[Dan27363]

This is kind of a hit or miss phenomenon in my experience. My fire station is situated in a lower-income section of the city, and the clothing preference runs the gamut from rags to the hippest of the hip ‘urban’ clothing. I heard a quote (I think from a movie) that went something like ‘Once you’ve been hungry, you’ll never be full again.’ I suppose that since impoverished people don’t necessarily have the ‘real’ wealth that you or I might have (a secure job, a pension plan, insurance, maybe a house, etc.), the trappings of money become more important. Expensive clothes allow them to have the external appearance of higher income, which is probably good for self-esteem and status in a society that values such material items highly. A person in clothes from Goodwill may get treated more poorly than a person outfitted entirely in the newest hip clothing, even though the hipster may not have a dime to their name. However, I’ve never noticed a poor person wearing anything that makes me think of REAL wealth – – a Rolex watch, Armani suit, Coach handbags, or something like that. Seems to be limited to semi-expensive ‘branded’ items like FUBU jackets, Nike or Reebok shoes, etc. Also, this isn’t just a low-income earner problem. A lot of people spend a lot of money trying to look like they’re wealthy. I don’t think it’s uncommon for high-income earners to bankrupt themselves with expensive clothes, cars, and houses. Have you also noticed that there are a lot of people who put $10,000 worth of rims or stereo equipment into cars that aren’t worth $500?

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Name : Dan27363, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 31, City : Evansville, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : Firefighter, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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