Prada Overnight
After meeting her through a friend from graduate school, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar invited me to give a talk at the magazine headquarters. It was my first experience presenting at a fashion magazine and I suspect it may have been their first experience hosting an academic speaker. They were very gracious and interested (or at least they appeared to be), and they laughed where I hoped they would and asked thoughtful questions.
As a thank-you gift, they gave me a Prada overnight bag. Now, Apple products are the closest I have ever come to owning anything from a highly recognized brand, so acquiring this bit of couture was an interesting experience for me. As I made my way through JFK, I tried to decide whether I should hold the bag so that the triangular Prada logo was visible to other travelers or if I should keep it facing towards me. I quickly decided to keep the logo facing me, and began thinking about the role of brands in people’s lives.
We usually think of brands as signaling something to others. We drive Priuses to show that we are environmentally conscious or wear Nike to show that we’re athletic. In this case I didn’t want to send a signal to the world, but nevertheless I felt different, as if I were signaling something to myself—telling myself something about me and as a result of carrying the Prada bag.
Maybe this is the attraction of branded underwear. They are basically a private consumption experience, but my guess is that if I put on a pair of Ferrari underwear, even if nobody saw them, they would still make me feel differently somehow (Perhaps more masculine? Wealthier? Faster?).
The thing is, I realized I couldn’t just try to make myself feel better by imagining myself wearing Ferrari underwear. I would have to actually wear them in order to feel differently.
So brands communicate in two directions: they help us tell other people something about ourselves, but they also help us form ideas about who we are.
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I found myself in the same position after I purchased my first designer bag last year. Apparently its gold label made me feel very self conscious and I felt it was sending the wrong message about who I am to people I crossed in the street! I really enjoy the design of the bag and even the typography on the label, but that gold plate always faces me for some reason and I am still happy with my purchase.
Hm, I guess its part of our personality and how much we value social conventions to fit in or social labeling I guess to fit in. It is an identity test somehow.
I know some people who will not wear other people’s names on their clothes because it reflects the designer/company and not the person. I am not one of those people. I would have let the Prada bag show itself (LOL)–unfortunately some names garner respect and being treated with respect because you can “afford” something is so sad but true.
I hate being a walking advertisement, which, I think, is tacky. Perhaps, money can buy a certain amount or kind of happiness for some people.
Part of how I feel is related to sensation of comfort (witch is intrinsec and self convencing) and part of it is related to the concept of “good looking”. And here are 2 possible ways: I´m convinced that I´m truly happy on what I see, how I´m feeling; I´m proud the way I look and I´m sure other people will like/dislike, anyway they´ll notice me (vanity).
The more conscious I get (about everything – fashion trends, sustainability, cost-benefit relation), the more deeper my perceptions of the brands goes and so how they can truly impact me.
The point is: is there any “in-depth consciousness movement” going around regarding the branded content efforts?
So, you are not a Prada man. Pitty
Don’t blame yourself. Not everybody can be. That would be nice idea for the article, too.
E.g. I always wanted to be a Scout and belong to the scout organization. But after some information. And knowlegde, that they present christianity as their religion (I would expect some Gaia religion or none), I don’t want to be in that organization anymore… Actually, I don’t like to be in organizations anyway…
So I’m curious – what did you speak about at Harper’s?
Daniel,
We would love to see a photo of you sporting the Prada bag. Let US decide if it suits you.
It’s extremely irrational to give a toss what strangers in an airport think of you, but humans care very much about such things.
“After meeting her through a friend from graduate school, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar invited me to give a talk at the magazine headquarters.” Edited version: “After I met her through a friend from graduate school, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar invited me….”
Get a hold of yourself, Jane. Take a walk, smile a bit, relax. : )
They taught us in editing class that professionals do not work for free, so I let the sentence go, even though it was confusing and slowed me down. Thank you, Jane, for clarifying that.
Someone has forgotten about the Audi in his driveway.
I suppose a counterfeit brand-name item would have the exact same effect, assuming the owner doesn’t know it’s fake. So you can’t buy it yourself – you have to have someone give it to you as a gift, presenting it as if it’s genuine.
And if you’re really inobservant and/or gullible, then it becomes cheaper to increase your self-esteem. I guess that’s what the makers of “Hike” sporting apparel are thinking…
As far as the Prius is concerned, a lot of people buy it for the fuel economy and not necessarily the outside image of it.
But depending on where you live, certain brands become so common that they almost become a necessity in one’s mind if one wants to fit in. In Japan, so many young women carry brand name bags that the only statement I see is that of trying to fit in.
Apple products have also become common and acceptable as a brand to “have”. Of course a lot depends on the circles in which one travels on how what they “have” indicates something beyond practicality or personal preference, I think.
I agree that wearing brand name underwear may make one feel personally different from everyone else….but if you stop to think about it, no matter how good you think it looks, if it makes you walk funny, there’s nothing high class about that!
branded fashion is about aspiration and envy, admiration and desire to have something possessed by another.
for example, male consumers don’t consciously want to wear the name of another obscure male on their underclothes — in this case, the label has more to do with a reputation for quality that is commonly lacking in contemporary products; it extends to business suits and shoes, purely for the cut and quality and never for the label that only the wearer ever sees. however, paying 10-20 times the price of an similar mainstream product for underwear is clearly unjustifiable and shallow.
in contrast, the perceived status attained from displaying a branded product on your person (ie the free advertising fashion) is self-deluding and marks the consumer as sheepish and naïve; typically these people simply have no imagination, but a strong desire to ‘fit-in’ or be liked by their peers.
this is a 20th century syndrome, worthy of more investigation and discussion.
I think you may have hit on something very clever with the Ferrari underwear! And congratulations on taking the Ariely brand to the far reaches of the known universe. Your success is an inspiration.
Haute Couture is made to order to fit the wearers body and and stance. It does not have the fashion house’s advertising on it. The ready to wear, descending all the way to t-shirts with CHANEL spelled out in rhinestones, says something about you, but it isn’t necessarily something nice.
My wardrobe comes from Goodwill, but it never has brand advertising on it. I’d rather be judged by the content of my character.
i once worked on a road crew with a woman who told me she wore her “fancy” underwear under the baggy jeans and day glo muddy t-shirt because it let her “still feel like a girl” while working such an “unladylike” job
if a woman talks to a man (of similar age) about her underwear, it is almost certain to be flirtatious — she probably made up the story to excite your interest. but on a similar note, I have a female friend who works as a factory lineworker, every day after work she changes into her 6″ heels, short skirts and designer accessories, before heading home. she certainly turns heads around her workplace, (though she is pretty enough not to need to need to try so hard).
Got any data to back up your assertion on the probability of a woman making up stories about their underwear to excite men?
Hence the expression “dress to kill”.
i once worked on a road crew with a woman who told me she wore her “fancy” underwear under the baggy jeans and day glo muddy t-shirt because it let her “still feel like a girl” while working such an “unladylike” job
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