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?

@Comedycook

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.

No, neither do I but it's a very MN trope. I'm not personally old money but the vast majority of my clients are and it's not true for the vast majority of them.

I think there’s a massive difference between different groups of wealthy people.

For a start - how wealthy? My DH and I have a high income but we’re not filthy rich. I spend money on clothes and buy food quality, but I can’t afford crazy designer prices. Or maybe I can, but it would have to be just one off considered items. Or are you talking about multi-millionaire wealthy? People who literally don’t have to worry about money ever or think before they buy something?

Then there’s city v country - without over generalising, the trope of rich people driving around in old cars wearing old hand-me-downs doesn’t ring true in my area - I’m in an affluent part of London and there’s a whole range from pared down but expensive cashmere coats to more blingy designer. Some old bangers but plenty of white pristine 4x4s.

There’s probably also a distinction between old and new money in some senses. There’s probably cultural differences as well - does a wealthy American dress the same as a wealthy Russian or a wealthy Italian? Again obviously you’ll get a variety within each group but there’s probably some general differences (the rich Russian women I see are quite dressed up any beautifully groomed…)

*good quality, not food quality! Although I do like Waitrose

@Floisme Snap.

Very wealthy people I know fall into 3 categories:-

1. spends loads of money on designer clothes and others and keeps/curates/buys more regularly.

2. spends as little as possible on clothes, scruffy or well worn or well kept (e.g. tweeds, cashmere etc) and even if they do buy new clothes tend to buy designer in sales or 'good brands' like Uniqlo or e.g. for posh christening of sons in Chelsea - posh JL own brand morning suits for kids.

3. when I worked e.g. in Wimbledon/Wimbledon Village - seriously wealthy people would wear a combo of 'naice' clothes e.g. posh workwear (Hobbs, designer suits etc) or 'play clothes' which could be obvious or not so obvious designer labels mixed in with English brands like Brora etc.

4. Accessorising is key - a nice fedora hat is what one very wealthy female client wore a lot, hand painted waistcoats (made by his girlfriend) another millionaire client wore a lot, good footwear. Ensure hair/makeup is well kept, done. Bags don't necessarily have to be designer. Jewellery - can be anything from super expensive posh jewellers like Boodle & Dunthorne or as in the case of a nouveau riche 'barrow boy' type client who used the phrase diamonds and pearls as presumably what he made his money in - dripping in gold sovereigns, chains etc.

When I had money - not super rich but rich enough I used to buy the best of what I could afford, so e.g. designer leather jacket, Joseph long sleeved satin edged cuffs and v necks plain ribbed tops, Joseph suits etc.

I went to a private school too and when we had mufti days I honestly couldn't tell you the difference between a Gucci logo fabric print or a fake one - in fact lots of jewellery and even designer clothes can be so easily copied. It's more the air of how you wear it.

And yes, people do bomb around in jeans and tshirt and converse who are wealthy but some love e.g. designer and some don't. Think about how they make and keep and spend their money.

@Amelion

I think there’s a massive difference between different groups of wealthy people.

For a start - how wealthy? My DH and I have a high income but we’re not filthy rich. I spend money on clothes and buy food quality, but I can’t afford crazy designer prices. Or maybe I can, but it would have to be just one off considered items. Or are you talking about multi-millionaire wealthy? People who literally don’t have to worry about money ever or think before they buy something?

Then there’s city v country - without over generalising, the trope of rich people driving around in old cars wearing old hand-me-downs doesn’t ring true in my area - I’m in an affluent part of London and there’s a whole range from pared down but expensive cashmere coats to more blingy designer. Some old bangers but plenty of white pristine 4x4s.

There’s probably also a distinction between old and new money in some senses. There’s probably cultural differences as well - does a wealthy American dress the same as a wealthy Russian or a wealthy Italian? Again obviously you’ll get a variety within each group but there’s probably some general differences (the rich Russian women I see are quite dressed up any beautifully groomed…)

@Amelion - lots of very well off Italian/Spanish women I know tend to dress very well but in either own country cashmere/leather or ours - e.g. Brora etc if they want to ape British style or just prefer it.

I find the quality of leather/shoes/bags - the handmade items is far better and often not imported into UK so I have bought when abroad and speaking to an Italian friend once she said she did similar.

I worked for an extremely wealthy family. All jodhpurs and riding boots and holes in jumpers. But my god when they went out to formal occasions they did the full works. Proper morning suits, evening dress gowns etc. but other times would happily get off their horse and pop into Waitrose trailing mud. The staff in our local Waitrose are constantly cleaning the floors😂

Not that they ever really shopped cos they had a housekeeper of course!

@Gonnagetgoing that’s probably what I imagined Spanish and Italian wealthy women to wear - classic sort of styles but really good quality. I’ve noticed a lot of shoes are made in Spain and Portugal.

When did S&B start morphing into AIBU?

I know an older v wealthy lady i know lives in a v grand house in a desirable area, kids went to expensive public schools.
I recently asked her where she'd got her jumper from and she said ' a charity shop, like most of my clothes...'

I know others on limited budgets who spend a fair whack of their income on clothes.

[quote Amelion]@Gonnagetgoing that’s probably what I imagined Spanish and Italian wealthy women to wear - classic sort of styles but really good quality. I’ve noticed a lot of shoes are made in Spain and Portugal.[/quote]
a lot of them I think (I know a Spanish older woman but not well, she just goes to church with neighbours) also wear handmade (e.g. tailored) clothes, suits etc.

a few of them are also petite so I think like clothes to be taken up.

Elderly neighbour (not hugely wealthy but certainly not poor) bought a lovely long knitted dress but got it taken up professionally (she's just under 5ft) and it looks amazing, was an expensive dress originally it looks like.

Shoes that they wear tend to be (from speaking) Bally, Russell and Bromley etc - but kept over the years, classic styles, as well as Spanish/Italian imports.

Some of the cashmere/tartan/tweed shops on Regent Street I think they shop there too. a classic Liberty scarf - worn for years.

@Monolithique

I know an older v wealthy lady i know lives in a v grand house in a desirable area, kids went to expensive public schools. I recently asked her where she'd got her jumper from and she said ' a charity shop, like most of my clothes...'

I know others on limited budgets who spend a fair whack of their income on clothes.

@Monolithique - agree with this!

Wimbledon Village where I used to work - people donated and bought from there all the time! Whistles jumpers (the old label type), Harrods label clothes, tons of designer stuff. Beautiful tweeds.

Suspect it's a question of priorities and value attributed to clothes. They probably didn't get rich spending their money on £1000 pair of jeans.

@Libertaire

Premier League footballers wear expensive designer logo t-shirts & hoodies, track suit bottoms or designer ripped jeans, box-fresh, limited edition trainers and blingy gold watches.

Premier league footballers do not wear boxfresh. Or did you mean that in a different way? In my experience I don't give two hoots about the label, I wear joggers and leggings daily, I have nice designer dresses/suits but why would I wear them to do the school run and walk the dogs? My trainers/boots are labels, my hoody's are mostly understated labels, but I don't mind an ASOS legging!

I love clothes. My mother dressed me in my sister's hand me downs (old family, no money, disinherited). First job, new clothes. Every step on the career ladder my clothes have got better. Career peake? I bought couture. I am still wearing it 20 years later!
I am too large for high fashion so I bring in Italian and American designer clothes with natural fabrics. We live in a smart rural town. Lots of tweed, horses, major public school.We paid for private schools for our children. Unfortunately we eat chips! My closest friend and I think the same, more money we go clothes shopping. However having worked in the charity sector we love a charity shop or fleebay find. However if I was seriously wealthy i would have WLS and buy a whole new wardrobe. Any therapist would say that stems from childhood want.

Premier league footballers do not wear boxfresh. Or did you mean that in a different way?

brand new trainers (fresh out of the box)

The give away is expensive watches, coats, diamond rings and other jewellery.

100% this. I think we would probably come under this as would many of my friends. I would say same as anyone but I would agree it’s mainly in the accessories and coats - simple Rolex every day, diamond earrings as a standard never changed, a larger diamond in my engagement ring, coats from mackage / moose knuckle / woolrich. Trainers such as golden goose, short manicured shellac nails, regular blowdry, expensive handbag but not a statement one.

Rest of the outfit might be primark / m&s / H&M, Zara but it’s the touches which give it away.

We are urban so never come across the whole dirty car and raggedy clothes thing

I wear golden goose trainers, simply because I have a high instep. My puffer is Colmar though but I'm not posh or wealthy

I don't think it's easy to tell between a middle class director on £100k vs a multi millionaire if you see both in a restaurant.

My late husband wore old T-shirts, and a lot of primark / eBay imported crap as his casual clothes.

However for work he wore handmade suits and shoes and £200 shirts. His spending was on his hobby, which wasn’t cycling and on experiences. E.g he wouldn’t wait in queues if there was an option to upgrade or go VIP, he would only go to the theatre if he could get the exact seats he wanted even if they were £250 each. One day he went out to look at a car and came home driving it. Clothes didn’t interest him in the slightest but he knew where he needed to spend money on clothes and adapted that professionally as his career developed

@Oneforthemoneytwo - actually you say that… but I know one millionaire wife (older woman now) who only has ever worn a plain gold ring and though she does have plain precious metal jewellery rarely wears it. She prefers Swatch watches, shops in TK Maxx for knits and other clothes and in her 80s and when younger dressed impeccably.

She’s petite so often when younger would go to high street shops. I noticed that she picks a style that suits her, eg white with navy Breton stripes knit (which include jackets like this) or bright cashmere accessories (F&F at Tesco) and builds around this. Her DH when alive was similar but more male inspired.

My aunt (millionairess) dresses in posh tweeds, FWM and other brands but also brands from Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Chloe etc. She accessorises well with bags but prefers bags with minimal metalware so you can’t necessarily tell designer. Prefers one off or handmade very expensive rings (with eg emerald/diamonds). She used to travel to Italy a lot for work and went to outlet shops and normal shops for jewellery, designer bags etc. She likes expensive watches and has everything from Cartier to Rolex but last time I saw her she’d invested (got as part present from husband) in a Vacherin Constantin Moon one.

Similar with another millionaire’s wife - she’s Japanese, early 60s. Wears very minimal jewellery and likes very plain gold jewellery if that - buys in Spanish jewellers and also likes old jewellery.

You do get women and men who wear/buy very expensive watches and jewellery though, some love the Bulgari bracelet type, others prefer one offs, handmade jewellery which is more classic but also you won’t see everyone wearing it.

@Oneforthemoneytwo

My late husband wore old T-shirts, and a lot of primark / eBay imported crap as his casual clothes.

However for work he wore handmade suits and shoes and £200 shirts. His spending was on his hobby, which wasn’t cycling and on experiences. E.g he wouldn’t wait in queues if there was an option to upgrade or go VIP, he would only go to the theatre if he could get the exact seats he wanted even if they were £250 each. One day he went out to look at a car and came home driving it. Clothes didn’t interest him in the slightest but he knew where he needed to spend money on clothes and adapted that professionally as his career developed

@Oneforthemoneytwo - whenever I’ve spoken to men who have money or dress very well on the whole they’ve said it’s hard to get cheaper clothes that look expensive, so they get things handmade or buy designer. They said women can dress expensively with cheaper brands (they can but I can still tell difference sometimes).

@Oneforthemoneytwo

The give away is expensive watches, coats, diamond rings and other jewellery.

100% this. I think we would probably come under this as would many of my friends. I would say same as anyone but I would agree it’s mainly in the accessories and coats - simple Rolex every day, diamond earrings as a standard never changed, a larger diamond in my engagement ring, coats from mackage / moose knuckle / woolrich. Trainers such as golden goose, short manicured shellac nails, regular blowdry, expensive handbag but not a statement one.

Rest of the outfit might be primark / m&s / H&M, Zara but it’s the touches which give it away.

We are urban so never come across the whole dirty car and raggedy clothes thing

@Oneforthemoneytwo - see this might be a generational thing or where you live but wealthy/very wealthy people I know even younger wouldn’t be seen dead with regular blow dry, manicured shellac nails, larger diamonds etc. Part of why if and when I do ask them is “ostentatious”. They just don’t show off their wealth. Someone I knew though who did wear expensive watch and large diamonds jewellery who lived in Chelsea had her Rolex ripped off her hand and expensive diamond necklace ripped from neck when there were jewellery thieves on mopeds doing the rounds a few years back. Hasn’t stopped her, she still wears nice jewellery but she was very scared for a while and was put off wearing her nice things in public. Happened in a back news street off Kings Road too.

@Gonnagetgoing it’s done quite low key, The engagement ring Is simple but larger, shellac is done on v short nails. Hair casual. We are very urban, I don’t know anyone who lives in the country and it’s def not a showy look it’s just a more polished, still understated just a bit more glossy version of everything else.

But then i don’t know anymore who rides horses, has country piles and I had to look up what Dubarry was.