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This opened my eyes because the Chinese international students in my university (the only contact I have with people from that country) buy the most extravagant

This opened my eyes because the Chinese international students in my university (the only contact I have with people from that country) buy the most extravagant stuff. I'm somewhat knowledgeable about fashion brands, and I see them wear what would amount to $1000+ in outfits daily. And that's just clothing I recognize. "Wanting to own everything" (that is trendy!) is a common stereotype of them in my university. That said, in general they're humble and nice. Guess I'm only getting exposed to the Chinese 1%, so thanks for this article.

mhurron 11y ago
> Guess I'm only getting exposed to the Chinese 1% That's probably part of it. Of course, to extrapolate large trends such as 'China's Millennials are happy to own nothing' based on 5000 or so people without looking into their ability to own things would be just as silly an sweeping generalization to make.
zhemao 11y ago
Eh, while it's true that most Chinese students who study abroad have wealthy parents, I think the article vastly overstates the prevalence of the "You+ attitude". I think the majority of Chinese would still like to own nice things if they could. My cousins on my mother's side of the family live in Shanghai, and they definitely like to buy designer and name brand goods.
z2 11y ago
I always figured that China's consumerism itself is a fashion trend. After a generation of deprivation, all this branding and the social status they promise are attractive simply it's so novel. It will hopefully get old soon, as it has for the people in the article.
deleted 11y ago
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EC1 11y ago
$1000 outfit is standard. Boots that don't suck, jeans, jackets, sweaters, watches, accessories add up super quickly.
- vijayr 11y ago
  wow, $1000 for an outfit? Mine costs less than 100$, including shoes and a jacket for the cold. What "accessories" are we talking about? Unless it is an iPhone, one can very comfortably dress in 100$ (and much less in summer)
  - EC1 11y ago
    My boots were $250 that I've had for 7 years now. Jacket $600 (going on 8 years), sweater 50, glasses 500 (going on 5 years), pants 50, other random shit. I rather buy super expensive quality items every decade than constantly shopping for small crap. Only stuff I've bought in the past half decade is maybe like a few t shirts and socks/underwear. Everything else lasts. Absolutely no clue what you wear for $100 in the Winter. Summer I can understand. I guess it's the boots/jackets that really change the price as 3 piece summer outfits I agree should be below 100.
    - kuschku 11y ago
      That’s seriously overpriced. You need to wait for special deals. A 400$ jacked can go for as low as 90$ if the season is over and you buy a winter jacket of last years collection in april. Glasses are cheaper to buy 10$ a year insurance that replace at any physical damage than to buy expensive – 190$ once, plus 10$ a year. (but I won’t count glasses for outfit, as that’s stupid – glasses are a disability tool, and I say that as someone who is short sighted). Sweater for 50 is far overpriced, look more in the direction of 10. Pants are normal, though. I’d even say a good jeans is more like 80$.
      - EC1 11y ago
        I like to look fashionable though. I already went through my $3/shirt, $35/outfit phase and it was great, but I've moved past it now. Those prices already are cheap. That's a $40/year jacket. I mean I guess I could hunt and wait for deals but I don't have the brainpower to track yet another "thing" you know? I only spent a few hundred on clothing in the past decade with the majority of my main purchases being at the start of the decade. Shaving off $50 here and there from that would do virtually nothing for me. If you shop frequently then by all means hunt for deals but I wear the exact same thing every single day (this is where I makeup the money I lost on expensive items by not getting them on sale). Please don't pretend like the prices that you are posting are in any way normal. Fit, quality, and style are greatly sacrificed for price. I can't even remember the last time I saw a $10 t-shirt that wasn't on sale or clearance.

mhurron 11y ago

> Guess I'm only getting exposed to the Chinese 1% That's probably part of it. Of course, to extrapolate large trends such as 'China's Millennials are happy to own nothing' based on 5000 or so people without looking into their ability to own things would be just as silly an sweeping generalization to make.

zhemao 11y ago

Eh, while it's true that most Chinese students who study abroad have wealthy parents, I think the article vastly overstates the prevalence of the "You+ attitude". I think the majority of Chinese would still like to own nice things if they could. My cousins on my mother's side of the family live in Shanghai, and they definitely like to buy designer and name brand goods.

z2 11y ago

I always figured that China's consumerism itself is a fashion trend. After a generation of deprivation, all this branding and the social status they promise are attractive simply it's so novel. It will hopefully get old soon, as it has for the people in the article.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

EC1 11y ago

$1000 outfit is standard. Boots that don't suck, jeans, jackets, sweaters, watches, accessories add up super quickly.

vijayr 11y ago
wow, $1000 for an outfit? Mine costs less than 100$, including shoes and a jacket for the cold. What "accessories" are we talking about? Unless it is an iPhone, one can very comfortably dress in 100$ (and much less in summer)
- EC1 11y ago
  My boots were $250 that I've had for 7 years now. Jacket $600 (going on 8 years), sweater 50, glasses 500 (going on 5 years), pants 50, other random shit. I rather buy super expensive quality items every decade than constantly shopping for small crap. Only stuff I've bought in the past half decade is maybe like a few t shirts and socks/underwear. Everything else lasts. Absolutely no clue what you wear for $100 in the Winter. Summer I can understand. I guess it's the boots/jackets that really change the price as 3 piece summer outfits I agree should be below 100.
  - kuschku 11y ago
    That’s seriously overpriced. You need to wait for special deals. A 400$ jacked can go for as low as 90$ if the season is over and you buy a winter jacket of last years collection in april. Glasses are cheaper to buy 10$ a year insurance that replace at any physical damage than to buy expensive – 190$ once, plus 10$ a year. (but I won’t count glasses for outfit, as that’s stupid – glasses are a disability tool, and I say that as someone who is short sighted). Sweater for 50 is far overpriced, look more in the direction of 10. Pants are normal, though. I’d even say a good jeans is more like 80$.
    - EC1 11y ago
      I like to look fashionable though. I already went through my $3/shirt, $35/outfit phase and it was great, but I've moved past it now. Those prices already are cheap. That's a $40/year jacket. I mean I guess I could hunt and wait for deals but I don't have the brainpower to track yet another "thing" you know? I only spent a few hundred on clothing in the past decade with the majority of my main purchases being at the start of the decade. Shaving off $50 here and there from that would do virtually nothing for me. If you shop frequently then by all means hunt for deals but I wear the exact same thing every single day (this is where I makeup the money I lost on expensive items by not getting them on sale). Please don't pretend like the prices that you are posting are in any way normal. Fit, quality, and style are greatly sacrificed for price. I can't even remember the last time I saw a $10 t-shirt that wasn't on sale or clearance.