What makes someone look rich / wealthy?

[cococovido]

Piggy backing onto the LV bag thread - so many responses saying you can tell if the bag is fake / real depending on the persons hair and general look.

I've really noticed this where I live during lockdown - even though we're all predominantly in scruffy clothes / gym gear (just me?!) you can just tell some people look 'rich' - for lack of a better word.

What is it? It's like an unspoken code or something.

I live fairly near a famous footballer and even people who don't know who he is would guess he is wealthy based on

a) the diamond jewellery and huge expensive-looking watches he wears
b) the ferraris and lamborghinis he drives.
c) the fact he usually has a big entourage

@grassisjeweled

Can't believe accent hasn't been mentioned yet. Total giveaway.

But yet again, there's a huge difference between wealth and class. Class is inherited and can't be learnt.

well my son sounds like Prince William he has not a posh bone in his body and not been to Eton

I do not disagree with you though!

YY to inter-generstional nutrition being a factor.
The nutrition your grandmother had determines your health. When your mother was in utero, she already had her eggs inside her. So the conditions your grandmother experienced during and prior to pregnancy are determinants of your longevity and vibrancy.
That's another reason why rich people have good hair and teeth.

Van Clef Arpels jewellery and a Patek Phillipe watch ( none of the flashy in your face “ cheap” Cartier or big Rolex watches as that’s for the nouveau riche) teamed up with expensive cashmere and designer jeans plus a dog or two and a Range Rover

Another thing I thought was if I met someone and they had a posh outfit on, a necklace worth a heap, any watch other than a rolex, expensive shoes, a designer handbag without an obvious brand I would not have the foggiest what they are worth.

I have heard of Armani but could not pick a suit out, I cannot tell the difference between glass and diamonds, shoes are shoes to me so I have heard of Louboutin an Jjimmy Choo but would have no idea unless I was showed the label they could be Asda at George for all I know

Perfume or Cologne, definitely.

The brand must be classic, even if the scent is modern. Preferably v rare, or curated for them (or a forebear) personally. Extra points if it’s never, ever, been advertised.

Nothing with a celebrity involved, on pain of pain.

A hint only of scent in the air around them, layered over clean soap smell. Never a ‘cloud’ of perfume.

Perhaps a waft of liniment (from their pure-breed animals), or remnant fragrance of their leather car seats and rose arbours.

Even their sunscreen and mosquito repellent smells rich.

Sometimes it’s relevant what rich people DON’T smell like. Synthetic clothes fumes, cheap skincare/cosmetics/haircare, cheap booze/fags, etc.

Queen is short and fat as was her mother...just saying. Some people seem to get an fawning image in their heads about the upper classes - you’d think they were saints 😂

Class, I think, which comes from wealthy breeding.
We are very well off but look like Wayne and Waynetta but neither of us grew up in wealthy homes.

@Intelinside57

Very funny. My friend is wealthy beyond what most of us can imagine. Always looking windswept. Hands that do gardening. Expensive clothes worn in multiple layers but certainly not giving off an expensive look. Handbag thrown carelessly on the floor in pubs. Only wears makeup on evenings out and then it's discreet...

I once read a quote which said something along the line of “only the truly wealthy can get away with looking like tramps”. I certainly saw this in some of the loaded landowners around where I grew up.

On the other hand, those with real money often do polish up. JK Rowling for example when HP took off. She looked the same but also different. Glossier hair, better make up and clothes etc. A lot of people with money also get their teeth changed into veneers, a nose job, highest quality hair extensions, constant manicures and professional blow dries, personal make up artist etc - Jennifer Anniston is another good example. Quite ordinary til Friends took off then apparently getting highlights individually hand painted onto strands of hair over 4 hour sessions - plus nose job.

I do agree OP that this is something I’ve noticed particularly on ‘before and after’ wealthy types.

This would be a very different thread if it wasn't British. You're all conflating upper class 'old money' with wealth. You can be and look wealthy these days without coming from long lines of money.

I live in Australia now and money here looks like expensive clothes without flashy labels, hair done regularly at hairdresser, good teeth, nice car. The kids at my kid's posh school wear a lot of Country Road and Seed.

Posture and the confidence that never having to worry about money brings. Only being able to express emotions through the medium of dogs, an old flatulent labrador works best !

I find people can be as rich as Croesus and scruffy as fuck. But...they will always have expensive glasses and/or sunglasses.

The nouveau riche tend to wear their money though. Tan, hair, clothes, car, etc. The nouveau can be tasteful, though I find this less common than those who’ve grown up in money, or tacky, which is more common in those who are unused to money.

Self assurance

Some people can be wealthy spend a lot of money on the clothes and appearance but not look wealthy

Ive heard that the rich let their kids look scruffy, as they know they are rich so don’t have any worries.

Whereas, the less rich try and dress their kids smarter as feel more judged about how their kids look

@Coconut2010

Speaking from experience (I have been told I would look expensive or equivalent with a bin bag on): Good skin and teeth I agree with PP who says excellent gait Very good manners Being very slim is very forgiving (not-so-slim people can look expensive when they wear clothes which suit them)

😆 the humility is overwhelming!

@ViciousJackdaw

Who is buying all the superyachts then?

Rich Arabs and Russians with their frightfully tacky new money, one would think.

Yes. Absolutely this.

In a trailer for an old series of Real Housewives of Cheshire, Tanya Bardsley said something about ‘too right I’m posh’. Except she’s not. She’s just rich, and the epitome of nouveau riche at that.

As an ex-personal shopper, it is in my experience those who are new to their wealth tat splash the cash and display their wealth in a rather vulgar and obvious way. I used to love my really wealthy (old money) clients as they were always way more down to earth, gracious and polite, and often looked like they’re got dressed in the dark/a jumble sale.

Looking wealthy is about some kind of undefinable polish, although even the best dressed and understated can completely reduce their social standing by the way they speak and treat people. These are the real signifiers.

We paid €5.00 to look round an old chateau 2 years ago. The guy who owned it took us round. He was really scruffy, his shoes were literally coming apart but even so I could tell they were expensive shoes.
He had an air of refinement and spoke beautifully in several languages.
He sipped from a mug of red wine during the tour.
There was no doubt that he either was or had been wealthy.

This thread is hilarious. The question posed by the OP was, how can you tell that somebody is rich?

Predictably, it’s descended into horrified ‘nouveau riche’ bashing (so vulgar, with their yachts and tans!) and worship of a mythologised version of the upper classes (all tall and slim with perfect teeth and cheekbones). Another poster got there before me with a reference to the Habsburgs, nice one.

Some of it is just barmy. This, for example:

Perfume or Cologne, definitely.

The brand must be classic, even if the scent is modern. Preferably v rare, or curated for them (or a forebear) personally. Extra points if it’s never, ever, been advertised.

Nothing with a celebrity involved, on pain of pain.

If somebody walked past you in gym gear, how could you tell whether she’d sprayed on Ssshhh! by Jade Goody or a special blend ‘curated’ for her by Creed?

As an ex-personal shopper, it is in my experience those who are new to their wealth tat splash the cash and display their wealth in a rather vulgar and obvious way. I used to love my really wealthy (old money) clients as they were always way more down to earth, gracious and polite, and often looked like they’re got dressed in the dark/a jumble sale.

Actually you should have been glad of those newly wealthy vulgar people you so despise. They would have spent more than the Brideshead Revisited people who, by your description, didn’t buy new clothes very often.

You do know that Vicious Jackdaw was taking the P when she posted this, right?

“Rich Arabs and Russians with their frightfully tacky new money, one would think.”

Crazy too how earning your own money is looked down upon on this thread, whilst inheriting your wealth somehow makes you so much better than everyone else. The upper classes still have their daft, fawning bit very committed fans, they show up on every thread even faintly related to class.

When your mother was in utero, she already had her eggs inside her. So the conditions your grandmother experienced during and prior to pregnancy are determinants of your longevity and vibrancy. That's another reason why rich people have good hair and teeth.

Know your places, commoners! You will never join the ranks of your betters. You will probably die sooner and you won’t be vibrant either. Sorry.

And it will all be your grandma’s fault

Good hair and teeth? Nothing to do with good dental care, nutrition, time and money to look after yourself?
Have you see malnourished people in the Uk - their faces have a grey tinge, they have the stresses of their hard lives worn into their faces.

@W3dontdoduvets Perhaps, but that's the reality. I am sorry if you don't want to hear about first hand experience, I thought it was one of the "raison d'etre" of these forums, to exchange with people you wouldn't necessarily be mixing with in real life.
I come from what many PP would call a posh background (old money, landowners etc) and have been told that no matter how scruffy I think I am, I will always look posh.

As a sideline reading the whole thread, I am amazed at some of the generalisations... Not all "titled" people are kind and down to earth and treat people well. Fortunately many do but I know more than a handful (big titles + lot of money) that are absolutely obnoxious. Some rich people let their children look scruffy and some don't. With mines I have given up this battle (except for special occasions) but my SILs' children always look smart, with the perfect haircut, having to wear shirts instead of t shirts, no hoodies, rarely wear denims, girls typically wear peter pan collars with cardigans and smoke dresses (pink and frills and very long hair are a big NO for girls).