I am not a brand conscious person at all, I can gladly wear or use anything non-branded without thinking for a second that it will ruin my image in any way or will not look good. I don’t think that wearing or using branded things changes anything, what matters to me most is my comfort but that does not hold true for everyone. I do not know how things used to be before but nowadays it seems like we are fast turning into a group of people who very often weigh each others worth and even our own worth on the basis of which brand one can afford. This is very sad because we live in a country where most people live below the poverty line and many cannot afford the basic necessities of life.
The reason I decided to write this article and derived this conclusion is that the other day all of us friends had a get together and every time someone complimented the other person, the answer was thank you and then came the name of the brand he or she was using. If I tell someone “wow nice lipstick”, the answer would be, “thank you it is mac”. If you say to someone, “I like your bag”, the answer will be, “oh thank you I bought it from Charles and Keith”. This makes me wonder, do people buy expensive, branded things because they like to or so that they can tell others that they can afford these things?
I have nothing against people who can afford branded things and like to buy them but it is the mentality that most such people have that bugs me. If I tell someone that I like to buy shoes from Bata or Servis, I may be considered an outcast because I am considered to be living in the 16th century…if I find these shoes comfortable then why must I go to a more expensive outlet just because it is a brand that is known internationally and is worn by the rich and famous? To me my comfort comes first and also I do not want to be part of the “brand competition”, it seems like once you start labeling people and yourself based on what brands you buy or they use life gets a lot more complicated because there will always be brands that are more expensive…so where does it all end?
I even know parents who think it is beneath them to buy things for their children from a local outlet. If they cannot go abroad to shop for their child, they will make sure that they go to the most expensive branded store next to them. I have always dressed my children in clothes that anyone can buy from the local market and they look just fine in them and the clothes last too. I have even heard discussions about how the local Cerelac (or any other baby food) is not as good as the imported one., I can’t help but laugh at such conclusions but usually do not try to convince the brand conscious people. It seems like some of us are just convinced that the local goods can never be good enough and it is only the imported branded things that come with a guarantee. I have to confess that I did invest a big amount of well earned money into buying some branded things, not to please my brand conscious friends but strictly out of curiosity. I wanted to know what was about these things that had these people so convinced that they were the best. My experience wasn’t good at all, the clothes I bought looked old after a few washes…maybe it was just my bad luck but it also reinforced my belief in the saying that curiosity killed the cat!!
Are you brand conscious? If yes then what is the reason for it? Are the people around you brand conscious? If yes then does it bug you? Please share your thoughts.
Ayesha Ahmed.
