Tonight it dawned on me.. I just might actually be materialistic. Honestly.. This comes a quite a shock. People have called me materialistic before. I just dismissed them as people with suspect taste OR jealous.  In the past I fancied myself as "quality conscious" but after the incident which happened a few hours ago topped with some self reflection and evaluation.. It has become abundantly clear.. I am very materialistic.

 Earlier today I decided I need new sunglasses.. Purchasing sunglasses holds about the same reverence as buying a swimsuit. If you don't pick the right one it is all kinds of wrong and bad. Nothing is worse (well there are many things which are worse but I digress) than someone wearing unflattering sunglasses. They can make or break an outfit. The wrong sunglasses can transform a thin person into a bug faced gaunt Rachel Zoe. On the flip side a person wearing glasses which are too small for their face can look like a Magilla Gorilla. Anyway.. Back to the story..

I was shopping for sunglasses and the darling sales girl was showing me all sorts of frames which flatter the shape of my face.. I have a "heart shaped" face. Isn't that cute? She is handing me pair after pair and I am dismissing them for one reason or another till I find a pair I actually liked. I was in the midst of telling her that I liked this particular pair when I looked on the arm of the sunglasses and saw "Ralph Lauren". There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ralph Lauren products by the way. I just want to say that as a preamble. I quickly removed the offensive glasses and said "No no no darling not these.. My last pair were Fendi. I can't downgrade to Ralph Lauren". I know right? How snobby am I? The sales girl took it all in stride and quickly handed me Prada glasses. After a few more tries I skipped out of the store with brand new Tiffany sunglasses which I absolutely love. However, this incident gave me pause for thought...  Perhaps I am a bit materialistic...

Basically no matter who makes sunglasses if they are #1 flattering to your face and #2 have the right UV ray blocking lenses the important requirements are met. Who cares what company produces the glasses? Right? WRONG! I do but only when it comes to me. My best friends don't purchase high end sunglasses as they claim they lose them to easily so they aren't worth the investment. My case is a bit different. I buy a great pair of sunglasses and wear them for YEARS.  The retired Fendi glasses have been in my possession since 2006 so to me they were a great investment. $300 sunglasses I have used for 4 years which balances out to about $6.25 a month to wear. In my humble opinion I have gotten my money's worth out of them. (sidebar- I can justify ANYTHING) I doubt if I purchased some less expensive glasses they would have held up for 4 years and looked as fabulous as the day I purchased them. HENCE why before today I always attributed my taste to being quality conscious.

Now I am not so sure. I might be BRAND SNOBBISH. Example.. I won't shop at Old Navy because I think the clothes are shoddily made, the stitching is poor, and the material is scratchy like Hobo newspaper. In contrast I shop at Banana Republic which is basically the SAME COMPANY. Old Navy to Gap to Banana Republic. Same company. Different price points.

Example.. I COULD drive a Toyota but instead I have a Lexus.. Which is.... A Toyota.


Example.. Instead of wearing a Anne Klein watch as an every day watch.. I wear a diamond Raymond Weil watch.


Example.. Wet & Wild nail polish .99 a bottle vs OPI which is $8 a bottle.

Example.. Dasani bottled water $1.29 or the Fiji water I prefer which is $2.59 a bottle. 

Example.. MAC lip gloss $12 a tube instead I wear Chanel lip gloss which is $30 a tube.
A look which is elegant and effortless as this to the naked eye seems like an inexpensive outfit. 
However, it takes a lot of money to look this chic.

The examples of how I upgrade are endless. I am picky about the sheets I sleep on, the food I eat, basically everything is upgraded.. And.. I'm worth it. I doubt I am going to change. Perhaps, only to upgrade even more.

FIN

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