Brand Badging

It was 10 AM. I was in the security line at SeaTac airport, ready to board the four hour flight to Austin. The middle aged couple four spots in front of me must've woken up at 6 AM to get ready for the flight. The gentlemen wore a Burberry jacket (visible by the pop of the symbolic tan tartan under the collar), gucci shoes and was carrying a large Louis Vuitton duffle. And that was what I noticed before he stripped for security. After laying their wares across 5 security tables, I was exposed to another Burberry jacket under the first, True Religion jeans, and a Dolce Gabbana tshirt. This, my friends, it what we call brand bradging.

Brand badging is not to be confused with iconic brand style. I'm not a huge fan of Louis Vuitton, but I can't dispute the fashion utility of the iconic brown bags. The classic Channel tweed jacket has been copied so many times, its used to describe the style like Kleenex to describe tissue paper. Brand badging is specifically the use of external labels on the item to promote the brand.

Fashion brand badging is much like driving a bright yellow hummer - it screams, "Look at me! I spent a lot of money on this stuff!" One brand badge often leads to two and three and four until you have a style miasma of noticeably branded fashion labels splattered across a single body. More often than not, it does not represent a style perspective but an economic position. And according to the Economist, this is exactly the affect it has on others. Wearing noticeable labels makes others think you are of higher status and wealthier.

Is this snobbery? Yes. Is it classist? Probably - and my "middle class" mores find it ostentatious. Have I done it? Definitely. I remember back in junior high when the pinnacle of my fashion statement included a Genera tshirt and an Esprit bag. Ok. I didn't have much allowance, but I felt like hot shit in my duds. It is a way of fitting in and saying "I belong." And let's be honest, its a lot easier than trying to find your own style.


How do you avoid the pitfalls of brand badging? 
1. Beware of items externally labeled. This is particularly difficult on bags, but subtle labeling is different than the Gucci G spread across the entire bag. And since they are not rules, breaking them occasionally will not harm anyone. I will admit to lusting after a navy velvet Louis Vuitton bucket bag that stitched the brand across the velvet. But paying more to advertise for others is a sure sign you are be horn swaggled by a brand badge.
2. If you are wearing an iconic brand style, only wear one. A piling of the iconic, even if not externally labeled, often leads to the same style miasma.
3. Consider how the item, not the brand, fits into your style and image. How does it feel and fit? These questions alone will steer you in the right direction.


Oscar Wilde commented that "Only shallow people don't judge others by their appearances."  It is normal behavior to judge, evaluate, make a quick estimate, of someone on the basis of their appearance. Some brand badging can help you score a job or a date. Too much brand badging says you don't know who you are.

As always,
Style Illiterate