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Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

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Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#521

Post by bloodyplonker22 »

thelittleone wrote: post #414
pclmulqdq wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a bit of an idea now that you should be expressing yourself with your money, not expressing society's ideas. Around cars and watches, this creates a little bit of a "dead zone" for prestigious professionals. For example, if you aren't showing up in a $200k Maserati, your car had better be under $50k (maybe $70k with inflation). Only posers who aren't really into cars but want to show off their wealth…

I had a business associate point out once how my mont blanc watch didn't have its own movement. Singapore is an interesting place in this regard. We had several young guys in our office who wore $10k plus watches while still living with their parents.

There is a chance he was trying to help you and not be condescending to you. I am not a watch person, but even I know that Mont Blanc, kind of like Beats Audio, is not really known for their fine craftsmanship in watches. They're more about marketing, like Beats.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#522

Post by astrange »

onetimeusename wrote: post #327
pfisherman wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Wearing a suit to a tech company will probably get you ostracized even if you just like wearing suits. Not true. If you are a menswear enthusiast who is genuinely into fine tailoring, then people will respect it and even show interest. Generally, having hobbies and interests adds to one’s character. Now wearing a suit because you think it will make people take you more seriously will get you some side eye.

maybe. I'd like to think that is true but was not in my experience but I wish I had experimented more before everything went remote so maybe take what I am saying with a grain of salt on this matter. I definitely took shit for it although some people were fascinated. I think the exception is if you have long hair or are a steampunk enthusiast. I am not really kidding. Even then you might come off as odd. I sometimes…

If you need someone to disrespect you for being a steampunk enthusiast, I’m available. Nobody looks good in brown, and it seems to be the kind of people who think wearing a sleeveless vest is “fancy” - they actually look like wedding bartenders.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#523

Post by astrange »

kevinventullo wrote: post #348
onetimeusename wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rolex hatred seems like it is about expressing contempt towards the previous establishment. Presidents used to wear them (still do actually) but it's not uncommon to see very rich politicians wearing very cheap watches probably deliberately. Same goes for suit wearing. I think pg wrote an article on his blog about how suit wearing was for people who thought like conformists and obviously being a conformist was not fo…

I’ve never understood where this meme came from of hoodie culture having some kind of disdain for suits. I enjoy a nice suit when the time calls for it! Say, a wedding or a holiday party. The reason I prefer a hoodie to suit on a daily basis is that putting on a suit is kind of arduous and owning 20 well-fitting suits gets expensive. It has nothing to do with signaling or whatever. Hoodies are far more practical and…

It’s real, but I think the anti-suit culture has less of a point when tech has been ascendant so long.

https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-were-apple-we-don...

Also, I think it was originally because the west coast is warm all year.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#524

Post by astrange »

neilknowsbest wrote: post #483
vba616 wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somewhere I read that a Rolex has a very practical purpose - a real one is a commodity that can fairly easily be turned into cash or a bribe in an emergency, but as a watch, it's not susceptible to being seized by authorities in many circumstances where cash or gold might be. I don't know if this is true, but it makes a good story.

Along this vein, I've heard somewhere that pimps wear lots of jewelry because they can pawn it for bail money. Apparently cash can be seized on arrest, but jewelry is classified as some sort of personal property and thus won't be taken.

That is the reason women used to own jewelry and you were supposed to give them expensive wedding rings. They couldn’t have bank accounts!

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#526

Post by fomine3 »

jakear wrote: post #372
aix1 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the Land Cruiser will be passed down for many generations Wait, what sort of longevity are we taking about? 15 years? 20? I don't think we humans can reproduce quickly enough for that to span "many generations". :-)

Way more. Land Cruisers can last 40+ easily. Do a craigslist search and you’ll find them in fully working condition. I don’t think the so-called “safety features” developed in the next 20 years are as valuable as the others predict. We’re already very safe in cars, especially massive modern ones like the cruiser. If you’re driving fast/reckless enough to get killed in one today more safety features aren’t what you ne…

It's valuable for pedestrian.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#527

Post by nobodyandproud »

cercatrova wrote: post #503
nobodyandproud wrote: post #491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I like t-shirts and jeans and never want to go back to suits and ties but.. When I went to Japan a decade ago, I realized just how informal and slovenly American working attire had become.

Notice how that's all for show too. Relatedly, Japanese people often don't work harder than Americans, they simply stay at the office longer. I also prefer what lack of formal attire signals: in Japanese workplaces, the more senior, the more respect for their ideas, regardless of whether the idea is actually better. Formal attire legitimizes their seniority but I'd rather have a meritocratic system of vetting ideas,…

This is true.

Though I think many imitate regardless of the tribe/workforce/culture in order to fit in.

Look at the schools. It’s informal but there are definitely trends and fashions to follow in order to relate.

Just a thought, but the change in attire, then, is to create some formal distance between management and direct reports.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#528

Post by __turbobrew__ »

thelittleone wrote: post #414
pclmulqdq wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a bit of an idea now that you should be expressing yourself with your money, not expressing society's ideas. Around cars and watches, this creates a little bit of a "dead zone" for prestigious professionals. For example, if you aren't showing up in a $200k Maserati, your car had better be under $50k (maybe $70k with inflation). Only posers who aren't really into cars but want to show off their wealth…

I had a business associate point out once how my mont blanc watch didn't have its own movement. Singapore is an interesting place in this regard. We had several young guys in our office who wore $10k plus watches while still living with their parents.

In my experience East Asian culture prioritizes having nice clothes, nice cars, and nice jewelry over having a nice home.

Other buy a home well beyond their needs but drive a honda shitbox and wear old navy (me).

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#529

Post by jhauris »

b112 wrote: post #450
SoftTalker wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very senior/wealthy people can get away with whatever they want. It's why Zuckerberg can look like a total slob at Facebook (notice he still wore a suit while testifying to Congress though). If a senior executive wore a $200 suit to work, nobody would say a word.

(notice he still wore a suit while testifying to Congress though). Don't like the guy, his company, his policies. And I tend to repect our elected officals more than most. But the idea of showing up dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, and/or a hoodie, make me smile broadly.

You may enjoy Dee Snider's speech to the Senate: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Vyr1TylTE

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#530

Post by kbelder »

steveBK123 wrote: post #489
vineyardmike wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Clothing seems to be the same at many companies: you had better wear tailored suits and shirts or be less dressy than "business casual." There’s a running joke in my circle about the “dad professional class”. People who are older (40-60s) and go to the office in a remote-work-accepting world mostly because they seem to want to leave their family at home. They all dress like shit in ill-fitting clothes, but because…

Agism, not cool.

Youths are like that. He'll learn better over time, but by then a new gaggle of pretentious younglings will be making fun of him for not wearing fruit replicas on his head, or something similar.
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