By Sofia Lamdichi | February 24, 2025
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Shopping for new additions to your wardrobe is often influenced by social class. In society, there is a constant struggle between desire and affordability, as people aspire to wear things they cannot afford. When thinking of the primary function of clothing, it seems unreasonable for someone to save for months just to purchase a single pair of shoes or a coat.
In the New York City tri-state area, having a coat to keep you warm is necessary for survival. Yet, the name plastered across your coat holds more value than the coat’s ability to protect you from the harsh winds and freezing temperatures outside.
To some, it is more socially acceptable to step outside in below-10-degree weather in a sleeveless Moncler vest with a hoodie underneath than a Burlington jacket.
Placing value on class symbols is something people have been doing for centuries. Functionality and quality are not something that people necessarily value. If Moncler and Moose Knuckles made coats with terrible quality and Walmart made better quality coats, people would still spend their money on the Moncler or Moose Knuckle because the name symbolizes status.
Fear of being shamed by others for not being able to reach societal class standards is a huge motivator in this trend. Some of the same classmates who mock others for not affording a Canada Goose coat likely had to spend every last penny to buy their own. The top one percent won’t see middle-class individuals as 'better' simply because of what they wear—these tensions exist primarily within the same social class.
The issue should not be that one is not working hard enough to afford the same pieces of clothing as you, it should be that there is a small percentage of the population that can buy an entire collection of mink fur coats off the backs of those that get made fun of for being 19 and wearing a jacket they have had since they were 16.
If people put the same energy into judging others and stressing over getting a new winter coat every year as they do into investing in themselves and the people around them who may be struggling, the middle class would have more power. Obsessing over looking like the top one percent will not turn you into them, it only gives them more power when one aspires to reach their level in the form of owning something they may not even care about.
True progress will never be seen for the middle class when superficial ideals are upheld more than logical ones. It is superficial to think you are doing better than others in life because you are wearing a one-thousand-dollar coat while living a little above the poverty line. It does not make you any better than those who live right on the poverty line and need to save their money to potentially rent a better home rather than wear the clothes of someone who owns two homes.
It is your right to spend your money in the way you see fit, however, it cannot be contested that those who choose to judge others for having different spending habits are standing in the way of true class consciousness.