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Comment by b1gtuna | Hacker News Reader

I'm not glad these stores are doing bad, but I just never understood how a pair of sneakers can cost $700 - $900 when I can buy a decent laptop with that kind of money.

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Conspicuous consumption. The price is the point. It’s a signaling thing. In the case of something like sneakers with a big brand logo on them, it’s likely someone “low” trying to signal to their peers that they’ve made it (whether they have or not). See: Fussell’s Class, or The Official Preppy Handbook for signaling rules specific to the upper-middle and upper classes (very expensive sneakers with swooshes: big no. Somewhat expensive tennis shoes with wear patterns from serving: yes)

> The Official Preppy Handbook

LOL, classic WASP literature. I haven't thought of this book since the mid-80s! It's a hilarious read.

Some of it (and Class) is just plain good advice. Prefer nice clothes/things, but use the hell out of them and don’t be afraid to repair them. Don’t comment on how nice something someone bought is (this middle-class habit seems really weird after having it pointed out). Avoid “collectibles” and for god’s sake don’t think of them as an investment. That sort of thing.

I wore my copy out actually. That book single handily was responsible for my brief infatuated phase for wearing polos and no-sock penny-loafers while sporting a locust valley lockjaw. I'm laughing about it as I write this...

Hey now, loafers may be the best daily-wear shoe, and being socks-optional for popping over to the coffee shop or out on a quick errand is no small part of that :-)

But yeah, the book’s full of actually-decent fashion advice as long as you avoid the jokes (you can, in fact, wear polos with a button fastened) and are careful not to fall into affectation (probably avoid Nantucket reds if you’re not part of that set, for example) or it’s easy to accidentally become a walking parody. Fine line, hahaha.

TBH, I still probably naturally gravitate towards polos or button-downs, khakis, boating shoes, etc. It's really only been in the past few years (when I still traveled, sigh) that I began deliberately dressing down a bit at certain types of events, at least some of the time, because I wasn't dressed "right" for the event.

It reminded me a Russian anecdote about so called newly rich Russian businessmen. For those the whole life was constant signaling.

One newly rich Russian shows another a tie he bought a minute ago for 3000 USD. That guy replied, “This is stupid. You had to go to the shop over there. They sell the same tie for 5000 USD”.

Haha I will try to find a copy. Anecdotally, the goods I saw were far from conspicuous. They all looked straight out of some music videos (heard of the "Ugly" shoes?).

As long as the intended audience recognizes them, they’re doing their job.

There is also a significant subculture or sneaker collectors who buy them like someone might a rare run of “collectible” action figures, where rareness is all that matters over the value of the item per se. Some crazy-seeming sneaker prices are just companies catering to that market. Of course there’s overlap and symbiosis with the signaling crowd, too.

My understanding is that the parent comment isn't talking about Nikes, but brands like Burberry.

Oof, yeah, even worse. $390 for sneakers with “BURBERRY” in huge letters all the way down the side (just checked the price). Even more for shoes that must be expensive because they’re so goddamn ugly, impractical, and flashy. You can get custom-made oxfords for the price of some of these. Pure signaling for an audience that thinks in prices first.

"I just never understood how a pair of sneakers can cost $700 - $900 when I can buy a decent laptop with that kind of money."

I just never understood how a laptop can cost $700 - $900.

I can't tell what kind of point you're trying to make. A $700 laptop is generally about specs and performance, and that level of hardware performance becomes cheaper every year. This is not true of $700 sneakers.

$700 sneakers, probably marked up too much for the brand, but $300 sneakers are reasonable if you want minimally branded leather sneakers with high quality construction. If you don't care for that kind of stuff though then that's cool, but that's personal preference.

Those sneakers are likely a Veblen good.

Right, but I think EVERY sneaker is a Veblen good. A pair of $20 sneakers want to look like a $100 one and $100 sneakers want to look like $300 ones..

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