By: Karizza Sanchez
I still remember the first designer piece I ever owned. I had just turned 18 and my parents bought me a Louis Vuitton bag for my birthday. At the time, I was convinced I absolutely needed one. I didn't want it because the cowhide leather was buttery soft, or because I thought it could be some sort of heirloom. I wanted it simply because it was Louis Vuitton and had the "LV" logo stamped all over it.
Looking back now, I laugh at myself (even cringe!) at what was such a vacuous reason to purchase anything.
Don't get me wrong: I still appreciate designer items—this past summer, I had to go on a shopping fast because I realized I was spending an absurd amount of money on gear. I still do buy designer clothes. But the difference now is I rarely, if at all, wear anything with logos.
Logos are extremely persuasive. Branding has become a display of a person's status and, as some studies have shown, can heavily influence a person's behavior towards another. In March 2011, the Economist reported on a study by Rob Nelissen and Mrijn Meijers of Tilburg University in the Netherlands to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. The study showed that logos—especially those that were denoted expensive brands—could be helpful for landing jobs and often made a person seem more approachable. In conclusion, Dr. Nelissen and Dr. Meijers reason out that people naturally equate designer labels to quality.
To paraphrase Kanye, that's all to say that people are slaves to labels, and sometimes think that the bigger and more obnoxious the logo, the better.
A few months ago, I overheard a conversation about why you should only spend rent money on clothing/accessories/shoes that have logos. The argument was that wearing designer items without any branding would make you basic, and would defeat the purpose of buying something ridiculously expensive.
Listen: living by that motto actually makes you basic.
I'm not saying you should only buy logo-less designer clothing. It's perfectly fine to cop a Maison Martin Margiela sweater with the four white stitches visible on the back of the garment. But it's also perfectly fine to drop an absurd amount of money on a Lanvin tee with no logos (if that's how you're living).
Ideally, what should sway someone to buy designer labels over the cheaper alternative is its superior quality. You should really only be spending hundreds of dollars on that single item because you know it will last more than 10 washes, or 10 years. The fabrics and materials used are also crucial—cashmere always trumps the polyester that will maybe/definitely give you a rash; RiRi zippers and mother-of-pearl buttons don't come cheap; certain construction processes will result in higher quality, but they require more time and money to employ. And the only way to truly judge quality is by touching and handling the item, examining the cut and construction of the piece in person. Logos don't and can't always justify the big price tags that sometimes convince people.
More importantly, you should be married to the design of the garment—beyond the brand name. If it looks terrible on you, it really doesn't matter that you spent a rack on an Hermès belt or a Versace shirt with so many medusas you have snakes coming out of your ass. FYI, people can still look like trash in expensive clothes. And wearing designer pieces will never ever make you cooler, or help you get a date.
Ultimately, what we preach here is do you. So I'm not saying you have to completely forego logos altogether. Sometimes, branding is just impossible to escape. But if you find yourself basing your shopping decisions on whether or not people will know how expensive your jacket is based on a logo signifier, then you should definitely reevaluate your priorities. Plus, there's something to be said about buying clothes just because you like them instead of trying impress people you don't even like. You should be copping for you and only you, and if you happen to pass by people on the street who give you a knowing look, then that's just an added bonus.
For more "Karizza Explains It All," where Karizza doles out long-form shade, click here.
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