@musicprnt I completely agree with your post. I read somewhere that very wealthy people are often the nicest, and don’t behave like new money.
The design houses have mixed feelings about piracy. They pursue legal action but they also realize piracy increases brand awareness and allows them to differentiate the “real” from the "fake, making the “real” more valuable. This is different from fake wine, spirits or even olive oil, which is being presented as the real thing and is sold at that price. I’m speaking from involvement in shutting down a counterfeit ring that made fake Fendi. We had an entire room full of just purses, from really stupid bad fakes to some really nice ones. (And the nice ones tended to disappear.) So this is what I learned from actual sources.
The real Chanel, for example, knows that few people can actually afford Chanel and they keep the supply low enough to justify the prices to the moneyed. But they see fake Chanel as something to make noise about while knowing it’s not actually stealing sales - like fake Rolex sold for small dollars don’t steal sales from multi-thousand Rolex.
BTW, I don’t think wealth makes people nicer. That’s one reason I choose not to associate with certain people: they’re bleepheads. And the effect of money on their children is criminal. That’s not meant as a blanket condemnation of wealth, but actually it sort of is because wealthy people don’t have an excuse not to be nice and yet they so often are terrible people.
In terms of craft, there are levels: Italy has responded quite well to Asian competition by increasing handwork/complicated mechanical loom work (which the Chinese have duplicated) and by doing more cutting and assembly of textiles made in China on these advanced looms. So not everything is made in the same factories. The Italian - and to a degree, French - fashion industry is a terrific example of clustering: a bunch of companies sharing workers and ideas and developing expertise far beyond what a single company could. If you spend time in the fashion district in and around Milan, for example, you see showroom after showroom where designers put out things - often not really for sale - as part of the process by which they relate to their peers. (I haven’t been there in years and wonder if tourists have figured this out - or if it’s moved. It used to be absolutely tourist free and you could, on occasion, see the actual designers walking on the street as people around the corner were walking around wearing their clothes and carrying bags with their logos. It reminded me of a sports bar in Boston named The Fours. There are tons of sports bars but this one, which wasn’t filled with TV’s or anything was/is a simple place where you’d see the entire Celtics and Bruins front offices eating lunch at tables near each other. In other words, a real sports bar where I might actually see Larry Bird or Bobby Orr while people hung out in droves at the places with big TVs.)
“Some have been nice, some standoffish, and not many I’d really say were truly down to earth.”
At all socioeconomic levels, there are some people who are nice, some standoffish, some head in the clouds, some down to earth. This hearkens to a different thread about what it’s like to be poor surrounded by rich students at an elite college, and I think one of the core things that poorer kids need to understand is that they do themselves a disservice by thinking that all rich people are one-of-a-kind, whether that’s snobby, understated, showy, spoiled, lazy, whatever.
Regarding Italian workmanship: there are many Italian manufacturers who are doing their manufacturing in China and in middle European countries such as Czechoslavakia. Under Italian law, something can carry a “Made in Italy” label if it is “substantially finished in Italy.” Under the same law, “substantially finished” is defined as (among other things) “sewing in the Made in Italy label” in Italy. The higher end things are often made entirely in Italy, but the lower cost items are often “finished” in Italy.
It is my personal opinion that Italian designers, in general, do amazing work. I also think that those Italian companies manufacturing outside of China are doing a good job supervising production.
Ok…snarky comment. I love the assumption that I wear fur. I don’t…ever. I was offered a fur coat…twice…and refused. Now I may have leather purses and shoes, but I would like to engage in the fantasy the the whole animal was used. We all make deals with the devil, unless you are the Dali Lama I suppose, an that one is mine. I am a lot closer to becoming a pescatarian, which I am sure will be offensive to another sector.
Oh, and the Dali Lama was NOT to be confused with an anti religious remark.
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I was skimming over this and misread “disowned” as “drowned” and thought that seemed a bit extreme!
Ok, bevhills, if that comment was directed at me, I meant no such thing. It was solely in reply to your comment about skins.
I am extremely cold natured. I am seriously considering wearing fur. After living in places where it pretty much would have been impossible to wear fur in public, I’m someplace it seems okay. I’m wondering where my mother and grandmothers’ coats got to. If I do vintage, I’m just recycling. I want something ankle length. Vintage is okay. I don’t want something ratty looking though. Someone else’s intitals may be an issue. I could have a patch put in.
Thank you Romangypsyeyes
alh, why not? Recycled fashion is cool. The Real Real is a great place for recycled fashion, and fur coats pop up on that site often.
We have some old fur. I have one that belonged to my grandmother, and it must be close to 60 years old. I like thinking of grandma when I wear it, about once a year. Her name is sewn in the lining. First my mom had it, and then when she passed, I got it. My D got her grandmother’s coat (considerably less old, but still over 30 years, maybe 40). She hasn’t worn it yet. That one says “with love to ‘grandma’”. How could we let that go?
No one thought about PETA in the days when these coats were purchased. We wouldn’t go out and buy one now.
I grew up in a town with a large summer population of " old money " peeps. Lilly had a store there and I had a very wasps looking friend ( who was actually from a blue collar family ) who worked there. I had one sun dress from there when I was 17 or 18. It was kind of silly looking now that I think back because I certainly wasn’t even close to being one of those blue bloods, although I did babysit for many a family that were .
Now that LP has come full circle, I see some of my neighbors wearing it and they seem like wanna be yacht clubbers.
It’s not me at all. I appreciate good quality clothing , but not a label driven clothing buyer at ll
I have five close friends who I buy christmas gifts for every year. This year, I gave each a Missoni scarf - this season’s Missoni knits were particularly pretty, and I chose a different color/pattern for each. I also bought a lot of Missoni for myself, so all winter long, when I saw any one of them, they would say “you’re wearing Missoni,” and we’d talk about it…and about how much they loved the scarf. I’m comfortable asking any of these women “what they’re wearing” and they would absolutely ask me. Not because anyone is interested in how much anything cost (everyone knows what a good handbag or a pair of shoes costs), but because we love fashion and like to talk about it. I would never ask an acquaintance or a stranger, although I would complement an outfit if I liked it and it seemed appropriate. Many women will volunteer what they’re wearing if you notice their outfit.
When my kids were growing up, there was a group of friends that I went out to dinner with once a month. We used to call it “show and tell” dinner. We would each wear one new item we bought that month - bag, shoes, outfit, jewelry. We never went out to buy things just for the dinner, but if we happened to have picked up something nice, we would wear it that evening. We had a lot of fun oohing and aahing at each dinner. We all got dressed up for the dinner. I think I was the only working mom, but they always had the dinner late enough so I could make it. I did remember 2 birkins.
Re: #46
I take it you do not mean the kind that you store your dinner in before you are ready to prepare it (like Chinese restaurants have).
You mean stuff like this?
http://store.dolcegabbana.com/us/dolce-gabbana/short-sleeve-t-shirts_cod37635729xd.html#itemPage=3
Which I do not get – even if I had top 0.001% money, I cannot see why spending that much on a plain white T-shirt makes sense. (And one usually does not get and stay wealthy by overspending.)
Even the vast majority of “rich people” aren’t spending $275 for a t-shirt
Those are lovely gifts, Gourmetmom. I had one that unfortunately ripped. I got it as a gift. It was lovely. I also was fortunate enough to receive a Loro Piana cashmere scarf as a gift.
We are not rich, but years ago I had a friend who came from an extremely wealthy family. One thing I admired about them was that they were down to earth and I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable around them. Our families didn’t socialize in the same circles, but they were also very down to earth and welcoming to my parents. When this friend spent some time with me one summer, none of my friends even had a clue that she was wealthy.
I have an aquaintance who is very status conscious, and not nearly as wealthy as this friend. Years ago, I saw a lovely coat and my husband bought it for me as a gift. I didn’t even know the brand. It was an expensive coat, and it was one of those special occasion gifts- anniverary or something, not something we’d typically buy Some people have said “that’s a pretty coat” but only one person- that person- declared “Look at that Brand Name coat”.
IMHO, I think that this kind of thing reflects the person more than it reflects their bank account.
That tshirt looks pretty similar to these. I’ll save the $260+ difference http://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Signature%E2%84%A2-Men%E2%80%99s-Pima-Cotton-T-Shirt-White.product.100053947.html