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

[Watersunscream]

If I told you our income I would be told we are in the top percent of earners etc but I honestly couldn’t actually justify or financially manage these sorts of purchases.

Has anyone heard of the essentials brand? Literally hundreds for a tracksuit. I think another is Bergen? Expensive t shirts. Then there’s the usual like Fred Perry etc.

Obviously I know lots of wealthy people buy these things too but it’s mostly people from low income backgrounds. How do I know this? Because people I work with who live in deprived areas and not paid much are forever talking about these things! They actually buy the stuff for holidays or as gifts at Christmas etc. Is this a misguided attempt to gain status? An insecurity thing? I find it really bizarre, it wouldn’t ever cross my mind to spend this.

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.

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

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

Well luckily he is an ex.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

That was what PP was saying, not me,

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

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 👀

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

I wasn’t suggesting you should.

No, but the other poster was.

" the marginal benefit it gives them over their immediate peers and competitors."

What are the main benefits? ( Remember they are all draped in labels)

Indeed. My current promise to myself is a MaxMara coat. I may get over this, I don't need another coat. But still feel like I want one. This is because I've bought the hype.

And I'd have to buy it on credit!

Well, why do people spend £££s on handbags? It's one thing I don't get. How many bags does a person need?
People have their own priorities.

I don't get why people want to spend £££s on a holiday abroad. Simply do not understand why all that money for a week or 2 and nothing to show for it.

It's like we're all different.

I agree, it's what peoples' priorities are.

I used to know a couple who had 2 (expensive, like Egypt, USA) foreign holidays a year, every year.
They bought their house in the 80's and it was in an 80's time warp. (Think dado rails at 3' with striped paper at the bottom and flowered paper at the top in shades of cream/beige, and a kitchen with pine units in a sort of orange shade).

I haven't seen them for years but assume it's still the same.

You can keep your foreign holidays for me and I'll have a designer kitchen instead !

😆

Because idiots are brainwashed into thinking a logo makes something worth a lot

It's not that lucrative unless you are a "high end" operator.

To do well at that you need to have good conversational skills and be intelligent as well as very attractive. Sometimes you need a couple of foreign languages for the non-English clients
You also have to be prepared to provide "niche" services. 😮

This is what i am told, anyway...

Are we allowed to use the word chav these days? 😬😳 I always thought it was quite offensive to the more sensitive people in these woke times... I remember a thread where someone was quite chastised for using the word.