$100 Jeans are for the weak minded

I have to admit, I have never always been so adverse to name brand goods. And when I say name brand goods, I mean the really expensive stuff that far exceeds the value given by the increased durability and ease of use. There once was a time I was shopping with a friend and we were looking at expensive jeans at an outlet store costing close to $100 a pair. This is an outlet already so the actual cost at the retail store would be close to $200.

Psychologically, I might have jumped the gun and bought it to fit in or to impress that I can purchase it without flinching. But that little show was for the weak minded for I was weak.

Mind you, I was just following along to the store. I myself would not have went around looking at those things all by myself. Let me summarize some points I like to make:

1. Said person could want to impress their other friends by wearing such jeans.
2. The selection is limited because it is an outlet.
3. Increase in quality is not proportional to increase in price.
4. Features such as reduced size availability and unwanted featured led to the price reduction.

After years of wearing these expensive jeans I have noticed a few things. Because they were at an outlet, the length size was not perfect. Hence, you need to get the bottom re-done or fold them in every time. I chose the ladder and it must have cost an aggregate of 1 minute each time I fold them in adding up to eat least 1 hour of folding per year of use. Another point is that the jeans were button fly. I knew I would not like it but got them anyway due to the comparably low price. It turns out I hated button fly. It takes 5 times as long to open and close the fly not to mention the fly sometimes likes to pop open.

All this lead to a sort of dread to wear these expensive jeans. The one redeeming quality is the print on the back pocket that looks unique and the texture of the fabric. The fabric actually felt smooth one way and ribbed another, strange but interesting.

So all this fuss and how does it relate to escaping from the cubicle? Wasted resources. By buying that, I have extended my time in the cubicle by about 1 day. I could go into investing that and all but the amount is not all the much when it comes to retirement. It is the aggregate of purchases like these that matters most.

So I say buying those is for the weak minded because the weak minded fell for the marketing and social pressures. Most people don't care if you wear $100 jeans or not and if they do, they may not be very good friends. What do people do care about? That you care about them and are genuinely interested in them. You still need to look the part in your social circle tho and not appear like a hobo.

It works the opposite way too. Some of my friends who choose to buy expensive cars has zero bearing on if it would make me think more of them or not. I am certainly a bit jealous yes but I have bigger fish to fry first. If anything, buying an overly expensive vehicle is a waste to me and not something I would do myself. (UNLESS of course, I have expendable money over and above the money needed for a lifetime of retirement. I.e net worth minus house of more than 2 million.)

These days, I try to find good quality jeans that are not super name brand costing close to $15-20 a pair. And guess what? It has a zipper, has the correct waist and length, and also looks faded in the right spots. Brand? Don't care.