Social Class and The ‘Wirkin’ Birkin

But today’s rich don’t generally wear the 2020 version of royal purple, something like parametrically fitted garments made of nanofibers embellished with synthetic mother of pearl (which might be the results of real growth). Instead, they wear $500 cotton t-shirts with inscrutable references and visual motifs pulled from a smörgås-moodboard that ma... See more

my roman empire is how & why people signal status:

1. Patricians

high wealth, low need for status

ex: Loro Piana

2. Parvenus

high wealth, high need

ex: Birkin lawsuit

3. Poseurs

low wealth, high need

ex: dupes, Stanleys

4. Proletarians

low wealth, low need

ex: Carhartt

In order to protect exclusivity, stores had to commit to even larger buys, ordering more clothes than they could possibly sell. Then, when they couldn’t move the stuff, they’d return it. Thanks to the rise of fast fashion and the luxury market’s simultaneous attempt to keep up with its impossible pace, it all started to feel disposable. So detrimen... See more