MINDLESS MUSINGS

Unemployed twenty somethings living in Social Housing flashing expensive jewellery and brand clothing on social media; sitting home all day playing on their thousand plus dollar gaming system on a massive flat screen TV – bit weird. The bling more than the electronics I suppose, but it all begs the question “how can you afford that shit?”

An outsider would quickly surmise that this person is up to some kind of shifty business, and they may well be right. That is not my interest here; however, I am intrigued by what the motivation is behind this pretense. Anyone who knows you and knows your housing and job situation automatically senses the disconnect and they may have any number of feelings on it; of course, that often has little to do with any comments or emojis they might leave. “Looking good!” could be coming from your biggest hater.

Are you trying to impress a bunch of strangers then? What is the purpose of that exercise? People who do not know you, think you are wealthy and successful – okay. What now?

Is it an internal competition between other Housos? A display of your hustling abilities.

Maybe it’s an aspirational, “fake it till you make it”, kind of deal.

That’s all subjective anyway. The part that concerns me is the pissing away of what little funds you have in an attempt to look like you are rich. The irony is painful! The only explanation that makes any sense would be the hustle one. The stuff is hot or bought with the proceeds of illegitimate activities. At least it would be some kind of trophy in that case.

Either way it is a definite flex, and the pride it instils is a massive compliment to the power of marketing. The bizarre paradox of people showing off your brand to make themselves look and, at least for a moment, feel better. Paying you to advertise your product.

Another wacky part being the items that came off the back of a truck. People flaunting luxury goods that were stolen – hilarious! A kind of stolen valour for poseurs. You didn’t pay the ludicrous price, but you dare to parade about as if you did or even could – imposter! Although if you actually did the thieving yourself, I could see how you might enjoy showing off your booty. Not a clever move if you end up under suspicion mind you, but whatever floats your boat.

I’m positive that people purchase black-market or knock-off luxury goods all the way along the income spectrum and why not? The extravagant prices are a sick fucking joke! However, there is something a little slimy about a rich person strutting around with fancy items they got on the cheap, when they could easily afford them. Kind of exposes the arbitrariness of the bullshit prices too.

The working stiffs who shell out their hard-earned money for these status symbols are a whole other mystery to me. I am not advocating the sale of stolen goods here, but paying full price for these trinkets and rags is a form of insanity even if you have the cash to spare. To go into debt for it is on another level of madness!

You work like a dog and have to spend most of your wage on feeding, maintaining and housing yourself; then you spend what little you have left on farcically overpriced shit just so you can look like you are financially successful – HELLO, RING-A-DING-DING!!! If you do it via credit you will very quickly be in the red and have less than zero dollars…trying to look well off…

I understand there is a male peacock aspect to this whole ritual and that people want to look attractive to any potential mates; but why is it so important to ensure people see the logo? In the end, stylish is stylish regardless of the brand. Remember when your nanna gave you an ugly shirt and proudly stated “it’s Nike! You like Nike, right?”. That brand does not redeem ugly.

An unappealing watch does not magically become beautiful if you slap some diamonds on it – or does it? People walking around with gold chains looking so heavy they are going to develop fucken lumbago! The precious metal or gem is the bling. I suppose I need to look at these two bankrupting obsessions separately.

For now, I’ll just stick with the mindboggling exaltation of expensive things period. Even more perplexing is that it seems to be that the more grotesque the mark up is, the more coveted the item. This is some perverted shit!

“A Gucci bag costs how much?!!!”

“That’s the point you philistine!”

Don’t get me started on “if you need to ask the price you can’t afford it” FUCK!!! That’s a whole post of its own.

I totally get the ‘you get what you pay for’ mentality. If you buy cheap shit, you usually get poor quality; its plain and it probably won’t last too long. Of course, you would want to buy clothing that looks good and will last. Although, if you are a slave to fashion your use for those clothes will end much sooner than their usefulness will – warped!!!

Certain materials are more comfortable, breathable or warm and it may be worth it to spend more on these. While this will certainly increase the price (and value) of your purchase, rarely could it justify the immoral price asked for some of this ‘upmarket’ shit; and be honest, would you buy it if the brand was not on display; and if you did, how long could you go for not telling anyone the brand?

Yes, I am an out-dated geezer, I get it. Even when I was young, I had no eye for style. Therefore, I don’t want to try and tell the trendsetters how to suck eggs. My gripe is with the offensive price tags on these garments. I often wonder how often a swish outfit goes unloved simply because it was being sold in a lower class of store. Or conversely, how often an average looking piece gets a tick of approval thanks to its label.

The perplexing paradox remains; people allow themselves to get ripped off so that other people can see that they have money to burn; whether they actually do is a moot point. Oh, and yes, I am also an old tight ass, so feel free to put me in a box and disregard anything you don’t like.

After all, it’s your money and you are free to with it as you please. Speaking of overspending fashionistas, I can recall the numerous times one of my well-groomed mates looked at me with irritation after the display their new Ralph Lauren shirt was met with “what’s that?”

Would you still go into hock for that shirt if nobody knew the brand?

What would the game be like if the brands became irrelevant?

If it all came down to how you bought unbranded designs, mixed and matched items and were judged purely on the aesthetic rather than the cost?

I am way of track as usual. There’ll be much more on the ‘luxury’ rort coming soon.