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Luxury spending is made to satisfy a very deep human need: show off purported wealth, possibly like animal dances before mating. So, the carbon footprint and g

by xwolfi 6y ago

Luxury spending is made to satisfy a very deep human need: show off purported wealth, possibly like animal dances before mating. So, the carbon footprint and global warming, while interesting problems, won't exactly supercede mating parades in humans. Possibly instead, europeans lost a lot more money in the crisis, dont want to mate anymore, or stores are closed. I doubt, as a European myself, that fringe political consideration mattered when choosing between a Vuitton and a chinese handbag. Possibly, the Vuitton had a smaller footprint.

qnsi 6y ago
second hand has way smaller footprint. Also your take about signaling wealth is hilarious. Do you think reasonally educated women would prefer a guy with luxurious clothes? For me and my network that would be obnoxious. There is also counter signalling which you can read about. It explains why billionaires in Sillicon Valley wear H&M t-shirts and not L&V
- tim333 6y ago
  In my experience women are surprisingly influenced by what clothes a guy wears. I've had a couple of women say to me that they are puzzled themselves as to why they are attracted to guys who dress well/cool in ways that don't really make logical sense.
  - murukesh_s 6y ago
    when in the modern history attraction made logical sense? i thought attraction was a measure of physical/mental fitness when such traits mattered (pre-cavemen) for hunting and raising kids.
- Bayart 6y ago
  >second hand has way smaller footprint. Guess what, handcrafted goods retain far more value and last much longer on the second hand market. The luxury industry and the second market have a lot of synergy. >Do you think reasonally educated women would prefer a guy with luxurious clothes? They do. Women much prefer men who aren't negligent about their appearance. And it's not just about bling.
- FDSGSG 6y ago
  >It explains why billionaires in Sillicon Valley wear H&M t-shirts and not L&V Cucinelli and Loro Piana, not H&M :)
flohofwoe 6y ago
I'd argue that this sort of "showing off" has now mostly been replaced with driving an electric vehicle, consuming organic food or turning to vegan food (and talking about it), keeping your body in shape at the gym, etc... All fairly expensive activities, but none of those include luxury fashion ;) As with many other things, the pandemic might just have accelerated a change that was slowly happening anyway.
simonebrunozzi 6y ago
Brilliant comment - you also managed to describe what I already believed to be true, but in a much more succinct way.
vladvasiliu 6y ago
There may be some merit to the "money problems" arguments, although I'm not sure that people buying luxury fashion items have been hit particularly hard by the crisis. > Luxury spending is made to satisfy a very deep human need: show off purported wealth, possibly like animal dances before mating. This seems more likely to me. To show off, you need to be in the presence of other people. With widespread lockdowns and bans on gatherings, there's less of an opportunity to do this.
- emteycz 6y ago
  The rich people in Europe aren't 100,000x richer than the average individual. They are 5x, sometimes 10x, and very rarely 100x richer. Most of people that were considered rich here really got poor, especially since many of them derived income from running service and tourism businesses. The few hyper-rich industrialists who profited are much less than a statistical error. Consider: It is rather usual to be acquainted or even a friend with a dollar millionaire in the US, and low millions "aren't even much", while just few million euro places you near the absolute top in Europe.
  - FDSGSG 6y ago
    Depends on where in Europe. The really rich tend to congregate in a few places. A few million won't get you far in Courchevel, you'll still feel poor in Porto Cervo and be nobody at all in London.

by xwolfi 6y ago

qnsi 6y ago

second hand has way smaller footprint. Also your take about signaling wealth is hilarious. Do you think reasonally educated women would prefer a guy with luxurious clothes? For me and my network that would be obnoxious. There is also counter signalling which you can read about. It explains why billionaires in Sillicon Valley wear H&M t-shirts and not L&V

tim333 6y ago
In my experience women are surprisingly influenced by what clothes a guy wears. I've had a couple of women say to me that they are puzzled themselves as to why they are attracted to guys who dress well/cool in ways that don't really make logical sense.
- murukesh_s 6y ago
  when in the modern history attraction made logical sense? i thought attraction was a measure of physical/mental fitness when such traits mattered (pre-cavemen) for hunting and raising kids.
Bayart 6y ago
>second hand has way smaller footprint. Guess what, handcrafted goods retain far more value and last much longer on the second hand market. The luxury industry and the second market have a lot of synergy. >Do you think reasonally educated women would prefer a guy with luxurious clothes? They do. Women much prefer men who aren't negligent about their appearance. And it's not just about bling.
FDSGSG 6y ago
>It explains why billionaires in Sillicon Valley wear H&M t-shirts and not L&V Cucinelli and Loro Piana, not H&M :)

flohofwoe 6y ago

I'd argue that this sort of "showing off" has now mostly been replaced with driving an electric vehicle, consuming organic food or turning to vegan food (and talking about it), keeping your body in shape at the gym, etc... All fairly expensive activities, but none of those include luxury fashion ;) As with many other things, the pandemic might just have accelerated a change that was slowly happening anyway.

simonebrunozzi 6y ago

Brilliant comment - you also managed to describe what I already believed to be true, but in a much more succinct way.

vladvasiliu 6y ago

There may be some merit to the "money problems" arguments, although I'm not sure that people buying luxury fashion items have been hit particularly hard by the crisis. > Luxury spending is made to satisfy a very deep human need: show off purported wealth, possibly like animal dances before mating. This seems more likely to me. To show off, you need to be in the presence of other people. With widespread lockdowns and bans on gatherings, there's less of an opportunity to do this.

emteycz 6y ago
The rich people in Europe aren't 100,000x richer than the average individual. They are 5x, sometimes 10x, and very rarely 100x richer. Most of people that were considered rich here really got poor, especially since many of them derived income from running service and tourism businesses. The few hyper-rich industrialists who profited are much less than a statistical error. Consider: It is rather usual to be acquainted or even a friend with a dollar millionaire in the US, and low millions "aren't even much", while just few million euro places you near the absolute top in Europe.
- FDSGSG 6y ago
  Depends on where in Europe. The really rich tend to congregate in a few places. A few million won't get you far in Courchevel, you'll still feel poor in Porto Cervo and be nobody at all in London.