Must you always seek brand names? Especially in fashion, few people buy clothing and accessories from any name brand that isn't authentic. Authentic goods are also important to people. There are countless instances where knockoff items of major and popular brands are sold or worn. Some people have the finances to purchase quality items from quality brands. Some others, however, settle for more knockoff brands and imitations. Some are able to purchase quality items from quality brands at stores and online, and some others settle for outlet malls. No matter what, some feel the only way to be stylish is to purchase only from authentic companies. So if you want a pair of Nikes, buy from Nike and not some knockoffs or lookalikes. Brand name loyalty and always wanting to buy from major designers offers up many questions and many gray areas. I hope to exploit these matters with this blog post.
This blog post is all about brand name loyalty. The issue of brand name loyalty is fixated on brand names themselves and justifying getting them for the reasons of price and status (among others).
--- Brand Name Loyalty ---
Let me talk more about brand name loyalty. But first, I want you to know that some things I talk about in this post may be part of future blog posts here on "StyleSpace by JBM."
Brand names carry huge impacts, especially in fashion. Females (and especially us guys) know there are no hotter shoes females can wear than a foxy pair of Christian Louboutin pumps. Cooler weather here in the United States usually means Juicy Couture tracksuits and UGG sheepskin boots among females. Such fashion items from popular designers mean popular designer money. You aren't going to get very many items on the cheap unless you visit an outlet mall or something. Here in the Houston/Galveston area for example, we have two real outlet malls- Houston Premium Outlets in Cypress, TX, USA; and Tanger Outlets in Texas City, TX, USA. I believe I've been to both outlet malls before. I've certainly been to the Tanger Outlets in Texas City.
What do we talk about in regards to (in this case) fashion and brand name loyalty? Here are talking points:
Brand Names and Status.
When I was in grade school, I was never intrigued or feeling like I needed to wear brand name material just to be better respected. Lots of my peers were wearing Nike sneakers, Adidas sneakers, Starter jackets, and stuff like that. Some people equate wearing brand name goods to being worthy of respect. So if you are a female not wearing anything like a Michael Kors handbag, Tory Burch flats, a Chanel clutch, a pair of Louboutin pumps, a Louis Vuitton handbag, a Dooney and Burke handbag, or whatever... you are somehow assumed to not be one of the "cool kids" or worthy of anyone's attention. I sometimes do sort of wonder how people are able to afford items from big-name brands. I also wonder if people feel they NEED to have authentic items from authentic brands to be satisfied. And if people feel happiest with authentic fashions from authentic designers, is it worth the investment and the purchase?
Which leads to my next talking point...
Brand Names and Affordability.
I went to a Palais Royal and a Wal-Mart once. I was doing a little comparison shopping as I was curious looking for a pair of boat shoes. There was a pair of Sperry Top-Sider boat shoes I saw at the Palais Royal followed by a pair from a knockoff brand I saw at a Wal-Mart. The boat shoes I saw at the Palais Royal sold for about $90 US Dollars. The knockoff brand boat shoes at a Wal-Mart sold for about $29 US Dollars. If I cared more about style than paying for something from a quality designer, I'd get the knockoff brand. But I felt I need to wear quality items to feel happy, I'd invest the money and get the more popular brand.
I mentioned investment as a key in fashion. Some people have the finances to get items from high-end brands they so crave, and a lot of others don't. Are certain clothes and accessories THAT important to you that you would only want authentic items rather than relatively inexpensive items that still look as good as anything from a quality brand? I would often times see people who own Michael Kors handbags, Converse sneakers, Sperry Top-Sider boat/deck shoes, UGG sheepskin boots, Chanel handbags, and more. You don't invest
There is a reason why people care more about certain quality brands. The biggest reason is because certain quality items are of better quality than knockoff brands. Some people may not even take a chance dealing with a knockoff item. Some people may be able to score good deals with quality items from quality brands, but they may later feel disappointed in such items being of such poor quality. For example, someone may have bought a Chanel handbag only for it to not be as durable or as good-looking. Someone could buy a skull-laden scarf from Alexander McQueen, only for that scarf not be as durable as it could be. So you take your chances with certain goods and certain companies.
Brand Names and Affinity.
This one doesn't take so much to explain, so let me brief and concise. Some people buy certain items with the maker's logo emblazoned across it. For example... wearing a T-shirt or a baseball cap bearing words like "Obey," "Boy," "Lame," "Dope," or any of those big-name designer items. A lot of people frown upon wearing such items. Some of my audience may even have been guilty of wearing clothing boldly featuring the logo of the company that makes the item.
To some people, proudly wearing items that have such big logos makes you feel like walking advertisements for a company. Even knockoff brands or parody brands can seem like you are living advertisements rather than someone who is dressing comfortably or stylishly. If you like a designer's products, that's fine. Just that some people would prefer not to have clothes with such huge logos of the brand or something.
I think this says a lot about brand name loyalty in regards to fashion.
--- Brand Name Loyalty: Internet Influences ---
Brand name loyalty can be such a loaded issue among fashion bloggers and fashionable social media. There are people who mostly view most fashion bloggers as a source of advertisement for various companies and retailers. Such personalities do have favorite retailers and brands. However (and contrary to popular belief), various fashion bloggers are NOT representatives of certain companies, nor are they spokespersons for companies. Some people wouldn't even be such advertisements to their own fashion lines.
Just because one blogger or one personality enjoys one company's products and features that company's products doesn't mean he/she is a walking advertisement for that company. Such personalities blog for themselves and offer their own personal opinions regardless of the company or companies being touted by certain people.
--- Brand Name Loyalty: Final Thoughts ---
Wear whatever makes you comfortable. Support the products of brands you most enjoy. Don't let me or my words stop you or tell you different. I am not here to convince anyone how they should live their lives, make certain decisions, etc.
Having said all of this, I am someone who cares more about just having quality items to wear rather than always have to feel like I have to have items from the most popular designers to be happy. I can say I've probably ever owned one pair of Nike sneakers. I still have a fleece Starter jacket that serves me well on cold days. Other than that, I don't feel I need to have goods from popular designers just to be happy. Even if I had the finances to get certain goods from certain designers, I care more about affordable and still wearable items rather than items from the most popular designers. I never pressured my mother into me getting certain clothes from certain designers. Even I knew I didn't need to have items from popular brands just to be better respected among peers when I was growing up.
I am not saying to fully get away from always adoring the products of popular designers. All I am saying is that you should simply wear and enjoy items to incorporate into your wardrobe rather than be fixated on popular designers and popular products.
EXTRA Final Thoughts.
This extra bit of Final Thoughts may net me a positive or a negative reaction, but I will be careful with my words here. These are extra thoughts of mine in regards to brand name loyalty and feeling like you have to purchase from certain designers or retailers.
In regards to fashions from popular designers, I often feel sad that people need to buy certain high-priced items from certain designers just to feel happy or satisfied. People will want to buy things like the finest smartphones, high-end tablet PCs... all to appease to and satisfy people and children. Item quality notwithstanding, there are people who simply look at items outside of simply satisfying others as opposed to simply buying certain items that will handle certain tasks and meet certain needs outside of being something purely high-end. I've had a lot of clothes from no-name brands. I didn't care because I wanted clothing to wear that didn't break the bank or anything. These decisions didn't make me the most popular person in school, but I didn't care because I cared more about being dressed than feeling I have to wear high-end or popular clothing just to be better liked among my peers.
What pains me in fashion is how some children feel they need to have certain high-priced designer items to be happy. Some parents don't have the finances to get such items. One such example is with high-priced sneakers. I never felt any sort of intrigue to want a pair of (for example) Nike Air Force Ones, Nike Dunks, or any other high-priced sneakers. Maybe if I was a proper football or basketball player, I'd want a great pair of sneakers to give me proper control and comfort for any sports I play. But if I just want a pair of shoes or sneakers, I shouldn't feel like I NEED to have any high-priced sneakers from any popular designer. What is even worse is how I hear and read about people who attack or threaten others... over something as silly as a pair of shoes. Sometimes, these quarrels over something like a pair of sneakers confounds me and saddens me at the same time. I'm sorry if this makes me less of a person, but I could NEVER understand or justify the purchase of something like a pair of high-priced sneakers.
While buying goods from popular companies is not in any way wrong, you can still enjoy the appeal of certain goods of certain popular and high-priced brands from knockoffs rather than insist on having high-end goods. You don't need a pair of shoes or some kind of handbag from a world-renowned designer or some popular brand if you can't afford it. It also makes you no less of a person just because you are not wearing items from popular designers. I would even bet some celebrities wouldn't feel like they'd be caught dead wearing items from low-priced items from mainstream stores. While knockoffs are not proper goods from proper designers, at least they shouldn't be overlooked if you're wanting to get style on the cheap. You females don't need Chanel handbags to be seen as successful or stylish.
What if you're shopping for certain brand name items for your family? You could invest money on getting certain quality fashions from popular and high-end designers. But really, you don't NEED to purchase certain items for children from popular and high-priced companies to make your children happy. Certain quality knockoffs will do just fine. You don't have to buy a $60 US Dollar pair of Kids' Sperry Top-Sider boat shoes or a $100+ US Dollar pair of Kids' UGG sheepskin boots for your children. A lot of the finest of-the-moment and popular fashions can be procured from mainstream retailers for much less.
In Conclusion...
Long story short... don't overlook or disregard items from non name brand designers if you can't afford authentic items from respected designers. Having/Buying certain items is more important than having items simply from major designers. It makes you no less of a person just because you don't have the finances to get popular fashions from popular designers. Fashion is all about being stylish in any number of items in your wardrobe- let alone from any major designers. That even means items thrifted or any no-name brand items. So don't be so fixated on items from major designers.
Cross-Promotion/Other Reading.
This blog post is actually sort of a spinoff of something I initially posted on "John's Blog Space," but I created this post from scratch specifically for "StyleSpace by JBM." Here is a link to the old topic in my main blog. Click on it to view my original post:
"Brand Name Attraction" (John's Blog Space)
^ I discuss being attracted to certain items just because of the brand name. This is the original post covering a more general set of items than this fashion-specific post.
The main points I've wanted to express on brand name loyalty have been made. That concludes this blog post on this topic.
Remember that "StyleSpace by JBM" is a fashion blog. I still discussed fashion as properly as I do with almost any other post here. I sometimes have to delve into other manners that still are specific to fashion as any other post on any other topic I do here. Of course, "StyleSpace by JBM" is a non-traditional fashion blog for a number of reasons. If you want to discuss this blog post on the topic of brand name loyalty, you are welcome to offer your thoughts to the following discussion questions:
1.) How important are brand names to you in regards to fashion?
2.) Can you do with knockoffs as opposed to always wanting/needing the products of popular designers? Would you even purchase knockoff fashion items for your children?
3.) Can you justify purchasing certain high-priced fashion items?
I hope you found some useful material through my blog post here. Thank you for reading and responding. I do what I can to publish quality material for the Internet. Please come back to "StyleSpace by JBM" for more fashion chatter if you enjoyed this blog post. Make sure you're subscribed and followed to my work. Outside of my blog, show further love by getting social with me across various social media services I am on. I appreciate the support of everyone for my work. Thank you for reading!
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