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Just Take It Off! – Conspicuous Consumption
- Little girl goes shopping by Donncha
Chanel handbags! Victoria’s Secret bras! Guess and Joe’s and Diesel jeans!…and if you can’t swing the price, knockoffs!
Over the years, I’ve noticed a trend among fashionistas: they care way too much about what everyone else is wearing. Not only do women put too much stock in the size of their jeans (who sees that number anyway?) but they also focus on that other, more prominent label: the brand name. In fact, sometimes they’re so focused on what others will think of that brand name that they don’t even stop to consider whether the item they’re buying actually looks good on them…because if it’s Gucci, who cares?
This behavior smacks of conspicuous consumption, which is described by Wikipedia as as ”the lavish spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth…as a means of attaining or maintaining social status.” It isn’t new – the term was introduced by economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in his 1899 book The Theory of the Leisure Class – but it is something that the green movement has been inadvertently caught up in. People are dying to get their hands on the latest boyfriend blazers (cute!) and torn tights (ahem, ridiculous) but now they’re vying for those blazers and tights that call themselves “organic,” without actually doing the research to find out whether that label is true. (Oftentimes, it’s not, and even if it is, that doesn’t mean it’s better for the planet - check out this EcoGeek article on why plastic bags are “greener” than recycled paper – but that’s a whole other story.)
The excuse many people use is that whatever it is they covet was just “recommended” by a friend, colleague, or envied fashion-forward enemy. However, there’s a difference between a recommendation and conspicuous consumption. The former is all about the usefulness, comfort or pleasure being taken in the object itself – “These new Madden Girl platforms are so comfortable and easy to walk in!” – while the latter focuses on social status and outside perceptions: “All of my blogger friends love my new Madden Girl platforms, and two are buying them in different colors!” While the first statement makes me consider buying the shoes for their comfort and versatility, the latter just implies that those same shoes are popular, and that having them will make me popular. Though it’s nice to feel included, doesn’t it make me a bit of a copy cat?
I’m not saying we shouldn’t follow trends and enjoy fashion as a whole – otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog at all – but I do think we should focus more on buying what makes us look and feel good, as well as products that are socially conscious and earth-friendly, instead of whichever designers are on sale at Macy’s. Besides, shouldn’t we be more excited at compliments based on individual, unique style than on the same old menswear and torn jeans everyone’s wearing?
Tags: brand names, conscious shopping, conspicuous consumption, madden girl, shopping
Amen sista. “Focus on… what makes us look & feel good” And what reflects you uniquely! Love it. –Molly
Molly’s last blog post..Calling all Gutsy Girls. Stand up & Shout out!
I absolutely agree. My beef with CC: campaigns like the “(red)” campaign [you know: "inspi(red)"]. It’s like “hai guyz, save the world by buying shit you don’t need.” It’s completely rich-kids-save-africa-esque and is completely problematic. Many times people don’t actually know where that money is going and what exactly it’s being used for.
I wish people would actually be more conscious instead of just buying campaign shit so they can say/think they are.
Kristy’s last blog post..Upcoming on Eats and Interests
Can you spot conspicuous consumption? http://bit.ly/6×021
Excellent read by @craftyasparagus: Can you spot conspicuous consumption? http://bit.ly/6×021
Just Take It Off! – Conspicuous Consumption http://tinyurl.com/lmyxze
Love this post! RT @craftyasparagus Just Take It Off! – Conspicuous Consumption http://tinyurl.com/lmyxze
Wow, thank you! RT @kristinpotpie Love this post! RT @craftyasparagus Just Take It Off! – Conspicuous Consumption http://tinyurl.com/lmyxze
RT craftyasparagus Just Take It Off! – Conspicuous Consumption http://tinyurl.com/lmyxze (agreed!!)
New post: Can you spot conspicuous consumption? http://bit.ly/6×021
I agree with what you say. I’ve never been too much into fashion anyway… no extra time to pay attention to that and too much effort. I just don’t have the energy for that. I love your idea of “products that are socially conscious and earth-friendly, instead of whichever designers are on sale at Macy’s” – but I know nothing about it. It would be great if you could write more about it. I’m already spending a lot of time trying to find food that fits with these standars, you know
. Currently I only make it a pont to shop at the brand name shops for items on sale ‘cos i know i’d feel stupid paying let’s say $60 for a shirt which is going to cost $15 in a week or two when it goes on sale, right?
Nurit – 1 family. friendly. food.’s last blog post..Birthday dirt cake
If you haven’t checked out my latest post on conspicuous consumption, you should – http://bit.ly/6×021. My next post? Likely consumptive.
I completely agree, especially when you say that people buy for the labels without even considering if it flatters.
I noticed this a lot with trends. I’m such a fan of recognizing your positive features and highlighting and embracing those aspects. So often though, people just get caught up in wearing a trend and forget that trends aren’t one style fits all…
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