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<p>I haven’t personally heard of it, but that simply means I don’t know enough about it for me to know whether it’s prestigious or not. It doesn’t make it NOT prestigious. It simply makes it “don’t know enough yet to comment.” It may be the most luxurious hotel in Florence or in Italy for all I know. And it may be very prestigious and well regarded among the crowd of “highly experienced, in-the-know travelers in Italy who know the off-the-beaten path places and experiences.” Which is the crowd whose opinions I’d care about, not the opinions of the masses.</p>
<p>And if I were researching hotels to stay in, and I came across this hotel, and the reviews from trusted sources convinced me that it was high quality, luxurious, worth the money, etc., I’d stay there even if no one in my neighborhood / book club / town / local Starbucks knew of it. Because whether or not it was prestigious to THEM is of no importance or consequence whatsoever.</p>
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<p>Yes, RML. We can tell that it’s very important to you that other people recognize how expensive your belongings are. You might want to leave the price tags on, it’s easier for them that way. </p>
<p>You might want to consider that feeling good when other people see and recognize your possessions isn’t really “prestigious” behavior. The true elites in this country, at least, buy what they want and do what they want precisely because they’ve made it enough that they don’t need to care what the masses think. That’s why you’ll find preppy blue-bloods who could buy and sell all of us wearing Mummy’s old cashmere cardigan and sister’s hand-me-down khakis, and it’s the nouveau riche wannabes who make sure that the designer labels are showing so that everyone knows precisely how much they paid. Wanting so badly to impress others isn’t the behavior of the elites you are aspiring to. </p>
<p>I think quiet self-confidence and self-assurance that what you are buying / doing is high quality is far more “elite” than constantly looking around and saying, “See? Do I impress you yet with all the things I’m buying / doing? How about now?”</p>
<p>I have a hand-me-down Bottega Veneta bag from my mother that I’ve carried off and on for the last 15 years. It doesn’t have the obvious-to-the-masses branding of Gucci, Fendi or Louis Vuitton. But YK something? <em>I</em> can tell it’s high quality by how it’s made. The people who know good quality recognize a BV bag and know that it’s a well-made classic investment. The people in line with me at Starbucks? What do I care if they recognize it for what it is? </p>
<p>It’s <em>other people’s problem</em> if they don’t know enough to know what quality of “stuff” I might buy, do, use, or in the case of college, send my kids to. It’s not <em>my</em> problem nor is it anything I need to rectify by ensuring the brands I buy / do / use / send my kids to are prestigious enough to impress those around me. Apparently, you do.</p>