How and why do people who aren’t actually well off pay for this stuff?

No, but the other poster was.

I wasn’t suggesting you should.

I am only capable of MW, and I would never want to sell my body for sex.

I'm loving the (entirely predictable) stench of WELL-OFF AND CLASSY enveloping this thread! Have you cashmere & linen clad high-earners never thought that the neets, in their latest sportswear, might wonder why you've got all that dosh but dress in boring old stuff that their great-grandmothers wore?

You don't care about their opinions, obviously. What on earth make you think they care about yours? It's 100% certain they are NOT dressing this way to give you the impression they're well-off, as at least one PP conceitedly supposes.

"Why doesn't everyone do things the right way, like me?" Hahahahaha 👀

It’s all relative isn’t it? If I was only capable of earning minimum wage then lying on my back with my legs open might seem like a good option.
Thankfully, I have others

That was what PP was saying, not me,

That would be a good study, but it’s been going on much longer than influencers and social media have been around for. Owen Jones’ book ‘Chavs’ covers it pretty well (2011), and there’s been countless journal articles written about it, like this one from 2006 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1741659006061708?__cf_chl_f_tk=IN8TDPG1Z5p9UwC9sBanlr5EdcwB8TJLAoRzj8H_CV4-1783284170-1.0.1.1-GEYPCOTfBmLSObY8stzVfLZK6w3L24c_ruUI3rN1kP8

Marketing. Simply put marketing has worked. People attach expensive things as a status symbol.

Probably the same reason why some people paint their homes in Farrow & Ball instead of Dulux, most people couldn’t tell the difference once it’s on the wall, but it holds snob value in some circles. Or why someone would by kitchen worktops that need love and care instead of something cheaper and more durable.

At every level of society there are things that are considered more desirable, more acceptable or worthy. It’s just more fun to punch down than to acknowledge we all have things we pay over the odds for for no discernible reason.

there was a case once where a buget supermarket product did make it to a upper market supermarket because they were both made in the same factory, and aparently the only difference was the label and price not saying these are the supermarkets but think aldi product mixed up with as an example a m and s microwave meal

If prostitution gets you lots of money without working hard, why aren't you doing it?

Well yes but that’s the uniform of the subculture they’re in.

Interestingly both me and DH had very poor upbringings, him council estate and me single parent household unfortunately having to change locations with LA housing.
Somehow we ended up with a combined household income of 150k a year! Live in a middle class area, but both of us still outside of work wear ‘chav’ clothes!
I can see the look of utter confusion on people’s faces when they expect us to act differently or struggle to pay for ‘naice’ things.
we’ve never lost our identity and we’re both quite happy about it!

Well luckily he is an ex.

Some poorer people. Did you mean to lump all people on a certain income together?

George Orwell wrote something about this in The Road to Wigan Pier. So it's not really a new concept.

I think the key word in your post is "justify." I agree.
It baffles me, but from what I've read, poorer people are driven to these crazy wastes of money because they feel they need and deserve something, some little thing. If they can't have a status car, at least they can have a status t-shirt.

I got an Essentials knock-off hoody for £30 from Hacoo. Great quality.

But people who buy the real deal - they either;

• can afford to
• are in debt
• pay in monthly instalments via Klarna/etc.

They may do but the people buying them don’t give a shit about what people in a social group which doesn’t respect them and has nothing in common with them think.

They care about the marginal benefit it gives them over their immediate peers and competitors.

Upper class people (landed gentry) look with utter disdain at the preoccupations of the chattering middle classes with their obsession with getting their kids into the right schools, with what they read and what wines they drink. The upper classes find it laughable that the middle classes care about such things because they don’t have to worry about their kids going to the right schools and universities. They know they are socially secure.

This doesn’t stop the festival of insecurity that middle class people indulge in over these things. Similarly the fact that an affluent middle class person is contemptuous of people who wear head to toe labels is irrelevant to a working class label addict. Its a different audience.

Probably better quality and will last longer than a basic brand, Berghaus jackets for example last for many years and hold their windproof/waterproof qualities long after TK Maxx stuff has fallen to bits.

He doesn"t open the bottles, some influencer has probably told him they will be worth more in the future.

Are you serious?

Is there ?

It might have been second hand. Kids grow so fast, it almost seems pointless to get them brand new clothing at all.

I'm more wondering why people buy some things at the price they are - saw a kid near us, in a completely boring plain black t shirt but because it has a tiny North Face logo, it probably cost 3x (or more!) what my boring plain black t shirt cost. Why bother, especially for kids - it's the most uninspiring design, you're literally paying to just show you can afford it.

So actually, am not wondering at all - it's purely just to show off!