Today, a designer imprimatur on products beyond his or her core competency usually means you’re just paying more.  There are a few exceptions, including flatware by Vera Wang.  Yes, the bridal gown designer is putting her name on all sorts of things, including a honeymoon suite at the Halekulani hotel in Honolulu.  But she is succeeding where many others fail, creating products whose design and function exceed the standard for their price point.  Her flatware is a great example.  Check out Chime, which I purchased for my former home in Palm Springs, and Pure, which was 1st runner up for my friends Ron & Steve, stylish hosts with discerning taste. The 44-piece service for eight is $299 at Macys.com