What all status symbols have low cost look alikes?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I was talking to some people today and they mentioned furs, and how they are unnecessary since there are synthetic furs that can replace real furs. This got me thinking, i honestly can’t think of any ‘status symbol’ that doesn’t have a low cost alternative except maybe for mansions.

Furs, eelskins, name brand clothes and handbags, diamonds, pearls, precious gems and metals all have low cost alternatives on the market that look and feel the same.

Maybe luxury cars also count as something that there isn’t an affordable substitute for, but affordable companies like kia and hyundai are trying to change that.

So is there anything else im forgetting? It seems like most status symbols are no longer applicable and identical substitutes can be afforded by the common (wo)man. Maybe thats why the hummer 2 is so popular. i’ve heard the phrase ‘accept no subsitutes’ and ‘only one’ be used to describe the hummer 2.

#2

Very big and nice TVs are expensive no matter how you cut it.

#3

Yeah but the difference here is synthetic furs look synthetic and are not nearly as warm as the real thing. I have yet to find a decent synthetic fur that could equal a real fur. Which is why I wear a leather jacket. (Hey, the cows were killed as a food source so why waste the hides?)

Status symbols are just that. Symbols in which the well off can say “I can afford to buy the real thing and it doesn’t hurt my budget”. It’s more of a mental thing to the rich that they know they can afford luxury and us commoners have to buy the cheap imitations. I usually avoid the designer “knock-offs”, I am a jeans and tanktop kind of gal anyway. :slight_smile:

Other items: Household furnishings, appliances