So, how do very wealthy people dress day by day?

[bellaiceberg]

Very daft thread title i know.
I don't need to know this because I want to emulate it or copy it. I'm not interested in looking rich, I could make the most expensive item in the world look like a bin bag, hehe

But have been in a conversation with my sister who believes rich (or very well off) people don't feel the need to worry about clothes or style so wear very basic, ordinary (even cheap) clothing during the day or school run, etc but get the really expensive stuff out for special occasions and specific pursuits only. So basically you would never guess from the clothing if a person was very well off (generalisation alert!)

My opinion is a bit different in that I would imagine you can enjoy playing with style and might prefer to express your identity with lovely quality pieces, like we all might (depending on our budget). So I mainly presume we are all essentially the same, just having different incomes.
I must admit that having once lived in a wealthy part of the UK a lot of people did tend to just bob about in jeans, tshirt and converse. But that was years ago,

So which is it? P'raps it differs across the UK?

The give away isnt watches or rings or handbags- they are flash trash items.

they are:
Shoes
Jumpers/cardigans
Scarves
Gloves
Umbrella

@HolidayTime2021 I don't drink much and I don't think I would be able to tell the difference I've done blind tasting in the past (for other things) and, once you take away the fancy packaging, it's all much of a muchness. Within limits, of course.

@HolidayTime2021

The give away isnt watches or rings or handbags- they are flash trash items.

they are:
Shoes
Jumpers/cardigans
Scarves
Gloves
Umbrella

@HolidayTime2021 - definitely agree with this. Most very wealthy people I know don't necessarily wear super expensive clothes - but they wear clothes which look good, and could be classed as expensive. Men especially so.

For more special occasions yes, the posh designer dresses come out. I know someone very wealthy older who wears/wore Skechers for ages (when in her holiday home in France and in UK) because she line dances a lot and she wanted comfort.

All her cashmere for everyday is supermarkets but she does have some lovely Brora/West End designer cashmere and shoes. Has never been a country person so doesn't wear tweeds, Dubarry etc. And she's also not ostentatious so last thing she'd wear (at least in public) would be a flashy/expensive ring (told me in safe). Her DH (now sadly dead) was much more flashy re watches.

The vast majority of what she buys now is TK Maxx or Fenwicks/Liberty/Harrods sales - which includes gloves, umbrella, jumpers/cardigans, jeans and can get some lovely designer ones there.

It depends what level and type of wealth, what type of person, their age and what they are doing.

Lewis Hamilton or Wayne Rooney aren't likely to dress the same as Prince Charles or The Duke of Devonshire.

When I saw Princess Anne she was wearing Chinos, walking boots and a polo shirt (I think it was a British Equestrian branded one, the type lots of officials and coaches were wearing). Her sunglasses looked expensive but if it weren't for the hair you wouldn't really have recognised her and she looked like a fairly normal horsey type, not the loaded Dubarry and tweed set type, but she dresses completely differently for Ascot or a state banquet.

Watches and sunglasses can be a good clue. Likewise handbags. Diamonds and blingy jewelry tends to be saved for evening wear, lots of wealthy women will wear fairly subtle pearls during the day.

It can be definitely be rings! People wouldn't wear flashy diamond necklaces during the day (in fact DMIL sometimes wears beads the DGC have strung together) but engagement rings are big.

That said, it's common in DH's circle to have a large and stunning inherited engagement ring for city use, ancestral home use, and parties. You put it in the bank along with the rest of the stuff for the parts of the year spent doing outdoors things. And then you have a nice normal-looking back-up engagement ring to wear when skiing/sailing/shooting etc.

Actually naked wines claim the exact opposite that you do not get what you pay for

Ithink the main two differences compared to other areas I've lived are:

1. Hardly anyone is overweight
2. People pay more attention to grooming and are much more likely to have expensive hairstyle and nice nails (although both can be quite low key in terms of colours etc)*

This sums it up for me too.
From the schoolgirls to the grandmothers, you seldom see overweight wealthy women.
And they are groomed - subtle makeup, good haircuts and toned hair.

I’ve had this very conversation with someone as we walked through a very affluent area nearby.

I’ve also noticed wealthy women have long straight thick hair!

@Gwenhwyfar

"I only tend to have 4-5 bags at any one time anyway.

ONLY? How many handbags does the average person have???

I don’t know the answer to this, but I know several people who are on a much lower income and have maybe 40-50 cheaper bags eg from primark, new look. I personally don’t think 4-5 bags is a crazy level. These are all the bags I own:

• small backpack
• brown cross over bag
• 2 clutch bags (both bought around 10 years ago)

Quick google says that the average U.K. woman owns 14 bags, based on a 2016 survey

14 bags!!! Bloody hell. Only if that includes carrier bags.

@julieca

14 bags!!! Bloody hell. Only if that includes carrier bags.

I know! I have never had that many bags! I keep the ones I do buy for years too (although I do have a few bags for life lying around)!

In a job I had in the past, I worked with people with 'old money', titled people. You'd never have been able to tell by looking at them. No bling at all. Some of them pretty scruffy. Lovely manners though.

I’m not sure coats etc are a good benchmark. I was talking to a bricklayer the other day who told me his gf had just bought a £1700 coat. She’s a right chav who’s cheated on him four times in the last year!