Someone posted this article on a particular men's clothing forum that I have been known to frequent. I thought it was a pretty decent little article. A the title "Penny-Pinchers Go With Traditional American Style in Economic Downturn" might have been more accurate, I suppose that the alliteration does work better. Nonetheless, I think the part about the increasing sales of logo-less purses is pretty interesting.
The article also touches on the "old money" notion of not flaunting one's wealth, which is an idea that I think is really missing from modern Western culture. In a quote from the article, Bud Konheim, who is (apparently) the chief executive of fashion house Nicole Miller says “You don’t brag about paying $10,000 for a dress for a party…You’re either a sucker or showing off when people have lost jobs.” I like principle of "understated elegance" and it's really something that guide what clothes I purchase. Don't get me wrong, I don't exactly have "wealth," nor do I come from either "old" or "new" money, but I do appreciate buying quality clothes, that often cost a little more (though a lot of mine come from second-hand sources), but that do not advertise how much they cost.
Case in point, in my post about Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford's arrest on Monday, Tammy B pointed out that Larry Langford was arrested in what appears to be a Burberry (no longer Burberrys, mind you; apparently that was too confusing for the people that buy that garbage nowadays) nova check shirt. Here is a photo:
A similar shirt is shown on the Burberry website as retailing for $250. Now, if I was about to be arrested on counts of bribery and money laundering, including accounts of how I spent $50,000 at a Birmingham men's clothing store, I don't think I would be making my court apperance in a $250 shirt that explicitly advertises exactly what it is and how much it costs. Perhaps this example is not really relavent to the topic, though, since that man is so blatantly stupid as is.
Anyways, be sure to check out the article.
Posts
3 comments:
I've also read somewhere (I think Wired) that if you want people to believe that you are working hard at your job, it's better to dress like a slob. I.E: I'm trying so hard I don't have time to dress up. Nice post.
Nice post and you are right he is an idiot showing up in that.
In the UK, only the chav class wear Burberry prints. It's considered "not done" by most people i knew.
Post a Comment