I don't judge people by their clothing -I think that's ridiculous. I have an interest in fashion, but I see it as that, an interest, the same as an interest in art, or a particular taste in music. I would never judge anyone because they didn't share my interest in Austrian art, just as I hope nobody judges me for not having a particularly refined or sophisticated taste in music or wine, or indeed any knowledge of sport.
A lot of my friends don't know the first thing about fashion, only own enough clothing to get them through the week if they rewear it all twice, wear falling-apart trainers and threadbare jumpers when we go out to eat and I couldn't give a damn. They have other interests which make them interesting people. I understand people who say that they respect the style of someone who's dressed well more than someone who's wearing a pink juicy tracksuit and uggs -that's fair enough -but to translate this into respect for a person I think is appalling. However much I love clothes, I realise this isn't necessary to be a passable human being and some of the opinions on this thread make me feel like people equate carrying a real handbag with being a decent person. It's just a material possession; you don't need any personal qualities other than money to buy a chanel bag.
Given all that, there's a different kind of snobbery within fashion -that is, saying that there is a certain taste level which is just better. When I used to lurk on this board I thought there was a certain orthodoxy to the opinions people express - anything yohi or dries is amaazing, anything too mainstream is bleugh. Having spent more time here I think I've changed my mind in that I think people are very willing to appreciate all different tastes and styles -and price points. Certainly more than TPF which is less about fashion and more about out-spending each other, to my view. Still, it can be somewhat alienating, trying to find a way into a fashion-lover's world when you don't have access to high-end pieces or to a vast plethora of cheap vintage shops, as most people don't.
Another thing I don't like is the insinuation that you can't get 'quality' without going designer. This is absolutely not true. I have tried on designer clothes that are horrible quality (someone mentioned the patterns not matching on a printed dolce dress -I have an £11 dress from ASDA which managed to keep the pattern continuous, and although I love vivienne westwood so many of her clothes have poor stitching on the buttons and aren't lined properly -I've seen unlined coats!), I have lots of cheaper clothing which is fabulous quality. I have a Custo Barcelona dress, for example, which although it comes from a company that seems somewhat 'tacky' in its presentation and isn't super high end, is one of the best constructed pieces I've ever had. My mother took it in for me and was absolutely stunned at the workmanship -all the patterns matched at the (many) seams, everything was double-lined and just impeccable inside.
As for handbags, again, price isn't an indicator of quality. My mother is incredibly rough on handbags, broke a LV in under six months and bought herself this heavy duty leather thing from a souk in Marrakesh. Three years later that's still going strong. It might be true that if you pay £500 for a handbag you get something which you treasure for longer, and which you consider to be a more 'special' piece, but to suggest that people who buy cheaper bags are toting around badly stitched together, shoddy quality pieces of rubbish is just wrong. There is not £400 worth of difference in the quality between a topshop leather bag and a Mulberry, believe me.
My point is, it's so important to remember that fashion is about things. Sometimes they're beautiful, sometimes they're personal, sometimes they're wearable art. But it's just collecting objects, like collecting pebbles or pokemon cards. You can't really judge other people as inferior because they'd rather collect something else. And just because something means a lot to you, doesn't mean that you have acheived some kind of superior level to those who have a slightly cheaper, more common pebble.
and its durability. the tag on the piece is not of interest. though i hope to eventually get to a point where all the clothing i own is untagged.
