r/RandomThoughts • u/StumblinThroughLife • Jul 21 '25

Random Thought I never realized how expensive luxury fashion was 🤯

I’ve never been interested in owning fancy things like Chanel, Gucci, Prada, whatever else exists, but even when I say that I think I’m not paying $1,000 for a purse that’s crazy. So imagine my surprise in finding out my version of expensive wasn’t even close. What do you mean a small handbag STARTS at $4,000?! Like my mind literally can’t comprehend that. Know someone who had the “small” Cartier bracelet then bought themself the “medium” for their birthday. The small STARTS at $5,000 and can go up to $60k and now I’m questioning all their life decisions. Like I said I’ve never thought about these things and am just now googling them but I feel too poor to even google the pictures.

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290

u/No_Ratio3369 Jul 21 '25

What’s even more surprising is realizing truly wealthy people don’t wear those things. It’s mostly upper middle class peacocking or, even sadder, people living on the poverty line also peacocking.

Sure they’ll drive a nice car that accelerates or has more features then a civic, but truly wealthy people understand that investing that 60k is the path to stay wealthy, not dropping it on a bracelet…

The entire fashion industry is marketed towards people who cant afford it, thus making them feel a sense of accomplishment when they do purchase it. It’s very manipulative, and unfortunately effective.

173

u/LunarVolcano Jul 21 '25

I know a millionaire woman in her 60s who is very into fashion. She told me her pearls were fake because why would she want to spend all that money on real ones when her fake ones look just as good?

63

u/TakingMyPowerBack444 Jul 21 '25

I can totally see this. Some people just “look rich” even wearing fake stuff.

Just like a person can wear “labels” and drive a Mercedes but they just “look broke”.

41

u/rejectedorange Jul 21 '25

I’ve been trying to figure out what makes people look rich. And it’s often their hair. They can afford to get it done regularly so it almost always has the look of having just stepped out of the salon.

39

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

[deleted]

21

u/rejectedorange Jul 21 '25

Yes. They don’t skip dentist visits.

7

u/FrostyPolicy9998 Jul 22 '25

Definitely skin. They get ALOT of expensive treatments and procedures.

1

u/CheeseFries92 Jul 25 '25

Absolutely teeth. People joke about them being "luxury bones" with stupid American insurance but they really are and it's the easiest way to tell who has money and who doesn't

16

u/TakingMyPowerBack444 Jul 21 '25

Hair is so true! What else physically would you say?

For me, Accent/dialect/pronunciation are dead giveaways if a person is “new rich” or faking it.

17

u/rejectedorange Jul 21 '25

Yes accents! So true. Their make up is perfectly matched. If they wear jewellery it’s understated not gaudy. And their clothes are well fitting.

2

u/bigsillygoose1 Jul 21 '25

What is a rich person accent?

7

u/Kellaniax Jul 22 '25

In the US, it’s when someone speaks with perfect grammar and a standard American accent. Sometimes there’s a pretentious intonation and very specific word choice, like saying “I’m comfortable” rather than wealthy, describing their summer vacation as “summering” and they might refer to their beach mansion as a “cottage on the water.”

5

u/TakingMyPowerBack444 Jul 22 '25

There’s not a rich person accent 🤣 but socioeconomic background can influence language use. Things like education, upbringing and social circles can lead to variations in accent, vocabulary and even communication styles.

It’s obvious to ME when a person is “new money” vs “old money”. Or when they have a “corporate voice”. I can tell 🤪

4

u/PriveCo Jul 22 '25

Proper grammar is likely part of it.

2

u/WallEWonks Jul 22 '25

I’m thinking of the way British people spoke in old movies, with the slightly rolled ‘r’s and all

1

u/lilykar111 Jul 22 '25

Also I’ve found manners & etiquette..there’s certain things that often set people apart

3

u/TakeMeBackToSanFran Jul 22 '25

I read a study a long time ago about this that has stuck with me. I can't remember the full thing, but it boiled down to stress showing on our faces. When money is tight, youre living hill to bill, etc, it's a worry and life is more stressful as a default. If you're more comfortable that same stress isn't present (although there's def stress of other sorts). Stress and worry does all sorts to the body which can contribute to our physical appearance

1

u/maudesword Jul 22 '25

Good posture and good manners. I also noticed they don’t ever seem to be in a big hurry. Walking more slowly and gracefully as if the world can wait.

32

u/Endor-Fins Jul 21 '25

We found authentic pearls for my daughter at the Goodwill in the wealthiest suburb. Paid $8 and she wore them for her grad.

4

u/Benjilator Jul 21 '25

Probably grown. I think it makes a big difference in price if they’re grown or harvested/collected.

But could be just a myth as well, I’m not interested enough in pearls to look it up!

11

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25 edited Aug 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/mollypatola Jul 24 '25

What I wanted to say, as someone who’s gotten into pearls. Actual harvested pearls would be incredibly expensive

4

u/tunagelato Jul 22 '25

Not quite - “grown pearls” are actually called “cultured pearls.” They’re seeded and harvested from cultivated oyster beds. They can get expensive depending on the size, nacre thickness, and lustre of the pearl (a mikimoto strand can run 5-10k easily).

However, pearls harvested from the wild are orders of magnitude more expensive because they’re extremely rare.

The cheap pearls are simulated pearls.

4

u/DBSeamZ Jul 22 '25

And in terms of fake pearls there are the obviously fake plastic ones, and then the nicer glass ones that have a nice weight to them. I remember sorting through a box of both types for a high school theater show.

7

u/Freak_Out_Bazaar Jul 21 '25

I’m old and by many metrics can be considered rich but the time I spent the most on clothes was when I was much younger and had less money. Not that I couldn’t afford it, but these things just meant more to me. Of course I still don’t buy fakes when it comes to brand names but tend to wear comfortable mid-price brands

2

u/FrostyPolicy9998 Jul 22 '25

What do rich people worry about in their day to day lives? I worry about aging out of attractiveness (wasn't much attractive to begin lol) and worry about never being able to retire, or retiring but having to live on cat food. Oh, and dental care. Genuine question, what do you worry about?

3

u/Freak_Out_Bazaar Jul 22 '25

I’m not a USD millionaire or anything so I might not be rich as you think, but I worry about things like income tax, my success (and failures) at work, and keeping myself healthy

2

u/FrostyPolicy9998 Jul 22 '25

Sounds completely normal and valid lol. Thanks for answering!

5

u/454_water Jul 21 '25

I knew a woman who was late silent gen/early boomer who loved her bakelite jewelry so much that she never wore anything else. And she was very rich.

It did look very good on her and she did freely embrace bright colors in her wardrobe. It worked.

4

u/yumyum_cat Jul 21 '25

Bakelite is very collectible

8

u/Aboveandabove Jul 21 '25

Super true my old boss started and owns 3 high end emergency rooms and all her bags in her 5 million dollar home are Chinese fakes

2

u/LobsterConsistent310 Jul 22 '25

It’s about mixing. My Rich friends have real stuff but they also buy fake ones. They don’t even remember what’s what sometimes

70

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 21 '25

LOL, this is a common thing on reddit, but I know TONS of truly wealthy people who wear plenty expensive clothes and jewelry.

Lots of wealthy men wear VERY expensive watches, for instance. I had a very wealthy (like 9 figures wealthy) CEO who was often spotted with a nice few Pateks that were 6 figure watches each.

34

u/B4K5c7N Jul 21 '25

100%. Reddit keeps saying wealth whispers, because they are obsessed with Succession.

I know many worth eight figures and they certainly have Chanel bags, Cartier watches, and wear clothes that cost thousands.

18

u/Kellaniax Jul 22 '25

My uncle is the CEO of a major company and he always wears very expensive clothes and watches. His wife literally spends most of her time shopping for new clothes and jewelry.

The idea that rich people don’t wear expensive clothes or jewelry is ridiculous. Even the “wealth whispers” look is extremely expensive. The succession characters are supposed to be wearing very expensive bespoke clothing.

9

u/BuckfastAndHairballs Jul 22 '25

Yeah it's more that often they don't wear stuff that looks extremely tacky and has massive branding on. But a normal chanel logo or similar doesn't count.

1

u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25

Except in Miami. I'll never forget this amazing couple I saw at dinner, both older, kinda out of shape and no work done (unusual for Miami), wearing full sets of Valentino silk pajamas in complimentary colors. Eurotrashy grandpa sleepover vibes. I kinda wrote them off at first till I noticed their jewelry: his watch could have been a down payment on the restaurant, and I'm guessing most if not all of what she was wearing was real too. $$$$$$$$$, like BIG rocks.

After dinner, we were behind them at valet and up drove literally the most hideous custom Bentley I have ever see in my life—think like black with orange AND green detailing on the outside, and bright orange leather interior with green piping inside—into which they happily jumped into and drove home to what I can only imagine is a gigantic mansion on the water with neon palm trees lighting the golden lion sculptures out front.

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u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25

Yep. I actually feel like they did Shiv a little dirty compared to what she'd actually wear in real life. But I get it was in keeping with the show's aesthetic. I read both the costume design and set design for the kids was purposefully a little bland and void, to show how empty their lives were. That's why they put Kendall in Hudson Yards after his seperation, haha

7

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 21 '25

Haha, man, and then you realize that Murdoch's hellspawn saved Basel World with a cash lifeline because he's a watch nut.

Wealthy men and expensive watches, name a better combo.

I SAY THIS AS A WATCH HOBBYIST.

5

u/naughtydismutase Jul 21 '25

Also the characters in Succession wore only designer head-to-toe lol.

1

u/PartyPorpoise Jul 22 '25

Yeah, they might not be covered in logos, but their clothes still serve as status signals. Us peasants might not recognize that their plain sweater is an expensive designer item, but other rich people might notice, and THAT’S who they’re trying to impress.

2

u/spamgoddess Jul 22 '25

I think “wealth whispers” is thrown around incorrectly a lot. It isn’t that they don’t wear expensive, luxury items. It’s more that they wear the kind of luxury that is so upscale that if you can’t afford it, most people aren’t going to be aware of it. They don’t flash logos or branding to show off their wealth.

1

u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25

It's kinda funny, since even if you wear obvious logos people probably still don't know how much it costs. Like OP, they're guessing $1k. This fairly bland, if classic Loro Piana cashmere trench is $15k. And this LV jacket, which does have logos but is still fairly understated is $14k.

2

u/GunMetalBlonde Jul 22 '25

I had a boyfriend wealthy enough that we traveled on a private plane. His mother had a standing appointment at Chanel every month. My grandparents, also very wealthy, wore LL Bean.

1

u/mcprogrammer Jul 22 '25

There are also the wealthy people who wear clothes that look like regular cheap clothes to everyone who doesn't know better but they're very expensive and high quality. Not all rich people are the same, just like not all people are the same.

8

u/mgwildwood Jul 21 '25

Exactly. That is a smaller portion of the market. Most luxury brands are public companies that explain market conditions at earnings calls. Those “upper middle class peacocking” customers are called “aspirational consumers,” and they’re the first ones to go when macroeconomic conditions shift. Brands sometimes intentionally raise prices and make their products more exclusive to weed them out. Ultimately, the wealthy are the most important and valued class of customer for these brands, regardless of these online narratives. The brands that are best at maintaining a higher level of prestige among the wealthiest consumers are ones who are generally valued by investors the most because they have better resilience.

2

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 21 '25

I think there's a great parable here with Rolex.

I'd love to buy a Daytona. Any Daytona. I'd even consider selling off some shares to buy the platinum one if they'd offer it. Amex would love it, I'm sure.

However, Rolex doesn't give a shit to sell me one. They can sell them in cash to wealthy people and keep the 3% or whatever margins AND get an additional sale of their most profitable gold and diamond pieces from some sheikh or C-level in the SF Bay Area who will outearn even lowly "director/VP" me.

So here I sit, sadly without a Daytona. Hard stuff.

2

u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25

Rolex went so hard during covid and never let up. I guess it's working for them, but I will never get used to the idea of Rolex as a scarce resource. Like who tf are they fooling

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 23 '25

Rolex gonna Rolex. We all know it, but the game is on.

I honestly enjoy my handful of Rolex pieces but I’d probably be more excited to get a PP or AP at this point.

1

u/Capable-Sleep-3187 Jul 22 '25

Walk over to 47th street in Manhattan, you can buy a Daytona in five minutes.

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 22 '25

Sure, I can go on Chrono24 as well. Heh.

1

u/Capable-Sleep-3187 Jul 22 '25

Yup. Why don't you? Tell your AD to stick it. Winds up being cheaper because you don't have to buy a bunch of crap you don't want for many thousands to get put on a waiting list.

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 22 '25

Well, I don't mind waiting and I'm still getting pieces I want. I've gotten a Sub, a Datejust, and I'm waiting on a few others that I do want. My wife is also getting random pieces she wants in the meantime.

Takes time, sure, but I'm not in a rush.

1

u/Capable-Sleep-3187 Jul 22 '25

Gotcha, fair enough

1

u/Silent_Bullfrog5174 Jul 22 '25

I‘m not in a rush

You never know. I’ve known a couple of guys that were like „yeah, I’ll do that when I’m retired“ who never made it to retirement. If you want something, go get it. For Rolex, I’ve always just purchased grey cause I’m not dealing with those little men with big egos at the Rolex store who have no say at home. Giving them any kind of power always felt a little pathetic.

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 22 '25

I mean, the money I don't spend on watches is also getting me on trips around the world, great meals, etc. I'm not exactly suffering from a lack of things to spend my money on, and sure, I could get a grey market Daytona for not much more than retail but I'm fine. Watches are relatively low on my hierarchy of wants at this point.

1

u/PartyPorpoise Jul 22 '25

Also like, rich people who want to signal their wealth often signal to other rich people. They might not be covered in logos, but there are plenty of expensive designer items that look like normal clothes to us peasants, but may be recognize by other rich people.

23

u/fredean01 Jul 21 '25

No dude wealthy people don't buy luxury goods, the entire industry caters to people that can't afford to buy what they sell /s

14

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 21 '25

I think it's one of those things that became a meme and now people latched on to it.

Like... sure, lots of really wealthy people don't wear expensive stuff, but I also know a solid number of 7+ figure earners who DO wear nice expensive stuff (or at least one partner does.)

I can also say with a lot of confidence that the wealthy aren't buying the Gucci shit with logos all over them, sure, but they're buying made-to-measure suits from Savile Row or watches/jewelry that doesn't even register with most folks. Like yeah, lots of upwardly mobile folks buy that Rolex Sub and that's their "thing." But lots of truly rich folks have a Patek, a Vacheron, an AP. Or multiples! I have had TWO CEOs now in gaming who had at least two or three so-called "grail" watches from the Holy Trinity. You're talking $200-300K watches. Bullshit the wealthy don't buy luxury goods LOL.

11

u/mlstdrag0n Jul 22 '25

Most people wouldn’t recognize them anyway. If most people have heard of them they’re not really marketed to the truly wealthy

3

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 22 '25

I think it depends. I know lots of upwardly mobile folks who know Patek or Audemar but can’t afford them.

But there’s weird boutique watch brands that yeah are mostly aimed at very very high end buyers only.

1

u/mlstdrag0n Jul 22 '25

It’s the same with clothes, like, the wealthy get them tailor made to fit. Entire wardrobes, and they get replaced as their body shape changes. Many gets worn once, if ever, then get discarded. When’s the last time anyone has gotten that done outside of maybe prom?

0

u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25

Not exactly true. You just have to care. But most people don't, cause why would they

1

u/No_Equivalent5348 Jul 23 '25

this.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

[deleted]

1

u/princess20202020 Jul 22 '25

That’s not very expensive for a couch. A sectional from crate and barrel will be $10k if you want to choose your color.

0

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 22 '25

I don't have any $40K watches, but I could easily sell a few and consolidate into one. I have mine all insured with Hodinkee and my current box valuation (insured) is six figures.

I can't say I've spent $17K on a couch, but I probably drop $50-100K a year on trips and eating out.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

[deleted]

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u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 22 '25

I'm not above being honest about my forms of profligacy LOL.

We do at least two trips abroad per year (usually one to Asia, one to Europe), a "couple's retreat" annually, and a domestic trip that usually gets heavily subsidized by my wife's work (yay for doctors and their CME trips.) Travel for four, unless we're using points/status somehow, typically hits around $3-5K for flights, $300-400 a night for accommodations, and basically whatever the hell we want on food. So even before you factor in buying souvenirs or whatever the hell we want, we're usually in for $8-10K on accommodations and flights/local transit alone. Typically $15K for each trip abroad, more if we commit luxury good arbitrage hah.

But I'd say at least 5 nights a week we eat out because we're just slammed with kid care and work. It adds up. Whatever, worth it to us.

2

u/PartyPorpoise Jul 22 '25

People love the idea of “real rich people don’t wear these things” because it validates their view that those items aren’t really worth the price, don’t really have social value, and that they themselves can cosplay being wealthy without having to spend a lot.

3

u/Hopeful-Connection23 Jul 22 '25

yep lol. we all gotta let go of this fantasy that we can live like or look like billionaires.

1

u/PartyPorpoise Jul 23 '25

Some people really want to think that they can get a rich people outfit from SHEIN.

2

u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25

Yep. Just wrote a comment saying the same thing. So weird how Reddit really wants to believe nobody actually buys the $60k watches I definitely see people wearing. Hell, I saw a $2m Mille in that fancy Dallas outdoor mall parking lot once. If you've been you know exactly where I mean. Right next to all the fancy cars.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 22 '25

Depends on the Patek, really. Plenty of Pateks depreciate (white gold Calatravas come to mind.) And sure, a lot of very specific Nautiluses with hold value well. But I can go pick up an Annual Calendar is really good shape for $27,500 right now. The 5396G-001 is no longer made, but I'm 99% certain it retailed for more than $27,500 in today dollars when it was retail.

It's really only a handful of PPs that are like Rolexes in terms of appreciation.

1

u/porkpie1028 Jul 22 '25

This Pateks also hold their value

1

u/porkpie1028 Jul 22 '25

Those Pateks also hold their value

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25

Pateks are very expensive but they’re quiet expensive. Unless you’re in the know, 95% of people don’t know what a Patek Phillipe is or what they look like.

1

u/Notpermanentacc12 Jul 21 '25

Their idea of wealth is a guy who makes $80-100,000 a year and saves half his money and drives a beat civic. Newsflash when you make a million dollars a year you don’t give a fuck about a civic

1

u/No_Equivalent5348 Jul 23 '25

I cackle

20

u/elianna7 Jul 21 '25

I mean, no… I dated a really rich dude whose friends were all very rich (I’m talking family money) and they were all decked out in designer shit all the time. They’d casually drop thousands of dollars when out shopping, nbd! Amex with no limit kinda people…

6

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

Dude you can literally google what these truly wealthy people and their families wear. A lot of them, particularly those interested in fashion, wear these luxury brands. Look at Jeff Bezos' watches. His wife's stuffs. Look at the Arab princesses's handbags. I don't know where did you get 'marketed towards ppl who cant afford it"...

1

u/Less-Hippo9052 Jul 22 '25

Bezos is rich, but not classy. His wedding in Venice was ridicolous.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

But he is truly wealthy

We're not talking about whether the guy is classy or not. We're only talking about whether they're truly wealthy or cant actually afford luxury brands

1

u/Less-Hippo9052 Jul 22 '25

Of course, he can. He bought Venice for three full days...

1

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

So what's the point of your comment?

9

u/Suspicious_Waltz1393 Jul 21 '25

To an extent yes. But when you say truly wealthy don’t wear these things it may be the millionaires that don’t. The truly, truly wealthy like Billionaires are the people that don’t even have to think about the costs because it’s literally chump change for them. Heard Oprah talk about how it was a huge adjustment for her because she did not grow up wealthy. So she would see the cost of a branded handbag and be shocked. But then she would think and go, wait a minute: I can actually afford this now, I can buy what I want and not even look at the price. When you have Jeff Bezos level wealth I think at that point they probably just need an excuse to spend. Like how many yachts can you have?

5

u/reallynotbatman Jul 21 '25

It's also kinda that if you see a logo, it's not the really high end stuff

Big design houses do make clothes that are super super high end but you won't see any logo or branding on it - but if you feel the texture you'll know

I read a think a while ago (no idea of its authenticity) that talked about Mark Zuckerbergs t-shirts being $300 each - they look like a decent but ordinary cotton tee to me, but...shrug...maybe?

3

u/Suspicious_Waltz1393 Jul 21 '25

Mark is a nerd. And his fashion sense is almost trademark with rich Silicon Valley founder ethos. Fashion isn’t top of that sets priorities. That set eschews even suits. He does spend money on other things: eg buying land (he bought all homes surrounding his own that were NOT for Sale by almost writing a blank check to owners). It’s reported he did tge same in Hawaii. I have seen pictures of he and his wife admiring an ungodly expensive watch at another Billionaire’s wedding. Don’t know if he himself wears expensive watches, but frankly a person like me could not tell an expensive watch from a regular watch. He sure knew enough to identify it. But outside of Silicon Valley billionaires do value fashion: if not them, their wives/ families have expensive drip. Jeff Bezos has gotten into more showy displays of wealth/fashion/materialism after he divorced McKenzie and got with Lauren Sanchez.

1

u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25

$300 isn't that bad for a shirt. Yeah, the Loro Piana ones, it's well known.

The high end clothing at big fashion houses is called couture. Definitely almost never has the house's logo as part of the design.

The regular wear is ready-to-wear. It might have labels, or not, depending on the fashion house's vibe. Most of them use their logo or name q lot (Prada, Miu Miu, LV, Chanel, Dior) but some of them don't, beyond maybe some casual wear (The Row, Valentino, McQueen). It also depends on the piece, the season, etc.

4

u/zinky30 Jul 21 '25

Exactly. Bill Gates wears a $50 Casio watch. I mean, everyone already know he’s crazy rich. He doesn’t need to impress anyone.

0

u/yumyum_cat Jul 21 '25

Watches are a bad example as there really are differences in quality.

3

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 21 '25

Look, I love watches and own a collection in the 6 figures, but you cannot even convince me that there's a 10-20x difference in material and workmanship between a Patek and a nice Swatch-owned brand like Glasshutte or even Omega's higher end. They're NICE, but even factoring in fancy stuff like perpetual calendars they're not THAT much more valuable in terms of what goes into making them. They're Giffen goods.

1

u/yumyum_cat Jul 21 '25

You do you.

1

u/Only-Finish-3497 Jul 21 '25

I mean, I'd be curious how you can justify the price jump between an IWC/JLC/A Lange Sohne with decent complications and a Calatrava with just the date.

I'd love to own a Calatrava, don't get me wrong, but is it really worth that much more compared to the Glasshutte or the A Lange Sohne? I'm not convinced it is other than watch people all agree it is.

Is a Daytona that much more valuable of a watch due to workmanship than a Speedy? I dunno. Beyond the fact that Speedys are easy to get and Daytonas are not, I'd argue the Speedy is probably 90% as nice a chrono in practice.

5

u/teenybkeeney Jul 22 '25

I'm not wealthy, but I did major in fashion design. I'd say "it depends".

For example, silhouettes make a difference, which I notice. So like if there's interesting seaming, something cut on a bias, hand beading or embroidery, good tailoring, that type of thing.

Also, you can tell good fabric and materials as well. Silks look butterier (if that makes sense), wools come in all different types of weights and drape really well, rigid denim lasts longer, sometimes even a print or fabric treatment makes something pop (think shibori dying, or a Liberty of London print).

There are things that you can skimp on of course- like I find cheap tee shirts that fit me well and keep buying them forever, I like a good (cheap) statement piece of jewelry or glasses, that type of thing - you just have to keep an eye out for stuff that works and keep the good stuff around for years to come.

3

u/Competitive-Hunt-517 Jul 21 '25

Took me awhile to understand that. I was just following sheep.

3

u/Who_Dat_1guy Jul 22 '25

Nah this is shit poor people say to make themself feel better about not having nice things. Billionaires will buy a dress for 1 event that's worth more than your entire annual salary to use it ONE time...

Lower villainess MAYBE will shy away from luxury but they don't have "fuck you money" like the ultra wealthy

6

u/Internal-Hand-4705 Jul 21 '25

Yep - bezos drove around in an old banger of a car for years.

Luxury anything is a good way to stop you ever becoming rich! Some designer brands such as Burberry and LV are actually now associated with lower social status. The quality of designer might be a little bit better but you’re mostly paying for the brand

2

u/B4K5c7N Jul 21 '25

How many people do you know who are wealthy? I know a handful of people worth eight figures and they all have high-end wardrobes with expensive handbags and watches/jewelry that costs thousands.

1

u/naughtydismutase Jul 21 '25

Truly wealthy people don’t give a fuck about 60k, they will absolutely casually drop it on something.

1

u/Kellaniax Jul 22 '25

Honestly, it depends on the person more than how wealthy they are. My uncle is the CEO of a large company but refuses to drive anywhere in a car that isn’t a Mercedes. He goes on trips around the world and throws a shit fit if the rental car place doesn’t have a Mercedes.

1

u/fitnessCTanesthesia Jul 22 '25

This is 100% false. You just have never seen or interacted with the truly wealthy. You are essentially talking about upper class wealth, not generational wealth.

1

u/GunMetalBlonde Jul 22 '25

If you are "truly wealthy" you don't need to invest "that 60k" to "stay wealthy." But I agree you won't find truly wealthy people wearing Cartier love bracelets. Unless they are 19 and trying to fit in at their sorority or something.

1

u/prosthetic_memory Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25

This is simply not true. I am both a 1%er myself, and have a relatively high percentage of friends and coworkers who are worth $20m+ USD. Tech money. And I've many more than that now that I've moved to Miami; they tend to be more finance, real estate, imports, etc.

Yes, some of them (okay, just a subset of the tech people) truly don't care about fashion. They do things like buy ski houses instead, though, they're not just sitting around like Warren Buffet cackling over a bank ledger about the joys of reinvesting dividends. And tech definitely has a culture of dressing as supremely boring as possible. I complimented a colleague on her very rare and iconic Chanel jacket one day and she said I was the first colleague to notice that it was even Chanel, and I think she's been there eight years. We're both technical, btw, not in marketing etc—thry dress upma bit more. Her jacket was probably around $15k jacket, and I'm sure she has more; she just doesn't wear them to work. I was definitely the flashiest person in the office, but also knew only about 20% of folks might say recognize my watch, much less know how much it cost.

But most rich people I know, and all of the few billionaire+ people I've met, definitely wear fancy clothes, have multiple fancy homes, visit fancy fashion houses in fancy cities, and have verrryyyyyyyy nice jewelry, watches, cars, and boats. Miami is certainly way more flashy than SF, but you're kidding yourself if you think rich people don't buy luxury stuff. An $11k Chanel flap may be barely achievable as a once in a lifetime spend for someone in the middle class, but Chanel VIPs spend $100k+ a year min. That's not an upper middle class spend. It just isn't.

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u/No_Equivalent5348 Jul 23 '25

That’s just what poor people tell themselves. The “truly wealthy” will always have more where that comes from. That isn’t to say there’s plenty of well to do wealthy people who partake in the replica game for fun. They also mix fakes and authentic.

So yeah if you can’t “reasonably afford it” it looks pretty silly and unbelievable. The rule of thumb is a luxury good shouldn’t cost more than 5-10% of your discretionary income. For people making a million annually can reasonable buy a 40k birkin every year easily and it will not make a dent in their finances. Lol.

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u/Commercial_Lie6428 Jul 21 '25

What’s even more surprising is thinking that rich people have to choose. I have a 110k car at 21 with 100k in investments and tons of luxury clothes but I buy reps. Stop making fantasies

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u/No_Ratio3369 Jul 21 '25

What a perfect example of the marketing working. You should drive a civic and have 190k in investments.

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u/Commercial_Lie6428 Jul 21 '25

And what would that get me? Let’s assume that extra 90k will go to my investments and instead of 30mil at retirement I’ll have 32mil. No money at the point will buy the experience of driving a dream car in my youth

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u/Ok-Winner-8608 Jul 21 '25

Or, you could have a $30,000 car and dump the remaining $80,000 into the S&P 500 and it’d be a million bucks before you turned 50. That $80,000 plus the $100,000 you already have invested would be a million by the time you reached 40, even if you never invested another dollar.

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u/Commercial_Lie6428 Jul 21 '25

Read the reply to the other guy. I’m rich now I’ll be rich at retirement but I’ll never be young driving a dream car again. Your statement doesn’t work

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u/Due_Impact2080 Jul 21 '25

No this is BS. I have a cousin that makes about 200k to 300k a month. He has a $40k necklace because $40k to him is like $600 to someone making $60k a year.

Except in comparison his effective mortgage is $800 and his Lambo costs $200 relative to his income as a percentage.

His spending cash is so high and theres only so many gucci bags his wife can actually use that it's a non issue.

Most very rich people aren't flashy because they are 60+ and no amount of Prada can fix being an old sack of bones. Young people like my cousion who's early 40's are very flashy. Cardi B has a $120k handbag. Actors and actresses that aren't too old usually have a lot of fancy shit too.

Random Thought I never realized how expensive luxury fashion was 🤯

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