In a world of social media and fast fashion culture the road to looking expensive is becoming much easier without needing to spend a considerable amount. However, you could ask, what its mean to look expensive? What are we getting out of it and why do we try to look a certain way regardless of the whether we can afford it? How far would you go to look ‘boujee’ on a budget?
Look back 50 years, the only people who were wearing ‘expensive’ clothes were the ones who could afford it, the Hollywood stars, and the upper class. Now, people break their banks to wear pieces of clothing they believe will validate them. Why?
You could argue that technology is the blame. Half a century ago, there was no influential social platforms. The only way people would be persuaded to buy the seasons latest trends and newest products was through magazine advertisements and teleshopping. If you were lucky enough to spot something you wanted, it meant making a trip to your local high street to buy it before stocks sold. Now, we have ads circling us, cookies, algorithms, and pop-up ads on social media. Ads that know what we like from our search history and therefore we can’t escape it. A few clicks on our phones and the items are shipped right to our doors, everything is so accessible its no wonder that we convince ourselves we must be more materialistic. If social media says its cool, then it must be true.
Along with the social media, came influencers. Another strong reason as to why looking ‘expensive’ has become so popular over the last decade. An influencers lifestyle is something most people dream of, beautiful clothes, lavish cars, and luxurious trips. They make their money through promoting products for brands and depending on the number of followers they have; they can make thousands from one single Instagram post. The highest paid influencer Kylie Jenner with a following of 283 million, can be paid up to $1.2 million per post when partnering with a brand. Is there a downside to influencers? Well, it could suggest that their viewpoints are tainted when being paid so much to endorse. Only recently was it made a public interest that anyone who is being paid to promote through partnership on social media had to state so after many complained that some weren’t being genuine when endorsing a product.
The concept of looking expensive allows people to believe that they are under achievers, especially amongst younger adults. It encourages them to doubt themselves, coercing them into thinking that if they haven’t made their millions by the age of 21, they have failed at life. There is a pressure to fit in to a mould that has been sculpted for us, through the pressure of social media and unrealistic beauty standards. Marilyn Monroe was the ideal woman of her time, then came Kate Moss and the values changed from curvaceous to slim. Now, the look has recycled itself and women are aspiring to have curves thanks to the likes of Kim Kardashian and Cardi B. We aim to be what we are surrounded by.
We all want to impress. Thanks to social media, designer trends are well known and so when we see someone wearing that Prada crossbody or that Gucci logo t-shirt, we know exactly how much it costs. The downside to this is seeing other people wearing it, only makes us lust after it more. People even go as far as buying super fakes (an extremely convincing replica of a designer piece) to try and get their desired look. Online websites such as Ali Express sell exceptionally good replica bags for a fraction of their actual price. Along with this, there are hundreds of thousands of blogs, articles, and YouTube videos, showing us what the best designer dupes are and where to find them or informing us how to look lavish on a budget. Hauls from people testing out the dupes first so you don’t have to. It’s no wonder we feel as though we must look a certain way.
It is hard not to get sucked into the impression that in order to feel justified we must shape ourselves to fit a mould. However, we must ask ourselves whether what we really value is important and whether or not we care about the alleged idea that people will like us more if we look a certain way.