I have been amazed at some people's fetish for trashy crap - accoutrement with huge logos and rhinestone encrusted initials. I have known some very well-off people at Microsoft, through some of my travels and just life in general. They are just people like us only with a lot more money. I have visited Mexico City, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Boston, NYC, Shanghai, Deming, etc... and it is always fun to window shop the ritzier neighborhoods.
This is a nice development - from The Washington Post:
Why Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada are in trouble
On a sunny May morning in New York’s upscale Fifth Avenue retail corridor, Carron Ryan stopped to admire a diamond-encrusted Van Cleef & Arpels necklace in the window of the Bergdorf Goodman department store. Louis Vuitton’s sprawling flagship store was right across the street, but she turned her nose up at its lineup of logo-stamped satchels and tote bags.
“It looks a little trashy,” Ryan said. “It’s better to be subtle.”
Ryan’s fondness for low-key, logo-free pieces is shared by a growing number of wealthy shoppers, experts say, who prefer to shell out for unique, hard-to-find pieces instead of highly recognizable handbags from big-name brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada.
The shift is largely about adapting to a moment in high-end fashion when personal taste and individuality — not conformity — are the ultimate badges of cool.
The article then goes on:
But experts say the penchant for more discreet luxury goods is also partly being fueled by the simmering political debate about income inequality, which is leaving some big spenders worried that it is tacky to carry a purse that practically announces its four-figure price tag.
These experts are wrong - these people are in a bubble. They know nothing of the simmering political debate about income inequality. Do not try to inject a narrative - you are supposed to be a journalist after all - author Sarah Halzack I am looking right at you...
It is all about practical goods and not being gauche. This is one reason why the maker crafts are doing so well - people want a nice piece of blacksmithing or pottery in their house, not a big-name unintelligible showpiece. People are starting to care for quality. A bunch of people have always cared about quality.
Having so many knock-offs of Vuitton and Gucci probably did not hurt - a brand becomes less valuable when it is profoundly diluted. I also love seeing the hyper-masculine rappers sporting the Dolce and Gabbana gear. Two flaming fagots (how they self-identify - do your own research) making bling for women and all of a sudden, they are popular with rappers.
