Middle class identifiers 2022

[Pullandpush]

I read a similar thread a few years ago & the main middle class markers were hummus, organic food, private education, boden, ski trips etc, farrow & ball..
Are these unchanged for 2022 or have the identifiers shifted?
Since the pandemic I've seen a rise in the "hipster" style MC especially the men, maybe the working from home has allowed them to relax into the unshaven, casual look which wasn't there a few years ago...
Private education seems to be on the wane but that may be due to the cost of living..
Any other main MC identifiers I missed?

I don't think private education has even been a true MC indicator.

OK, it might have been the norm for the rich/posh upper MC especially before the price hikes of the 00s, but never for the whole range. And since it's got so expensive, even the posh UMC are priced out.

I think there is however a tendency to colonise certain schools by class - reflecting the area un which the school is sited (primary) and expected results (secondary) but for which the real reason is fashion/acceptability to the parents.

Well I suspect that I'd be considered to be middle class but nothing on your list (hummus, organic food, private education, boden, ski trips etc, farrow & ball) would typify me.
Which tends to suggest that trite stereotypes are just that.

Australian here, thought I'd chuck in a Melbourne version:

Baking own sourdough bread
Growing own veg, especially heirloom tomatoes -- once was hipster niche, now widespread
Gorman clothes with expensive sneakers
Voting "teal", i.e for wealthy, high-profile independent candidates, in elections to teach those awful major parties a lesson
Starting a community campaign to get a new state school in areas where the govt closed the schools 30 years ago and flogged off the land to developer mates (glad to say this has succeeded in places)
... and of course ...
Single-origin, cold-pressed coffee with milk from a single herd of cows, or perhaps a dash of "barista oat"!

Clothes and cars and interiors are all well and good, but the actual key marker is knowing someone who can casually introduce you to someone who can help your child get their first job in a niche/highly competitive career.

Well quite @DaisyWaldron

Oh yes absolutely this!

Farrow & Ball out. MC now love Lick paint. Boden out. Joules and Whitestuff in. Lots of North Face for the parents. Commuting funds been redirected to building wood cabin offices at back of garden for permanent WFH. Freddie’s Flowers Deliveries. Increased dog ownership.

• The need to be differentiated from other groups in society.

• Clinging on to class stereotypes that were invented many decades ago and aren't relevant now.

• Probably still partial to a MacDonalds

Brunch and dogs on laps, fake dfl bullshit tbh.

It's the class between the wealthy and the poor, basically.

It used to be defined on profession (blue/white collar) but now that is obsolete as the job market has grown. The rule was if you go to work in uniform you're lower class and if you wear a white shirt and tie you're upper, it was a marker.

Can't use that now so it's still those in the middle, not fighting for a loaf of bread, but not flipping mansions either.

If you can afford to live in luxury but still need to work to do so, you're middle class in my eyes - not that it matters in any way whatsoever of course.

WTF is this obsession with class on mumsnet? Grow up, seriously!

100% this. My eldest is uni age and looking for work experience and we can 100% open the doors for him on pretty much anything he wants to do. He wasn't privately educated even though we have a high salary and was at your typical leafy comp where we moved to make sure we didn't have to pay fees. Oh so stereoptypical. Having said that, his thread is very much non urban / city middle class. We are staunchly MC and the joules / fat face / camping thing / growing veg is completely alien to me.

@DaisyWaldron has summed it up so well there is nothing else to add really!

😂😂 the bloke I work with has 2 cockapoos called Coco and Bella

I think if you can open doors to work experience you are very lucky as the places where my friends work now won’t let you get experience through people you know. You can only get it through applying to a proper scheme and interviewing through HR. This is in finance, but covers their marketing, HR and co sec departments as well as the main business of the companies. Maybe I need to find a wider circle for when my DC need the work experience 😁

Couldn’t resist clicking on the thread….

AND posting.

Being able to afford Lurpak in 2022

In my dd’s very MC circle it’s a lot of 2nd hand, from FB marketplace/ charity shops/passing outgrown children’s clothes around friends, trying to avoid plastic, etc. plus quite a lot of veggie/vegan. I’d say it’s 50/50 between saving money and saving the planet.

I totally agree, over £4 a pack!!!

It’s just people revelling in jealousy and making fun of dumb/cliche things they think wealthier people spend their money on so they can feel “above” them. It’s meant to come across lighthearted but it isn’t, it’s very bitter.

But these are all just trendy things that cost money, no? I thought class was more about language, customs, and social norms.

Having a five year old car that you own outright rather than renting

whippet thin. I’m the fattest mum in the prepr school playground by quite some way and I’m size 16 😂

weekends doing healthy outdoorsy stuff rather than mooching about aimlessly (I fail here also) 😂😂

Hiring a dog walker while you're home, having milk, eggs and pastries delivered by the local farm, music lessons at home.

@Trafficjamlog £5 a tub here in the DEEP DARK NORTH

Yep. Definitely still a thing in my social circle.