Status clothes on kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personal opinion: I find it weird when middle and high schoolers wear Ivy shirts. Not pretentious. Just, like, nobody used to do that, you know? But I don't think most people blink.

And I'm not wealthy enough myself to know about less-obvious wealthy vacation destinations, so that would sail right over my head.

I’m not a sports person but people have been wearing shirts, sweatshirts, hats from professional and college since I was a teen in the nineties and I’m sure before then. My kids have been wearing Red Sox and patriots gear since they were born. Many first baby gifts were of Boston sports. I remember the teenage boys representing various college sports teams when I was in high school. Maybe if it is Georgia tech or Boston college it isn’t pretentious but if you are wearing Yale it is??

I did specifically mention older kids, and it's because...they're close to going to college themselves. At some point, they're going to want to identify with their own school.

It's perhaps different if it's "KU Basketball" on a kid whose just a fan, you know? Because it's not abnormal to be a fan of the big state school in your state and go somewhere else. But, like, other than crew is Harvard really known for any sports?

Yes, teenagers wear sporting teams of pro teams and college. I have teenagers and elementary kids. They wear snoopy, hello kitty, college, us open, spirit wear, etc.

My older teen used to wear more college clothes but recently stopped only because kids are now applying to colleges. I don’t think he wants to get the gear of a school
He wants to attend and not get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh no, and this whole time I thought that the reason people scoffed at my children wearing Duke gear was because they hate our basketball team, but you're telling me it's because they think we're pretentious??

Around here? In Maryland? We aren’t even in the acc and still hate you guys. It could be both 😜

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are your opinions on kids wearing stuff like: clothes with elite college branding (Ivies, Stanford), clothes from elite or luxury vacation destinations (especially non-obvious places like Block Island or like a specific hotel in the French Riviera, not like a Paris tshirt you can buy at H&M), and clothes with elite job branding from parents' work (BigLaw, consulting, elite tech companies).

I am trying to settle an argument with my spouse.

College: Parents, grandparents or other relatives provide these Tshirts to young kids to motivate or encourage towards their alma mater. Some preteens and teens are making their own decisions, others are still exploring options. I don't judge.

College/Pro sports: Parents, grandparents or other relatives provide these Tshirts to young kids to motivate or encourage towards their preferred teams. Some preteens and teens buck location/family, most don't. I don't judge, especially since they frequently end up in free/consignment piles.

Vacation: Most parents don't buy "elite" or "luxury" vacation destination Tshirts. Grandparents sometimes bring them back for kids, along with other souvenirs. Vacation Tshirts are more likely to be legoland, disney, 6 flags, etc. I don't judge, especially since they frequently end up in free/consignment piles.

Local school/sports: Parents frequently are given or required to pay for Tshirts for the local school or program both as uniform (possibly just for field trips) and advertising. I don't judge, especially since they frequently end up in free/consignment piles.

Parents' work: Can't say I've ever paid attention and seen this. Parents are probably given Tshirts from their workplace as uniforms for community service days and advertising. I don't judge, especially since they will end up in free/consignment piles.

A lot of kids who wear "expensive" clothing are wearing it secondhand, but you might not have a clue whether it was new or not unless you know the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Im at an upscale resort in miami right now and every kid is wearing Burberry bathing suits, $900 sunglasses, Gucci slides, designer watches. Its crazy

Parents who want to show off wearing those brands. They buy the tacky pieces with big logos on them. Embarrassing. Parents who like fashion are not buying logo clothes for their kids. Parents who don’t care about fashion don’t even know these brands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband thinks all of these are disgusting.

I wanted to buy some Oxford sweatshirts when we visited and he really thought it was tacky so we didn't. Since we are Americans, I thought that might be less poser since it would be more of a travel souvenir than a "kid is pretending they attend" type assumption.

In general we are a "no logo" family, and I think that's better. Capitalism really does end up branding your entire life if you let it.

BTW the funniest thing I have seen recently like this was $900 for a toddler Moncler jacket at a store I have never bought anything at. $900 for a toddler's puffy coat. Ridiculous.

I do think it's strange for your DC to wear an Oxford or Ivy shirt if neither parent attended and there is no connection. For example, if a family member works at that particular school, then it would make sense.

I wore my husband’s old super comfortable T-shirt from his law school. He wouldn’t wear it even if it still fit. Someone asked me if I went there and I explained it wasn’t mine. Too annoying to wear if it’s not your school so I got rid of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're French. We don't look French to Americans because we're not Caucasian. My kids have worn plenty of French items over the years.

My husband once worked for a certain well-known company and brought home apparel from it.

What you're missing is that in those circles there's no specific message attached to it. People wear what's available.

You sound embarrassingly insecure.

OP here and I am not bothered by this, but my husband told me that "many people" find it pretentious. I don't care either way.

But you also misread my post because I wasn't talking about wearing "French items". I was talking specifically about t-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts advertising the name of luxury vacation destinations. Not wearing something with French words or something. But something clearly purchased at a luxury destination indicating the person had been to that destination.

PP you replied to. Oh, I understood you perfectly. We go to certain places that your husband might consider fancy, and buy stuff there, in France or elsewhere.

Your husband is showing his class insecurities, OP. You need to educate him. Tell him he will always have more than someone else. Right now, somebody looked at your husband and thought he was pretentious. He has a car, he has a home, he dresses in normal clothes, right? Well, to a certain group of people, that's already rich and smug! Other people will always have more than he has. He needs to accept that and live his own life.

I find it hilarious that your husband would criticize the barely upper middle class, and not the staggeringly wealthy who own private jets, for ex. What does he mean by pretentious? Does he think people "plot" what logos they're going to display on any given day? Does he think they're not as rich as they want to signal? If it's a company shirt, that's stupid.

Your husband is just not making sense. It's his anxiety talking.

Lol, Madame -- I think you are showing your insecurities, actually. My husband is from a much wealthier background than I am, and attended an Ivy. This came up because we recently attended a reunion at his alma mater and bought our kid a sweatshirt, and my husband is embarrassed when the kid wears it because he thinks other people find it pretentious.

But by all means, do keep posting paragraph upon paragraph expounding on your feelings on this subject -- I've been reading these posts to him and every time you say "I am French" he gets a good laugh.

Au revoir mon cheri!

PP you replied to. I identify myself as the French poster as a shorthand, not because being French is somehow better than being American. I responded because you specifically referenced vacation spots on the southern French coast.

I hit a nerve, apparently, for you to become so rude. I stand by my opinion that you are both extremely insecure if your husband is so triggered by external appearances, and if you are so triggered by a discussion on DCUM... that you started!

And why did you need to insist that your husband is from a wealthier background than you and attended an Ivy? Are you proud of this? Does this change the debate in any way?

There is no need to judge people for what they choose to wear - that's really the bottom line of this thread. Your husband may have attended a good university, but it certainly did not broaden his mind. What a shame.

[Anonymous]

So your husband attended an Ivy and doesn't make decent money, which is why he's so jealous of these absolutely-not-status clothing, that he calls status clothing because to him they're unattainable signs of wealth?

Well that's hilarious, OP.

Also, way to self-own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I generally don’t purchase clothes for my kids with writing or logos on it. But as a Rhode Islander, idea that Block Island is some sort of in-the-know elite vacation spot is hysterical.

That was my first takeaway too, and i'm not even from RI

[Anonymous]

Folks, OP sounds mildly curious in this subject. Some of you are being weirdly intense.

There was zero criticism in her post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're French. We don't look French to Americans because we're not Caucasian. My kids have worn plenty of French items over the years.

My husband once worked for a certain well-known company and brought home apparel from it.

What you're missing is that in those circles there's no specific message attached to it. People wear what's available.

You sound embarrassingly insecure.

OP here and I am not bothered by this, but my husband told me that "many people" find it pretentious. I don't care either way.

But you also misread my post because I wasn't talking about wearing "French items". I was talking specifically about t-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts advertising the name of luxury vacation destinations. Not wearing something with French words or something. But something clearly purchased at a luxury destination indicating the person had been to that destination.

PP you replied to. Oh, I understood you perfectly. We go to certain places that your husband might consider fancy, and buy stuff there, in France or elsewhere.

Your husband is showing his class insecurities, OP. You need to educate him. Tell him he will always have more than someone else. Right now, somebody looked at your husband and thought he was pretentious. He has a car, he has a home, he dresses in normal clothes, right? Well, to a certain group of people, that's already rich and smug! Other people will always have more than he has. He needs to accept that and live his own life.

I find it hilarious that your husband would criticize the barely upper middle class, and not the staggeringly wealthy who own private jets, for ex. What does he mean by pretentious? Does he think people "plot" what logos they're going to display on any given day? Does he think they're not as rich as they want to signal? If it's a company shirt, that's stupid.

Your husband is just not making sense. It's his anxiety talking.

Lol, Madame -- I think you are showing your insecurities, actually. My husband is from a much wealthier background than I am, and attended an Ivy. This came up because we recently attended a reunion at his alma mater and bought our kid a sweatshirt, and my husband is embarrassed when the kid wears it because he thinks other people find it pretentious.

But by all means, do keep posting paragraph upon paragraph expounding on your feelings on this subject -- I've been reading these posts to him and every time you say "I am French" he gets a good laugh.

Au revoir mon cheri!

You're reading DCUM posts out loud to your husband and he is laughing? This is weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no problem with kids wearing university sweatshirts. Especially because of college sports. I mean, why would you be okay with a kid wearing a local community college sweatshirt but not a ucla one? Also don’t have an issue with gear from their parents firms, which are usually corporate handouts. I probably wouldn’t buy my kid a tee shirt that says “four seasons Maui” on it but would happily buy them a Hawaii tee shirt if they wanted one…

I think kids wearing shirts that say “Hermes” or other designer logos is tacky.

Lots of Catholic kids wear Notre Dame gear because they like the school and watch the sports. They aren't pretending they went there or know someone who did if they just happen to like the football team.

[Anonymous]

I don’t have a problem with what others choose to wear.

We have a small collection of college & HS tshirts & sweatshirts. We’ve also gifted friends & family college stuff from their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I generally don’t purchase clothes for my kids with writing or logos on it. But as a Rhode Islander, idea that Block Island is some sort of in-the-know elite vacation spot is hysterical.

Sing with me!

Sail away on the Block Island Ferry!
Take a trip back to carefree times!

Leave today, Block Island awaits you!
Just leave your troubles behind!

The person who wrote that jingle should have gotten an award. Still stuck in my head 20 (30?) years later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're French. We don't look French to Americans because we're not Caucasian. My kids have worn plenty of French items over the years.

My husband once worked for a certain well-known company and brought home apparel from it.

What you're missing is that in those circles there's no specific message attached to it. People wear what's available.

You sound embarrassingly insecure.

OP here and I am not bothered by this, but my husband told me that "many people" find it pretentious. I don't care either way.

But you also misread my post because I wasn't talking about wearing "French items". I was talking specifically about t-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts advertising the name of luxury vacation destinations. Not wearing something with French words or something. But something clearly purchased at a luxury destination indicating the person had been to that destination.

PP you replied to. Oh, I understood you perfectly. We go to certain places that your husband might consider fancy, and buy stuff there, in France or elsewhere.

Your husband is showing his class insecurities, OP. You need to educate him. Tell him he will always have more than someone else. Right now, somebody looked at your husband and thought he was pretentious. He has a car, he has a home, he dresses in normal clothes, right? Well, to a certain group of people, that's already rich and smug! Other people will always have more than he has. He needs to accept that and live his own life.

I find it hilarious that your husband would criticize the barely upper middle class, and not the staggeringly wealthy who own private jets, for ex. What does he mean by pretentious? Does he think people "plot" what logos they're going to display on any given day? Does he think they're not as rich as they want to signal? If it's a company shirt, that's stupid.

Your husband is just not making sense. It's his anxiety talking.

Lol, Madame -- I think you are showing your insecurities, actually. My husband is from a much wealthier background than I am, and attended an Ivy. This came up because we recently attended a reunion at his alma mater and bought our kid a sweatshirt, and my husband is embarrassed when the kid wears it because he thinks other people find it pretentious.

But by all means, do keep posting paragraph upon paragraph expounding on your feelings on this subject -- I've been reading these posts to him and every time you say "I am French" he gets a good laugh.

Au revoir mon cheri!

You're reading DCUM posts out loud to your husband and he is laughing? This is weird.

I do this sometimes. My husband will even ask me "what is DC mad about today?" if I'm on the site.

I do think any post that starts with "We're French," where neither the OP nor the thread was talking about people's nationality and it's not really relevant is kind of funny. There are definitely one or more posters on this site who want to emphasize "I'm French" or "I'm European" like it makes them more qualified to weight in on something. You see it a lot in the Beauty and Fashion forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wearing college gear is normal and you don't need to have attended the college. We have all kinds of sweatshirts and t-shirts from schools we have visited, a relative worked at, etc.

It's a t-shirt, not a resume.

In college my BF would come back from visiting friends at other universities and wear that school's swag until it was thread bare and it did not matter if the school was way more or way less prestigious than the one he was at. I know most people are probably very true blue to their school but in my circle people wear several schools for assorted reasons.