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?

It’s just a bit of fun ffs.
mind you - would it be acceptable if op swapped MC for WC? I think not.

How lovely for you.

I bought a beautiful winter coat from Joules a couple of years ago and it’s great quality. Doesn’t feel cheap and nasty at all.

Maybe that’s just my WC self not knowing any better….

Seems to me that it's only those with left leaning politics that obsess on class. Many might observe what they consider as class indicators but unlike the socialists, don't use the MC term as an insult. Ironic as many of those with left leaning politics are more MC than most.

All the Hyacinth Buckets on here😄, this thread is so entertaining.

I think this thread is a marketeers dream. I'd be picking this apart if I was a brand strategist. All kinds of brands seem to have fallen from MC grace. Like Joules.

If I were to guess, I’d say that part of the reason Joules has fallen from grace is that is so visually identifiable and a bit too on the nose with its “I’m a slightly horsey middle middle” brand persona.

My sister announced she was middle class after buying a 1 bed apartment in Spain whilst renting a place here, she retired there shortly after. 10 years later she needs to move back for health reasons and can't afford to rent or buy.

Meanwhile brother and I who where put down as working class by sister, have got on working and are mortgage free with money in the bank.

I am NC with sister for many years.

This🤣🤣🤣 Nothing says MC more than gangs of just retired shrieking women in a freezing cold lake in Oxfordshire

Absolutely this. I know it’s not the same but remember what happened to Burberry in the noughties when the Chavs discovered it

This🤣🤣🤣 Nothing says MC more than gangs of just retired shrieking women in a freezing cold lake in Oxfordshire

yes!

I’d say it’s dull and mumsy. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's true. There's not a lot of shape in their clothes. All a similar jersey/tunicky cut in instantly recognisable print. Ditto Seasalt. Tho I do love a Seasalt coat!

@Neverendingdust
Some ancestors (not always pretty), some dogs.
Come dine with me? Not on your Nelly. House too untidy.

Re the private school issue, IMO this is much less of a MC thing now that fees have risen so much compared to incomes, not to mention house prices.

Most of the dcs of dds’ now 40-something friends, who all went to a highly selective and very academic senior independent, are sending their dcs to state schools. Most of those who are paying fees, can do so only with help from grandparents.

One generation further back, dh and I are both from permanently skint families of 4 kids, whose parents still - just - managed to pay fees. On the sort of relative incomes they had then, even the houses we had would be unaffordable, never mind school fees on top.

Saying “trite”
Always been a giveaway

Ooh - does that mean I pass? 🤣

I had to google this. I'm Irish. I don't recall seeing Lurpak. I'm sure it's for sale, but not ''prominently''. Interesting that a brand of butter could be perceived as MC

I have to laugh at Joules getting their brand of I'm a slightly horsey middle middle too on the ball, and imploding up their own middle black hole

Lol at Joules - I have never set foot in one of their stores. The window displays make me nauseous as it is.

@sunja I'd say @Xenia is solidly UMC. I wonder how she self-identifies though!
high ranking in the civil service, a lawyer, a GP, and that's just for starters

Jo Malone is another one like Joules that used to be considered very MC but is now much poorer quality and sneered at by a lot of people as it’s got too popular.

@LouisCatorze I suppose a good question would be, what differentiates the middle middle from the upper middle? Would it be more wealth?

And what differentiates the upper middle from the upper classes? Is it titles?

I'm a size 14 and very much a fatty amongst the prep school mums at my son's school.

The primary school in my local area starts from £3,000 per term. So £9k per year. It obviously increases as the child goes through school. The highest fees (years 10-13) are £5k per term, so £15k per year. Having 2 DCs in at once would be maximum £30k per year. I do appreciate that trips, uniform etc would add up though.

In my opinion, this would be affordable for a comfortable MC family? Do others agree or think this is out of reach?

I wonder if the university marker will gradually drop away? I have no expectation for DD to go to uni for any of the usual professions. She will be financially secure enough to pursue something like art, property, or fashion design, and that may take her on a non graduate pathway.