The Status Woe

I once dated a guy who owned a $700 belt.

While I couldn't fathom spending that much on an item to hold up my pantaloons, I don't knock people who can. It's more about what that belt symbolizes to the person. For some, it's just another investment piece to add to their wardrobe, while to others it can represent a certain realm of status and superiority over us common folk, who use the old-fashioned method of throwing pants in the wash to keep them up.

When casually meeting my sister for the first time, this boy said something ultra arrogant about the salesperson who sold him the damn belt and my sister nearly fell backwards off her chair. She was appalled at the snobbery that was committed in our backyard and her first impression of this guy was forever tarnished. To this day, my sister can't walk by the store, hear its name or see its logo without making a comment or a joke about that guy. Seriously.

When you make a purchase ask yourself these questions: Will this item make me feel happier? Part of something? Legitimate? Authentic? Why do I need this so badly? What does it represent?

While working part-time at the bank, I saw people come in who drove spiffy cars and sported designer threads only to pull up their accounts and see that they're living off credit cards and dirty debt. It seems some people don't care if the bag's fake and the credit card interest rate is up, it's all about who they are claiming to be. Let's call it the "new is better" syndrome where people can't seem to upgrade their phones, computers, cars and clothes fast enough.

What we wear, and how we communicate our image has a lot to say about how others perceive us.  Before you even open your mouth, someone can make 100 judgments about who you are and what you may be about. But people can also change their mind based on your personality. A slave-to-the-label-poser can be seen as graceful and kind once they start talking, and a seemingly sweet dirty haired hippie can spew pretentious fluff. I don't care if your watch is $5 or $5000 just don't be a jerk.

Don't get me wrong, I do have a dream car, dream house and a first pair of working girl dream shoes that I hope to purchase one day without having to live off Mr. Noodle. My hope is that when I do achieve those things, I will never look down at the intern beside me wearing Payless.

So what does the person who has nothing yearn for? Re-evaluate what you have and remember things are just things. 

[photo credit: shop window N.Y.C Oct. 2009] 

Sidenote: I will never reveal the identities of the people I blog about. That's not fair to them. So to all the boys I date in the future, don't worry just because I have a blog doesn't mean I'm going to blog about you. It's when you become an anecdote around my kitchen table, then it becomes fair game :)