That has been the case for a LONG time already.
Eventually I was talked into going "shopping" by a couple of female friends (actually, I talked them into being my guide), and found that the only t-shirts I could find that made me look and feel good, with a wide range of prices, also happened to have well-designed corporate logos on them.
So, until it becomes technically possible and socially acceptable to have custom-tailored t-shirts that fit perfectly, have the right fabric, pattern, and seam/collar/hem, and are emblazoned with my family crest or personal corporate logo, I will continue to buy whatever looks and fits the best within my price range.
Since it seems you're spending more on shirts now, you're probably getting a better quality product. Plenty of stores from Target to Gap to American Apparel and so on have better-fitting shirts made out of lighter-weight material with no visible logos, likewise in a range of prices.
Now if you meant those ridiculous Airs with the spring shocks in them then yes, but brands that endure aren't built on nothing.
And perhaps there's something less negative than "consumer culture" at play… humans are generally curious about and interested in extraordinary things. e.g. Olympic athletes, inordinately successful businesses and business people, brilliant artists, robots landing on other planets, etc.
Others just like stats. How much of the world's brain matter is used up by sports trivia?
Can you actually tell me why identifying personally with the things we buy is a bad thing?
Identifying with Apple because you like x,y,z of their vision/products/services, etc. is one thing. The value of Apple as a public company having an effect on your identity is a completely different monster I think.
I wish I could put it into words why it feels so wrong, but hopefully somebody else here can explain the difference.