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Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

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Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#261
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really get that comparison. The current day Land Rover / Range Rovers are very different from "very rugged and easy to repair" ones of the past as they are basically SUVs now. This might have been true for the Defender but not any more.

Land Rovers became a status signal because people with remote country homes that they kinda actually did need an off-road-capable car to reliably get to and from, would also drive them in the city sometimes, or in resort towns, or other visible places. People who had no actual use for them started imitating them and buying Land Rovers. Then people a notch down from even that level of cluefulness caught on. Land Rover…

Great example!!

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#262

Now redo the study, but IRL and with actual status clothes == high quality materials, perfect fit, nice flashy style (that means zero logos!). I made this experiment: I have few really cheap suits (looking OK but that's it) and few very expensive suits. When I wear the cheap ones, people are normal with me. When I wear the expensive ones, people wearing normal clothes don't notice and people "in the know" (wearing ex…

Ok, but move to Los Angeles and re-try that experiment.

In some environments here, I’d argue being spotted wearing a Rolex in a non-business context would get you laughed out of the room by those wearing the latest YSL shoes, Givenchy pants, and Botega Veneta belts. Sounds bizarre, right?

Like all cultural phenomenons, fashion and the status that goes along with is absolutely regional, and very much dependent on which communities you associate with.

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#263
post #95

A long time ago in one of the first properties I rented the washing machine stopped working. My flatmate called the agency and a day later, I think it was a Saturday morning, a rough looking man turned up to repair it. I remember he had a tattered pair of working jeans and a similarly tattered polo shirt on. He pulled the machine out, took it apart diagnosed the issue and popped out to his car get a part. While he wa…

That guy sounds genuine, but it gets weird when the very wealthy decide that dressing like 'regular people' is the style they want to go for. That's when you create a market for $250 pocket t-shirts and $600 denim jeans. Talk about not getting it!

He wasn't dressing like that for fun, but out of practicality anything to do with plumbing can be messy. If I remember correctly, the agencies usual handyman wasn't available so he took it upon himself to come around and sort the problem. There was no obligation for him to do that he just wanted to be a decent landlord and respectful to one of his tenants. It's good business really as we loved there for years and respected his property just as he respected us as tenants.

In other places I've rented I've had absolute arseh*oles for landlords. They wouldn't give you the time of day, but I bet their tenants were quick to move out! (I was)

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#264
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A gentleman tolerates at most two logos on his clothing: the custom clothier's and the fabric manufacturer's (Scabal, Loro Piana, etc.)

Only if they’re sewn on, instead of printed. In that situation I’d be hesitant to call it a logo at all.

They're almost always sewn on as pre-made patches nowadays, at least in my area. I will forgive the clothier a printed patch but yes the fabric manufacturer's must be woven.

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#265
post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought you said Canadian flag patch and I remembered back in the 80s hearing about friends traveling in Europe who would sew Canadian flag patches on their backpacks to hide the fact that they were from the US.

My dad talks about backpacking through Europe in the early 60's as an American and it's all open doors and family dinners in every little town. My experience more recently is that people seem to be aware that an American traveling abroad probably agrees with most of their criticisms and they're just curious about what it's really like here.

The 80s were peak ugly American. There are uglier Americans now, but they’re far less likely to leave the country.

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#266
post #253

Now redo the study, but IRL and with actual status clothes == high quality materials, perfect fit, nice flashy style (that means zero logos!). I made this experiment: I have few really cheap suits (looking OK but that's it) and few very expensive suits. When I wear the cheap ones, people are normal with me. When I wear the expensive ones, people wearing normal clothes don't notice and people "in the know" (wearing ex…

Now redo the same study but with Stanford or Harvard branded gear. This thread is hilarious to me.

I don't have the credentials to pull that off but I'd like to see someone try that!

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I make a point of either removing or covering logos on my clothing and accessories when I can't find unbranded options. A seam ripper is useful for removing sewn-on patch style logos. For embroidered or embossed logos, I often sew on a Cascadian flag patch - all of my backpacks and utility bags have them!

And here I thought I was the only one wielding a seam-ripper to this end. However, my patch for covering embroidered logos advertises Weyland-Yutani. I figure if you're going to shill for a company, it might as well be The Company. Also, for excellent quality, US-made clothes with unobtrusive and easily-removed logos, you can't go wrong with https://www.american-giant.com/ .

Thank you for the link!

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#268
post #95

A long time ago in one of the first properties I rented the washing machine stopped working. My flatmate called the agency and a day later, I think it was a Saturday morning, a rough looking man turned up to repair it. I remember he had a tattered pair of working jeans and a similarly tattered polo shirt on. He pulled the machine out, took it apart diagnosed the issue and popped out to his car get a part. While he wa…

People who have a lot of money don't want to let other people who can rob them know they have a lot of money. They've gone past the point where virtue-signaling is important to them, and where having someone say "Nice shoes!" is no longer fun for them. They can always have the best shoes and it's no longer an acknowledgement of peers but acknowledgement of 'poor people'. 90% of rich white guys wear plain T-Shirts and jeans with all bird shoes, and try to virtue-signal with things like yachts and other ridiculous things.

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People pay way more than 500% more just to have a logo on their shirt. It has nothing to do with quality.

nothing is lamer than a regular ass t-shirt with the logo of some luxury brand. To me this is just truly paying for the brand and not an actual quality product. A terrible waste of money in my opinion.

An interesting thing is people who buy knock-offs of those things for cheap. I'm not sure why, but I think there could be some kind of peer pressure-like phenomenon. I'm not talking about people who get donated clothing, as they have little choice. I mean people who go out of their way to get the knock off if they cannot afford the real one (which they may wish for).

Re: Wearing flashy/status clothes makes people less likely to cooperate with you

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in South Florida, a little bit above Miami, and work out of this little co-working space. A couple weeks ago, a new member joined, and after talking with him a bit, I learned that he had worked on the founding team for some very famous technology (don't want to name it publicly). So pretty impressive, but the guy is down to earth and humble about it, which I really respected. Some other people in the space (no…

Which coworking space at you at out of curiosity? (If you're comfortable answering) I live in Kendall and am always on the lookout for decent ones that aren't the WeWork's.

I’m in West Palm, so might be too far for you. The “a bit above” comment was relatively speaking haha. But the space itself is called 1909.
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