Walmart, Dollar General, & even Goodwill’s clothing is normally on the cheaper side of the bill. Yet, if you see someone wearing Gucci, Supreme, or any other popular mall/outlet brands out in public, would you judge them on being too superficial about their fashion? Or would you not care because it doesn’t matter to you at all? It’s not your money/fashion style, so…
However, I see it first hand with my youngest brother who’s about to start high school: He only cares about what everyone else (stereotypically) wears in high school, even though I didn’t care at all back when I was in high school, & no one said anything or cared about my own personal style.
Furthermore, I feel like our younger generation cares too much about style to the point of spending too much on a simple pair of jeans. Even though I’m slightly picky as well, I’ll never spend over $100 on a pair of jeans. Maybe some of the parents on this forum have been through a conversation about “trying to fit in” with their own kids. Going on, sales & discounted prices are important ways to save money. For example, I found a nice pair of Adidas shoes for only $20, even though the final price was only $11-12 during a current discounted sale period.
Overall, just look out for deals, sales, & discounts if you want to save some extra cash.
That observation has been made every single year since they first sewed together figleafs.
I personally go for comfort over style, but I am also not spending my time sifting through bargain racks or driving all over town just to save a few bucks.
I will. But for me jeans (and shoes) are the exception within reason.If I find a brand that fits and well and is comfortable, I’ll spend a few extra bucks. What I won’t do is spend over $100 on a t shirt.
As for other people, I rarely notice,and don’t care, what they wear. People can spend their money however they want.
If you’re ~23-years-old, you are the younger generation. If you’re “slightly picky” about your own clothes, why isn’t okay for your brother to be?
If your parents will spend $100 on a pair of jeans for your brother there’s not much you can do. When he’s old enough to earn his own money he may make different choices. If they won’t spend that much your brother’s going to have to make other choices now.
Your brother doesn’t need to be a clone of you. If you are “slightly picky” that is your prerogative, if he is more “label conscious” that is his prerogative. If money is an issue he can either buy fewer but more expensive clothes, find some of his “name” clothes at discount stores, or get a part-time job to help pay for them. Perhaps your brother is simply in a social group where appearance/clothing matters more and he wants to fit in at the start of HS.
I would not judge him one way or another based on clothes alone. There are many many more important attributes (ex. kindness, hard-working, etc.) that I would care about in a brother before get to clothing.
Spending a ton of money on clothes to ‘look cool’ or ‘fit in’ isn’t really generational. Wearing clothes by expensive brands has been considered a status symbol for ages and tons of older people will shell out hundreds of dollars for name brand clothes (and cars, purses, shoes, etc.). I’m not saying it’s good or that it makes sense (it’s definitely not smart to buy a ton of expensive clothing if you can’t sustain that kind of spending), but that’s generally how it goes. As long as your brother/parents aren’t going having to skimp on basic needs for his jeans, this seems like a conversation that can be left to your parents. If you want to talk to him, you should steer the conversation towards “Why do you feel like you need these things to fit in?” instead of “I think you’re being silly for wanting expensive jeans”. Freshman year is usually a rough time and people handle things in different ways. Just be compassionate!
You should also consider that quality matters when buying clothes (not that more expensive clothes always equal better quality). I personally don’t care about how the status of a brand, but if I know a certain brand of clothing looks good and will last a really long time, I may be willing to spend a little more. Walmart/Dollar General Clothing tends to fall apart after a year or two, possibly less so I stay away from it because I’m privileged enough to do that.
I taught my kids that we don’t wear name brands because why should we pay someone to advertise their product - they should pay us. A family joke is that only one of the kids is allowed to wear a particular designer/brand that uses initials because they are that child’s actual initials - but any product is from the thrift shop.
Before I went to Europe last year, I bought a ton of clothing at K-Mart, primarily shirts and dresses. I got so many compliments on the tops I was wearing. The HR director at my office complimented a shirt I was wearing and when I told her it was from K-Mart, she said maybe we should pay you more! I wish they would, but I still wouldn’t buy designer clothing.
BTW, $100 for a pair of jeans? OMG! The last pair of jeans I bought (about 8 years ago) were $20 Gloria Vanderbilts at Costco.
Two of my sons rarely wear anything other than black shirts, no prints, no designs. My oldest son wears colored shirts, but no patterns, and the other wears primarily white t shirts when he’s out of his USPS uniform. None of my sons wears jeans. They all prefer cargo/EMT pants with pockets or gym shorts with pockets. I was pretty shocked to learn that cargo/EMT pants could cost >50. My D shops primarily at thrift shops. Her prom dress was so pretty that a photo was put into the local paper. I paid $25 for it at a thrift shop.
I do tend to look down on people who live for expensive clothing and let others know it. If you just wear it, I think it’s your money, go ahead and spend it how you want, but if you flaunt it, I think you are shallow.
I’m not giving my brother a hard time at all, but when I bought him some Nike socks that he wanted, he said that the color was right, but the design was “wrong” & refused to take them. So, I just gave them to a friend of mine who gladly accepted my gift. Even though it kinda rubbed me the wrong way that day, I quickly got over it. I also understand that he’s about to start high school, (which is usually difficult for most incoming freshmen), so maybe his view on fashion may change in the future, especially when he starts working/dealing with his own money.
On an extra note, Walmart is under/over rated when it comes to their clothing IMO. It all depends on your own personal style/preference when it comes to fashion.
When I look at a piece of clothing (the way it hangs) and when I put it on I know if it is of good quality without looking at the brand. I will buy throw away summer cotton clothes at stores like Uniqlo or even Zara, but I will buy most of my clothes and shoes from few name brands that I am familiar with. I will wait for them to go on sale most of the time because I am into value.
I am with Skieruope, I won’t go through racks of discount clothes. I am too old for that.
My girls grew up appreciate nice clothing. One of them subscribe to Rent the Runway, so she could get different dresses every month and not have to spend a lot of money. When D1 was in college, she said she was good at being superficial. At the same time, I do not believe just because someone wears nice clothes it means the person is superficial. More expensive clothes do often mean better quality, except for Ralph Lauren(even their black or purple label).
The millionaires I have met when we went golfing do not wear their wealth. I always share with students that a person who does not value their identity often tries to create one on expensive accessories and clothing. None of my outfits top to bottom equal more than $40 including my sneakers. I wear nice clothes on sale because investments and traveling the world are more fulfilling than a bunch of companies who truly dont care about the demographic they market to. Please share with him his value is in who he is, his amazingness, his intellect, and not what others are wearing. When he owns a brand someday with his MBA those same people will scramble to buy his stuff.
I don’t spend a lot of money on clothes, most of the time I usually watch YT tutorials on how to wear tops in different ways. You don’t need to spend a lot, sometime you just have to be creative.
For me, I don’t really care about name brand. I’ve worn the same outfit for the past 2 and a half years, all seasons. Jeans and a 1 of 2 light jackets. 90 degrees out or sub zero(throw in some gloves and a hat). The second light jacket is a nice Puma one my mom got me which was on sale.
However, I will wear my old one as the end of the sleeves are worn out a bit, which exposes a gap between the two layers at the end of the sleeve; that allows me to have a figurative ‘ace’ up my sleeve during midterms or finals.
I like to look neat and put together but only rarely do I have to dress “professionally”—a t-shirt or simple top, jeans, and sneakers or boots gets me through most of the year. Most of my t-shirts are at least 3 years old at this point and still look fine. I rarely wear anything that outwardly displays name brands. However, with things that I wear or use almost every day, I like name brand items and I’m likely to spend a little more because I know they’ll stand up to the challenge; things like aforementioned jeans, shoes and boots, bags, etc. I spend more, less often and I’m always on the lookout for sales, thrift finds, and outlets like Zappos which usually give 10-20% savings.
I am in my second career and spend a lot of time outside in all kinds of weather and so while I am not trendy or fashionable by any means, I am both very particular and loyal to several brands - because their clothes successfully keep me warm, cool, dry, steady or pain free (footwear) as necessary.
