I was just having this discussion with my class of sixth graders again today. Some of them get it - they really do. They were so excited to hear that I'm with them. It started with them having a drop in speaker come to talk to them about bullying. One of the things that kids get bullied about is brand name clothing. Still. Like guys - it is 2022 and we are still bullying others about the same crap as we did 50 years ago. Bullying hasn't changed. Jeans haven't even changed all that much. But you know what has changed? The brands.
Where am I going with this? I'm heading down a pretty obvious path - to me. But apparently to many it is super dark and mysterious. My question is this - why does ANYONE on this earth spend $100+ for jeans when it literally doesn't matter what brand they are? That brand you're spending so much on might be super popular right now. But you know what other jeans were super popular? Guess, Girbaud, Tommy Hilfiger, Miss Me, oh I could go on. Guess who cares about those brands now? Nobody. Guess who's going to care that you had Kimes or whatever the current overly priced, ridiculously marketed jeans are today? Nobody. Those same jeans will be flooding the Goodwill's, Savers and donation bins across the country in just a year or two when their popularity and novelty wears off.
What people are going to remember is how you treated them because they didn't have those jeans. What people are going to remember is that you made them feel poor or like a lesser human being because they didn't buy into fad or impulse shopping. They will remember that you made them feel terrible because they were too smart to be sucked into fashion trends that last a millisecond.
Some of my sixth graders gasped when I said "I shop at the Goodwill racks and haven't ever had the kinds of jeans I'm wearing affect my life." They were so relieved to hear that and there were shouts around the room of "me too!" or "that's where we shop too!" That's right kids! You're smarter (or maybe it is truly your parents) than a good portion of the population who think brand names matter. Brand names don't matter. They way you treat people does.
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