Millionaire Bag Lady
Wed, 02/11/2009 - 05:00.
in
I'd just had to relay this anecdote that a colleague of mine recently told me about a good friend of hers.
Her friend is a multi-millionaire but doesn't like to show off this fact. She'll dress fairly conservatively and can be frequently seen around town carrying a plastic shopping bag. No Gucci or Coach bags for her Practicality seems to be the order of the day.
Anyways, she walked into a fancy store called Holt Renfrew – it's kind of like Barney's or Nieman Marcus in the US. It is very expensive with many top luxury brands. She was dressed as per her usual sensible nature with her plastic shopping bag in tow.
She walked around the store and motioned for someone to help her. But something happened – the sales clerks completely ignored her. I wonder why? Hmmm … could it be, the sales clerks didn't think she had any money? As it turns out, she had about $800 in cash in her pocket and was ready and willing to shop.
What's the moral to this story?
You really can't judge a book by its cover. Granted, she was dressed in a plain and ordinary manner, but had those sales people taken the time and asked the right questions, they probably would have had a sale.
It's also confirms something that I've known for quite some time. Very frequently, the people who appear well-dressed on the outside are frequently very broke. I've also been doing taxes for many years and I see the same thing – people that spend their money on high-priced items usually (but not all the time) have financial cancer.
I've dealt with a few millionaires, too, and I've found that the truly successful ones dress modestly, are gracious and polite and will always take the time to chat, regardless of who you are.
That's why I tend to not judge people by the way they dress – you just never know who you're going to meet.
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Awesome article, and i agree
Awesome article, and i agree with this. Yes don't judge a book by its cover.
But as you said the people that look rich are usually broke. Hence they are the middle class you try to look like the rich, too bad they are missing the qualities of the rich.
I will definitely feature this article on my top 10 valuable list next week.
Looking Rich
Thanks for the comment and featuring me on your blog!
Yes, it's foolish to try and look rich if you're broke - I know many people like this.
Millionaire Bag Lady
This is so typical.
Back in the Dark Ages when I was married to the corporate lawyer, I used to hate going in to the upscale stores where we bought some of his clothes. If you weren't dressed to the nines, the snooty clerks would look down their noses at you. I actually left one boutique close to tears.
Hee hee!!!! Then there was the time we went to the franchise lawyers' annual shindig at the Greenbrier, a very snooty resort, indeed. I wore THE most expensive silk skirt and blouse I owned...and the women serving cocktails were dressed in exactly the same costume. When I went into a shop there that peddled vintage costume jewelry, the woman at the counter barely deigned speak to me, and when she did, it was in the most condescending tones.
Your social class is communicated in ways other than your clothing, so even if you enter one of these stores in disguise, the sales help is likely to intuit a working-class background. They KNOW you are not one of the landed gentry, and they certainly know you're not of the aristocracy.
Now that I'm back among the Great Unwashed, I hardly ever go into those stores. Believe it or not, I really DO have plenty of money to shop in upscale establishments, and I will occasionally buy an Eileen Fisher at Saks. But in general: thanks...I'd rather get it at Costco.
The way you dress
Well said.
I now never judge the way someone is dressed.
They could be a millionaire, for all I know.
Excellent reminder
I also use this logic on the rare occasions that I yearn for some absurdly expensive splurge - it probably makes me look like I can't afford it! Intelligent people know that looking wealthy has absolutely nothing to do with being wealthy.
One thing I would add ...
... Never take financial advice from someone wearing a suit. They usually have something to prove, and they will try to prove it with YOUR money!
;-)
Financial advice from a suit
I couldn't agree more!
Someone has to pay for those suits!
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