I don't know why people don't understand that I don't mind looking like my clothes are thrifted. As long as they are presentable and event-appropriate, then it should be fine.
I don't know why people are obsessed with showing off that they can afford brands, even when it costs two months of their salary, even when nobody would bat more than two glances on the fact that they 'can afford' it.
There might be people who would judge us for having the cheaper alternatives, but I don't know why I have to care what these people think. I don't know who they are. I don't know how many of them I would meet in a random mall errand. There is no need for me to pay a significant portion of my salary to show off to them when the cheaper alternative works fine.
I don't mind rich people who buy what they want. If they can afford it, then they can. Good for them.
However, I do not see the appeal of me, a simple person, a struggling lower middle class who's one month loss of salary away to being homeless, trying to look like I am one of those rich people.
I do understand that in the first place, we should all afford what we deserve to afford, and if not for the unfair imbalance of the system, there wouldn't be obvious divide on who can afford luxury and quality. But then, I do not understand why there are people who idolize the rich, and must follow their unwritten rules, to be judged by a briefly passing hypothetical stranger. This behavior does not fix anything. We should be working on our rights for better products, not struggling to cross the line to be perceived as rich.
Because honestly, the rich are just deliberately making the line obvious. As soon as majority can afford their trend of luxury, they will make another "rich people trend" to separate from us again. There is an option to not care.
So leave me be with my ukay-ukay clothes. If I can buy a good blouse for 50 pesos, I don't see why I must buy the very same for 1,500 pesos.
I'm not one of them, and I don't try to be.
Fashion and Sustainability does not have to be a Rich People Only thing. It shouldn't be.














