Brand consciousness

[pemberly]

I probably fall into this category as well.

so if your wife really wanted you to buy her some brand name thing, you'd wouldn't?

Now if you're in marketing, advertising or some other client-facing role then looking good/professional is an utility in itself. You could probably extend that to "marketing yourself in life".

woot! i have an excuse!

Now there's probably some correlation between emphasis on luxury items as status symbols and self-worth issues. Not causation but enough of a correlation to color some people's views.

well, the thing is, when ppl think "brand name," in this context, they automatically think something showy and obvious like an LV bag. like i said before, most "rich" ppl or fashionable ppl don't buy those or don't make a point of showing it off. most expensive handbags look very .... i wouldn't say normal, ... but elegant and not so obvious. i guess it's like someone buying a white volvo vs a bright red z4.

[darkcser]

so if your wife really wanted you to buy her some brand name thing, you'd wouldn't?



woot! i have an excuse!



well, the thing is, when ppl think "brand name," in this context, they automatically think something showy and obvious like an LV bag. like i said before, most "rich" ppl or fashionable ppl don't buy those or don't make a point of showing it off. most expensive handbags look very .... i wouldn't say normal, ... but elegant and not so obvious. i guess it's like someone buying a white volvo vs a bright red z4.

I would probably tell her to buy it herself since I have terrible taste, and don't particularly enjoy returning things. No LV bags for her though, she tends to lose things very easily. In the last couple of years she's lost her purse a couple of times at work, and just last week she lost her car keys, and got towed for $140.

True, I was thinking more along the lines of luxury items instead of just "brand name". Although at younger ages (especially in lower income households) the two blur together with $200 "luxury" sneakers.

There's definitely something to be said about the quality control of "brand name" products -not that "generic" products are automatically of inferior quality but rather "brand name" products tend to be of higher quality. Rumor has it that many knock off products are really quality control rejects from the same factories that were smuggled off site instead of being destroyed.