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.

That is a lot. Many people live on less than that.

This is someone resenting working class people for not staying in their lane.

Its human nature.

Ochre and Pigments (100,000+ years ago): One of the earliest known status symbols is the use of red ochre and manganese. Early Homo sapiens used these pigments for body painting and personal decoration, signaling group identity, rank, or alliances.

After that there are shells and beads, then trade in exotic goods .

Status symbols are not new, and are not going away.

Wages, credit, money markets are just how we do it at the moment - and it makes it all.more egalitarian. Everyone gets the chance to signal.

My DH works for a company that has a Ferrari dealership. There is a similar process of the customer has to buy a certain Ferrari first to check if they’re the sort of customer they want and then you’re allowed to buy the actual car you want. 🤯 They don’t want the wrong people advertising their cars.

Mostly fakes, with the odd genuine item as a b’day/Xmas pressie or saved up for IME

I understand why you ask. While of course everyone can choose how and on what they spend the money, the question in my mind is actually how come I am not able to spend on these things despite having more money. I grew up poor and now a pretty high earner, I am still not accustomed to spending money on things I was taught repeatedly were frivolous. It’s fear really from me - fear that I may overcome my past mindset, spend the money but thennot get the same enjoyment/RoI as others do.

I meant to add, open markets and aggressive marketing is basically exploiting this human trait in a most cynical way.

It might seem that way, but we've got petrol for the two cars for work and the weekly shopping still to get. It doesn't go far at all. I haven't had a brand new Birthday or Christmas present for years. I identify things on the likes of Vinted and Depop and direct people to them. I only get new stuff if I receive a cash gift or vouchers.

@Wornouttoday law firm

Charity shops can be very useful for some designer items, if that's what floats your boat....

We got my son got an Essentials hoodie on a massive Black Friday discount last year. It was part of his Christmas present. He has other branded things too. He gets quite a chunk of money overall at Christmas and for his birthday and he uses it for this sort of thing. He’s into clothes and doesn’t really ask for much else. We also scour Vinted and the like for vintage designer stuff that seems to be in at the minute, as well as him selling his old clothes on Vinted to top up his spending pot too.

We also buy him clothes as part of ‘general parenting’ and he gets a mixture of branded (some designer) and basics. For example, he just bought a pack of 6 plain white t shirts off TikTok shop for £13!! We usually top up his wardrobe at this time of year for holidays and then he gets his other stuff at the back end of the year. He’s just been abroad with his friend and his family, and the plain white tees came in really handy.

It isn’t just Ferrari. Pretty much every ultra high end brand has a system to filter the wrong people out before the right people are allowed to buy the exclusive items. Harrods, Selfridges et al. are not the exclusive places people think for example.

Influencer?

@DancingNotDrowning never thought of it like that!

You are a law firm? Huh.

Don"t they just want to talk about aspects of their case/legal difficulty rather than clothes shopping?

So I’ve just been on rbe Frasers website and they’re not that expensive. My colleague has one and she’s young but I would buy ine if I wanted and not think they’re that much for how nice they are. They’re actually about the same as my oasis concert merch hoodie or my DD’s The Neighbourhood concert merch hoodie which is really thick and warm.

Ever seen a peacock ?

Clothes maketh the man (or woman!) and all that.

If you come from a poor area wearing expensive fashion items can be a sign of "look at me, I am doing well because I can afford X and therefore you should be with me".

There are other things to it like group identity as well. So not just about spending money on any old expensive stuff. But the right sort of expensive stuff.

So you've met a tiny subset of people who live in deprived areas, and extrapolated from that then?

Brands are bollocks and made for the gullible with more money than sense.

Quality is a different thing entirely.

Branded goods are not necessarily high quality. They are a statement of superiority for those lacking a sense of self worth.

A fiend once explained to me that by buying the branded stuff for her DC, even though it meant getting a loan etc it made them less of a target for County Lines etc as they couldn't be bought so easily

@KeepPumping you do understand that it’s not just lawyers who work in law firms?

Real wealthy people don't wear brands. There's a Made in Chelsea type and then there's classy, no frills, no brands

@Trimalata i have worked in four areas of the uk in six different practices. Same everywhere