The simple fact of the matter is that people have essentially zero expectations when it comes to aesthetics in the public realm. This lack of expectations also

The simple fact of the matter is that people have essentially zero expectations when it comes to aesthetics in the public realm. This lack of expectations also comes with a lack of education, which means that they both lack aesthetic literacy and don’t care about correcting it. Hence you get hoodies and sweatpants as the default fashion and boxes as the default building style. It has very little to do with actual cost of making the items. None of this will change until it becomes socially unacceptable to dress poorly or build an ugly house. And considering that H. L. Mencken commented on the “American lust for the hideous” a century ago, it’s probably never going to get better.