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Original poster

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

238 replies

bellaiceberg · 09/12/2021 18:08

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 Blush

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?

OP posts:
Squizzley · 10/12/2021 00:16

Private school parents telling the local chippy about school fees. 🤣

julieca · 10/12/2021 00:18

@Squizzley I am not into chanel and would not go to Dubai on human rights grounds. But I hate the snobbery behind condemning things as tacky.

Original poster
bellaiceberg · 10/12/2021 00:19

@Squizzley

Private school parents telling the local chippy about school fees. 🤣
jesus christ on a bike arent you tired?
OP posts:
wellmanaged · 10/12/2021 00:19

I don't understand the point you're making about the chip shop scenario. The lower middles boast about the cost of indie schools and the uppers, or the truly wealthy, do not?

Original poster
bellaiceberg · 10/12/2021 00:21

@wellmanaged

I don't understand the point you're making about the chip shop scenario. The lower middles boast about the cost of indie schools and the uppers, or the truly wealthy, do not?
if you are referring to me, i was not making a point, i was describing the only time i have seen such oddness. What do you want me to do, lie?

It is meaningless but one single anecdote. I have many about my experiences with all sections of society, dont we all?

OP posts:
Changechangychange · 10/12/2021 00:23

@Squizzley

I am laughing my head off about the made up scenario in the local chippy about a parent telling everyone about boarding school fees. Is this the socialist worker fantasy blog?
No no, this isn’t a socialist fantasy, it is pure old-school Tory. It’s only the trashy nouveau riche who hang out in chip shops yelling about boarding school fees. The truly well bred simply whisper about it to their horses and dogs.
Original poster
bellaiceberg · 10/12/2021 00:24

Why on earth would me mentioning one experience upset someone?
Perhaps ask yourself why it got at you. It has no real meaning apart from my own experience. It does not describe people on the whole.

Everyone on this thread is offering their own perspective of many things. So what? Do we have to conform to a script to appear genuine?

It is obvious from the majority of my posts that i am not judgmental and love to explore.

OP posts:
Original poster
bellaiceberg · 10/12/2021 00:27

well it only happened twice in that chippy over the space of 5 years.
This was Windermere. Not exactly the epitome of extreme wealth.
Once in Boots chemists. The child was visibly mortified.
I would say on the whole this is not the norm.

i dont get out much.

OP posts:
wellmanaged · 10/12/2021 00:36

Sorry I wondered if I'd missed some point. The thread has moved on from how the wealthy dress.

Twice! I'm not implying you're lying but I wonder how they managed to make those announcements to the chippy, and why.

WinterDeWinter · 10/12/2021 00:53

Come now gentlewomen.

Penelope Chilvers.

repottingthescabious · 10/12/2021 01:52

i suddenly want a bag of chips

Blue4YOU · 10/12/2021 02:12

How the wealthy dress? Because that’s the issue of today

witsendeverytime · 10/12/2021 07:12

They seem to wear the same but more expensive versions. But I also think where they live matters too - you walk around Chelsea and there's a higher standard of grooming and you can just tell that dress cost £500, not £50. I always feel I need to up my game (and I'm 59 and not exactly looking to impress anyone). But walk around a different, cheaper area and the wealthier seem to stand out less, as they are living amongst lower standards, if you see what I mean. I don't buy in to 'the rich wear rags' thing, not in my experience, though there's always the odd one or two wearing old expensive clothing that's seen better days! This seems to apply in more rural areas.

Thegreencup · 10/12/2021 07:15

@Cotswoldmama

The people with the most money look the most disheveled where I live. The kids have trousers that are so short they look like they're cropped. They all live in hand me downs, never seem to wear anything new. The mums are quite often in oversized clothes and outfits can be quite eccentric and eclectic. I would say the poorer people generally look more well kept. I think the richer you are the less you care about what people think and the poorer you are the more you care.
This.

People who are well and truly rich, and know they are don't need to prove it to anyone with flashy brands and labels.

hemulensdress · 10/12/2021 07:30

I know (not a personal friend!) a billionaire who only really wears trousers, shirts and cashmere. Very plain but clearly expensive...

WinterDeWinter · 10/12/2021 08:53

Also OP, I think your thread title ask a different question to your post, which is more ‘if you became wealthy overnight what would you wear?’ That’s maybe why you’re finding the thread a bit erm frustrating

Mercurial123 · 10/12/2021 08:58

True, no Chanel bags and Dubai holidays. Very tacky.

I'm going to Expo 2020 next month for a long weekend, or would you consider that tacky? Not that I care.

Inmypjsagain · 10/12/2021 09:22

I always think it’s interesting when people say no brands on old money- not true at all in my experience, Chanel, goyard and Hermes aplenty! My mum’s oldest friend is a lady and the only bags I’ve ever seen her with are Louis Vuitton, unless it’s an evening do when she’s in Chanel. I’m even thinking back to school and by sixth form the school bags were designer! Guess that was a mix of old and new money- though it’s always odd there’s a distinction.

I think if I was Euromillions rich my style wouldn’t change so much but I probably wouldn’t feel the need to justify buying things so much. I have an awful lot of handbags, they’re my weakness, but I love them and will get myself a nice one every 2 years or so. But with clothes, I see something I like and then I think will I wear it? Do I have something similar? It’s why I’ve rented dresses for weddings etc I’ve gone to because I can’t justify spending heaps on something I’ll only wear once… so it would be nice to not have to think about it and just buy it… I suppose thinking about it that does probably mean I’d be more experimental! Reminds me I must buy a lottery ticket for tonight!!!

Inmypjsagain · 10/12/2021 09:27

@witsendeverytime I live in Chelsea and I agree it’s a well groomed area- sometimes you just want to pop out for milk in your round the house clothes, unwashed hair and no make up- I really feel I stick out like the local hobo 😂 also totally agree with your statement as to rich people wearing rags- not my experience either.

Comedycook · 10/12/2021 09:31

I don't subscribe to the theory that all rich people are all dressed in rags because they have nothing to prove.

Ok, some aging aristocrat who spends all their time riding horses will not be dressed in brand new designer gear but I'm pretty sure wealthy Russian oligarchs aren't walking around in holey jumpers bought in 1972 covered in dog hair.

Floisme · 10/12/2021 10:59

Also OP, I think your thread title ask a different question to your post, which is more ‘if you became wealthy overnight what would you wear?’
Ok I'll answer that question. I would wear Margaret Howell with a dash of Vivienne Westwood. I would visit Savile Row / Jermyn St and find a tailor. I'd start shopping again at Annie's in Camden Passage which has been out of my budget for a good couple of decades. I would start going to couture shows. Oh and I'd buy my son a house.

There that was fun.

sunnyandshare · 10/12/2021 11:23

I will never forget an episode of Rich House Poor House, back in the day where one of the families was old money. This family were an older couple, the man only wore clothes knitted by his wife (he wore a different sleeveless grandad top every time) that clashed terribly with the rest of his clothes, and the wife had unruly, wiry hair and wore quite "washed" looking clothes. Neither came across as remotely interested in their appearance, yet their demeanor and way of carrying themselves told you that they had money rather than being the towns waifs.

Kanaloa · 10/12/2021 12:06

@WinterDeWinter

Also OP, I think your thread title ask a different question to your post, which is more ‘if you became wealthy overnight what would you wear?’ That’s maybe why you’re finding the thread a bit erm frustrating
To be fair if op had asked that question she might have gotten better answers. Instead she asked ‘how do wealthy people dress day to day’ and followed it up with random goady comments about how all working class people love football and how the nasty new money scream about how much they pay for boarding school/private school while waiting for their fish and chips.
Kanaloa · 10/12/2021 12:07

And then to polish it off topped up with all the usual stereotypes about Dubai holidays being trashy/middle class kids in their too short jumble sale trousers/the wonderful upper classes in their Barbour jackets and wellies. Presumably the working class kids are always turned out in designer labels their parents can’t afford on credit will come up too.

KimikosNightmare · 10/12/2021 12:08

It is obvious from the majority of my posts that i am not judgmental and love to explore

Oh ha, ha OP.

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