Designer Labels Will Make You Rich and Powerful?

Everyone knows people who buy designer clothes are shallow assholes. 
But it looks like everyone is a shallow asshole. People apparently hold 
other people in higher regard simply if they're wearing clothes with a designer label.

In a new study in Evolution and Human Behavior, researchers found that 
labels act as a status-boosting talisman. They showed a picture of a man 
with a luxury logo like Lacoste and a picture with the logo digitally removed 
to volunteers. The volunteers judged the man with the logo to be wealthier 
and of "higher status."  This translated to real-world benefits. 

 

 Wearing Designer Labels Will Make You Rich and Powerful

one of their female assistants asked people in a shopping mall to stop
and answer survey questions. One day she wore a sweater with a designer
logo; the next, an identical sweater with no logo. Some 52% of people agreed
to take the survey when faced with the Tommy Hilfiger label, compared with
only 13% who saw no logo.

These results don't only show that we're evolutionarily wired to love logos,
as the Economist suggests. It's also a signal of the fashion industry's radical
success at turning consumers into irrational, Pavlovian shopping bots, salivating
over tiny scraps of brightly-colored fabric. This might backfire once people skip
the clothes altogether and just get Chanel logos tattooed directly on their foreheads.
[The Economist, Image via Getty]

(via gawker.com)

> Link to this page:
http://j.mp/RichAndPowerful

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I agree that this is the reality of most societies.

My philosophy, on which I counsel others from time to time, is that visible designer possessions are TOOLS, like many others in our lives.

A key rule of thumb in the business world is that one should equip themselves with the best tools that they can afford, that are also right for their industry. For example, many of us now realize that we need the best possible smartphones. We enjoy what they can do, and we enjoy using them and talking about them.

A more ethereal example of a prestigious tool is education. One should equip themselves with the best possible education that they can afford, and which is also a good fit for his or her given industry. Although workforce experience is extremely important, a "designer label" education, such as one from Princeton or Oxford, still cannot be ignored in today's society. It will open doors and serve as a discussion point with others.

Getting back to the point of this cited study, designer labels that we wear as clothing and accessories, and even the designer labels that we drive to work, do make an impact in the business world. Much like a quality education, wearing a Breitling watch -- or driving a Cadillac, a Lamborghini, or a Lotus -- and treating it as a tool of your trade usually serves one of two purposes:

- The people you meet aspire to the brand, find it an interesting item, and hopefully find it a discussion point. At the very least, they subconsciously recognize it as a symbol of success or luck.
OR
- The people you meet already own the same brand or similar, and find it an interesting discussion point

This is simply the way society works. I want to stress two things. First, in order to be successful, you must not only possess good tools, but use them well. If you are not a good networker, and not a pleasant person, then your car, watch, and education may even give you and the brand a bad name. And second, if you cannot afford the perfect tools -- from education, to upscale clothing, to wristwatches, to cars -- don't think negatively of yourself. Your personality, intellect, and drive will simply prove to others that you have outgrown the tools you have to work with, and you are still a success.

Tools, including designer brands, can be very important in society. But your emotional connection with your network is the most important asset of all.

— jayinatlanta