Lifestyle Ettiquette

Today I am going to talk about a very touchy subject, lifestyle. First it stands to be said, that while I intend to promote a certain lifestyle, I find it far more important that the world is comprised of many. Now, during the worst of the Great Recession, the gentleman's magazines started to endorse a less flashy lifestyle. This subdued way of living is something I have long promoted. In order for me to explain this I need to start with where I came from.
I was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Whilst in Connecticut, I attended private schools. By no means am I stating this as a lifestyle suggestion, it was merely the best form of education my parents could provide me with, given the schools in the area. However, there were many children that came from decent to extreme money. By the time I was in high school, every girl I knew (without exaggeration) had some form of Tiffany's silver jewelery. It was sad. Sad for two reasons. First, and the far more important reason, it was wasteful. Cow-towing to a trend that was an ostentatious waste of money, especially in a world that has too little to begin with. Second, and a bit more pertinent to the point, in economics, the quickest way to devalue the dollar, peso, loony, etc, is to make more of it. Tiffanys used to be an equinox in the jewelry world, a place where someone went to buy a fantastic piece of jewelery, made by the best craftsmen. I would venture to bet that, outside of the bridal department, over half of their current business comes from items with the classic Tiffany & Co. stamp clearly visible. I am not saying that they are sacrificing quality to meet their demand, in fact I am surprised at how well the quality has remained, but while the brand is loosing its shock value, it is also making those Americans with money look like they don't care about the other 99% of the world. Tiffanys is not the only guilty perpetrator here. Louis Vitton, Burberry, Gucci (less so now), and Coach are equally, and in most cases far more, guilty of this. Coach used to be made in Turkey, by hand, as an example of the finest leather items available. It's now made in China, and they do have a "factory outlet" line, that I venture to guess sacrifices either quality of leather, leather treatment, or construction to hit its price mark.
The purpose of all of this is, these companies built their reputation on quality of construction. They are now status symbols. In some instances they are about unique style. I believe that spending money, just to show that you have money, is rude. If you intend on investing money on an item, do it for quality. Do not push it in other people's faces. I take the subway at least twice a day, every day. I have yet to step into a car and not see a Louis Viton bag. It makes me uncomfortable. Please do not be ignorant, a fair portion of the world hates us (Americans). I guarantee the constant flaunting I encounter only serves to make the situation worse.