Why buy expensive/designer clothes?

To me its a total waste of money.

There’s only one reason you would ever buy designer clothing and thats to show off that you are ‘better’ or have more money than others i.e as a status indicator.

I think it also highlights a big cultural difference Chinese-Canadians like me have with mainland Chinese; how much we care about how others perceive our ‘status’.

I don’t particularly care about how rich or poor others think I am, so it’s not a big deal to me.

But Tong, you may ask, why do you have such a low opinion of designer clothing? Don’t you care about fashion a lot? Don’t you preach a lot about how others should be like Koreans more and care about their appearance?

Yes I do. I am a big believer in YOYO – You’re Only Young Once. So while we are young we should try to look our best – lasik surgery, skincare, shaving, waxing, painting, fashion style, hairstyle and yes even plastic surgery – I believe appearance is important no matter where you go since its the first thing people notice about you, and its a confidence booster as well.

So why do I dislike designer clothing? Well there’s a few reasons.

1. The low end labels are just overpriced made in Asia clothes– low end designer labels are usually made in low cost Asian countries. China, Vietnam, Phillipines, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia etc. They are the result of sweatshops. Why would I pay $100 for an Armani or Calvin Klein branded piece of clothing when I can just go to Asia or get it shipped from there for a fraction of the price (sans branding)?
2. The high end labels are also overpriced – Designer brands are expensive because they hand make their clothing with exotic materials – yes sure, the high end Hermes, Coach, Burberry, LV labels hand stitch their clothing or use some expensive alligator leather or lambskin in Italy/France/England/etc – for a price. For that price you pay (4/5 figures) for these high end pieces of clothing – you could have been investing that money in a stock or an ETF or an index fund *and* bought 10x the same number of clothes from a no name brand. Yes, I’m sure those high end pieces of clothing last longer – but like I said you could literally buy 10 sets or more of a lesser brand *and* have enough money leftover to make a better investment – for the same amount of money.
3. The clothes they make are really not all that stylish anyways – now this may be a controversial opinion, but just because a fashion designer made the clothes does not necessarily mean that their tastes will look good on you. 
   Designer brands’ style to me are either too weird (derived from the catwalk – clothes that look exotic but you would never wear in real life) – or are derivative of a ‘common’ brand like H&M or Uniqlo. For the price you could get a better style or better fit from a lesser brand or from a no-name brand. 
   Ever notice that regular Korean guys/girls all dress very well – but you don’t see any fashion logos on them? Because the brands don’t really matter- it’s the style that matters. Go to Dongdaemun in Seoul and you can buy a piece of made in Korea clothing (decent quality) that’s a fraction of the price you’ll spend on a designer label – and it’ll be much more stylish as well.

People here said rich people buy designer brands because they know what’s good quality. No – rich people who care about their status buy designer brands. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet still wear Old Navy sweaters and Ross shoes. 
That’s all the proof you need to know that designer labels are really for people care about following trends and insecure about how others view their status and wealth.