What’s something that screams ‘I’m broke, but trying to look rich’

[Booyakashaa]

Saw thing on Instagram threads, mostly Americans, would love to see what MN’ers think

Just for fun

I think…anything Michael Kors

I have a mix of "posh" furniture and stuff from Argos. Im not a fan of coasters but I do use them on the posh stuff because Im not risking leaving water marks on the decent stuff. The IKEA stuff Im not bothered about

This. Alas, I am not a squid.

Actually a lot of the very rich around us are farmers so the practicalities of their work mean that they do spend much of their time in overalls and fleeces. Although they do have cleaner newer ones to go to the pub.

They have an old landy or a Mitsubishi pick up for work and usually a nice Mercedes for social driving. Range Rovers are loosing popularity because they are so unreliable. They usually belong to townies or the non-farming rich. Farmers prefer the older models with less modern gadgets to go wrong. Most of DS’s farming friends learn to drive tractors before they can drive cars. DH is from a farming background and I suspect they are born in gilets, boiler suites and crusty fleeces, he is never without one.

Farmers hate spending money.

Err………fake designer bag?

The ‘very rich’ do not usually spend their time in overalls in my experience. The definition of very rich is very subjective.

Agree, and it’s amusing that the irony of that is lost on those people. The snobbery is very telling.

Shoes with thin heels like stilettos at an event which you know is mostly going to be on grass. I've observed that actual posh people wear shoes that work for the conditions.

Agreed - what an awful gloating (and yes ‘advertising it’) comment that was 🤮

edited - I was quoting someone which wasn’t included but can’t be arsed to go back and include the details 🤦🏼‍♀️

Everyone can do as they please. We all have the choice.

Personally (regardless of the poshos)I can't stand ostentation, so their approach matched mine.

Isn’t that more a matter of ‘women who go to more garden parties know to wear blockier heels on grass’?

You obviously haven’t met that many. Social media and the general media tend to present a skewed view of what people do when they are not in front of a camera. It sort of affirms the whole theme of this thread that “showing off” your wealth doesn’t always confirm that you are wealthy. Influencers are probably the worst, it’s easy to stand in front of a flash car for a selfie or brag your way into a fancy hotel. With AI we can all present/identify as filthy rich.
We have a preconceived idea of how rich people should look. It’s often a long way from the truth.

funnily enough all of these shops offer payment plans so they know who they are targeting.

Payment plans for children's clothes? It's sad that mother's are lured into this instead, as you say, of buying nice stuff at the supermarket.

One could argue it’s you who has a preconceived idea of what ‘very rich’ looks. You’re convinced it’s overalls and muddy mitsubishis because you live in the countryside and that’s what you see.

Oh, behave.

I agree

What a thoroughly horrible thread.

Yeh its actually just folk sneering now, I mean what does being rich look like?

Look at some of those "rich" folk in Beverley Hills, a lot are full of botox, fake nails, hair extensions etc. It's not a look I like, but no doubt they are rich.

Not all rich folk are in wellies and ripped woolen jumpers🤣

Nah. Don't agree

How could it possibly have been anything but? 🤷‍♀️

But the question was about poor people coping a rich look. Rich people looking rich ( or scruffy) isn’t the discussion.

I’m broke but I don’t look rich or poor. Not do lots of people on low incomes.
.

I think that poster is just making the point that ‘rich’ can look like a lot of different things. I know an ultra-rich South African who slobs around in shorts and flip flops — the only time I have ever seen him wear long trousers was at his daughter’s wedding. In the sculpture gallery of the V and A.

I know another very rich man. He has houses in several countries, is in the process of founding a racing stud and has just bid £3 million on a piece of land. He dresses in fleeces and jeans, like the builder he started out as. Unless you actually saw him on his giant yacht or in the winners’ enclosure, he would strike you as someone who goes home to a suburban semi-d and gets his kicks from mowing the lawn.

To be honest reading the replies a lot of it is the mumsnet clichés of sneering at things they feel they should sneer at.

Almost like when you get the what is chavvy tropes.

And on and on. And yes I replied and yes I now think why the fuck did I bother. Carry on sneering.

That’s very true. In my line of work I see the full spectrum of wealth and poverty. We are party to whether people are on benefits or not. It’s always interesting how different people prioritise their spending.

Appearances seem to count more for those who have limited income than in those who have no financial limits. Also those who have come from nothing are much more likely to make a point of showing everyone that they’ve “made it”. Although society is its own worst enemy. I always think of the sketch by John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. We all have a habit of looking down on people but there is also a tendency to judge people who live outside of our own bubble.

But this occurs at all levels. Basically most people enjoy showing off from time to time, it’s human nature.
What is sad is the pressure via SM on people to “show off”. We not only see what people are wearing but what colour their downstairs loo is, their garden, their car, their children’s bedrooms, in fact lives are no longer private.

What you spend your money on is your business, as long as it doesn’t end up in debt.

Honestly a lot of the sneering is about putting ‘new money’ in their place for daring to ‘cheat’ the class system. It’s very much ‘you may have money, but you’re still below me in class!’. What makes me laugh is that it often comes from those who decry the class system in any other context.

My family is ‘new money’, and I went to school/live around/socialize and work with old and new money alike. If old money has liquid wealth then they’re no more or less likely to spend on ‘flashy’ things than new money is, Louis Vuitton and all. The ‘old car and threadbare jumpers’ is a heavily overblown trope that isn’t actually the standard for being rich (or rather, upper class). Those that fall under the ‘impoverished aristocrat’ banner are ime cash poor, and usually heavily restricted by the terms of their trust funds. So while they can use that money to spend hundreds and thousands or even more on certain things, they outside of that they have little choice but to live frugally.