Nov
15
The Value of Prestige
Posted by: Brian Chan | November 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment
After reading Amelia Lak’s post on the purchasing of luxury goods, I decided to expand on the answer she gives to the question “what are you actually paying for?”
Amelia talks about the promotional costs causing the increase in price of Christian Louboutin shoes, and says that it is entirely possible to get a product of equal if not superior quality at a lower price when the price of the product is not inflated due to excess promotions.
While it is true that a prudent shopper may buy cheaper products of the same quality, the value of the items is not necessarily equal. When promotions cause products to become known for their luxury and prestige, this association with the brand may be worth more than the quality of the product itself. Although many people find it shallow to purchase expensive products for the sake of it’s high price, I think it’s entirely reasonable under the right circumstances.
Many people work very hard for their money, and have had a lot of monetary success in their lives. One way to feel proud and display their accomplishments is through spending. While it can be considered a waste, if it makes the consumer happy, I think the price can be disregarded. Why else do people work hard for money? It is not wrong to want to have nice things and to want others to know how hard you’ve worked for them. I’m not condoning teenagers being obsessed with spending their parent’s money or their entire paychecks on expensive brands of clothing, but sometimes having something nice that everyone knows is nice is a good feeling worth more than the money spent.
Aside from the appeal of being known for your wealth (or fashion sense) in everyday life, there’s also the possible need in one’s professional life. Some like to deny it, but in many industries and businesses, seeing someone wearing very expensive brands will give a more favourable impression of that person, which can be very important.
Snap judgements are made by everyone everyday, and no matter what some people say, the way you dress will influence how people see you and how they treat you. For some, manipulating this influence is worth all the money they could spend on luxurious goods, and how a product is promoted to reflect a persons status/wealth can exponentially increase a products value.
Sometimes what a piece of clothing says is more important than how it feels.