This is a story explaining the learning experience that made me realize that labels and brand names don't mean shit to me....
All through High School I never thought about labels and brand names growing up in a small town in Maine. In fact, Express and Structure were considered HOT clothing lines back in the day and that was about as good as it got. If you were at Fashion Bug...that was borderline, but even that was acceptable at that point in time.
Fast forward to college...suddenly I'm thrown into an ARENA of labels, fashion, jewelry, all of which suddenly held weight on how others saw you. I still didn't tune into it right away because I was confident in myself and still didn't feel like it was an important thing to feed into. Who cared if my purse wasn't Louis Vuitton? I didn't. Not yet anyway. I thought that those girls were kind of silly getting all excited about a name. I didn't get it. I'd never had it, therefore it didn't represent to me what it did to others at the time.
If you were wearing Prada, did that mean you were a better person? More successful? Cooler than me? More worthy of good things in your life than me? Did that mean I wouldn't have friends if I didn't drop big cash on high cost items such as the sunglasses perched perfectly on the hot blond's face? Would I not be considered accepted like the girl who's Tiffany necklace delicately hung from her tan neck? Would I be shunned without the fancy ring popping from my slender finger like the girl in her BMW as she casually flicks a cigarette? Was I somehow less of a person if I did not have these coveted items like the other girls?
Turned out I got through college just fine despite my upscale surroundings. I still had great friends. I was still accepted into a great sorority. I still got my degree and thrived in a place where money was clearly plentiful for many of those around me. And just as no one was judging my Old Navy flip flops, I did not judge the Hummers they drove and we all got along in a harmony for those four years. Nothing lost. Nothing gained due to labels and brand names. We were still us no matter what we were wearing.
In November of 2007 I got married to the love of my life. We were both doing well and suddenly I realized we had a little money to spare possibly for special occasions. I always knew that my wedding ring would be the most precious item I ever possessed. Not because of the cost, but because of what it represented. But why stop there? My birthday was fast approaching and suddenly I felt a renewed sense of value. I was married now. Shouldn't I have nice jewelry that represented this beautiful marriage we had? Why should I be deprived of the finest things when we can afford it now? What would people think of my NEW LOOK? TIFFANY jewelry would HAVE to look AMAZING on this new married woman! I decided...I HAD to have something from Tiffany for my first birthday as a married woman...
My sweet husband indulged me in this fantasy gift with a little hesitation at first. I think he was shocked that this was something that I actually wanted after being so disinterested in this sort of item in the past. When I saw the blue box, I ripped it open like a little girl and sported it with great pride! I couldn't wait for people to gush over my new birthday bracelet.
Two weeks later not a single person had even mentioned my bracelet. I kept waiting for someone to notice this special item I now got to wear every single day. After all...it was TIFFANY'S for God's sake...
No one EVER made a big deal of my bracelet and my excitement soon faded just as most short-lived exciting things do. I remember feeling silly that I ever asked my husband to spend that much money on a bracelet that turned out to not mean anything to me, except that he got it for me. I appreciated his efforts because it was after all, what I asked for. I felt guilty for asking. I felt embarrased for getting caught up in the illusion that somehow it would make me feel more special. More important... It didn't make me feel more special or more important. It made me feel foolish, selfish, and commercial...just like everyone else getting excited about a name. It was time to get off my "temporary married high horse" and come back down to the truth about what was important to me.
I vowed that I would never let myself fall for that again. Getting excited about material items was not for me. It wasn't authentic. I much prefer things that have meaning, thought behind it, and given through love.
That's just me.
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