My 14 year old daughter is getting a North Face jacket for Christmas. I am sure that TNF products offer many many features and qualities that justify their price compared to more pedestrian counterparts, but the truth is my daughter, and about 99.59999999% of the people I see wearing that brand in this area will never ever know the difference.
We live in Augusta, GA, this time of year the high temperature is rarely below 60 degrees, and often above 70, over night lows are typically in the low to mid fifties.
Barring a sudden onset ice age, my daughter will never ever see a quality difference between the TNF jacket we buy her, and say a Columbia. I am sure that TNF are priced very closely with other serious outerwear manufacturers, but those other companies have piss poor marketing as I have never seen a teeny bopper at the mall wearing their kit, but you will have a hard time finding one that isn't wearing Uggs boots and a TNF fleece jacket on these frigid mid seventies afternoons.