“Old Money” made its appearance on the scene of Instagram fashion a few years ago. Dress classy, avoid logos, “shop these brands, not those brands.” It became a cultural obsession.
Moving away from the 2000s and 2010s where logos were all the rage, suddenly they seemed accessible. And once something becomes accessible, the bar of exclusivity moves. Now, quiet luxury has become the obsession. Chic, unexpressive, never too in-your-face about its often unthinkable price tag. However, this new trend came with a new label attached to it: “old money.”
The whole of the internet was up in arms about what is and is not “old money.” People claimed Cartier is exclusively old money, but now it is just the go-to brand of every up-and-coming influencer. Hermes has now also turned into the same thing: a symbol of the consumption of middle and upper-middle class people trying to look like they are above their means. Every single influencer desperately angles their bags so that their audience can see it is a Birkin or Kelly.
The cultural obsession of trying to seem like something that you are not completely took over the term. Everyone began to fixate on the same brands, visit the same “old money” hotels and bars and post from them. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with liking nice things, but the whole of the internet began to misconstrue what the real meaning of “old money” is. It feels sad to watch the internet play a game of dress-up by classifying a group of people, a social class if you will, into a category of clothing that everyone can purchase.
Realistically, most people who come from generational wealth do not need to prove it. The old sweater and the beat up car guy might also have a chateau in the south of France from his great-great-grandfather. The girl who doesn’t own any branded clothing might secretly be tied to royalty. The point of “old money” is that nobody really needs to prove it. The internet has construed old money to be someone who wears clothing from brands that are “if you know, you know.” The problem is, it’s not about the brand. It is about the family. It is about the if-you-know-you-know last name or neighborhood. It is about the photos or portraits next to big political figures from previous centuries and long family trees tied to royal lineages. It is about attending certain schools for many generations. It is however, important to note that wealth is not limited by the social construction we have around it. Someone who is “old money” can choose to cover themselves in logos. That is what wealth means: having the right to spend money however you want. “Old money” simply means that generations upon generations of the same family have maintained their wealth.
“Old money” has turned into the slogan of every nouveau riche trying to seem more cultured than they are. It is wrong to be “new money” because it implies lacking culture; but is pretending to be something you are not that much more cultured? The problem is that money teaches lessons over generations. When the fixation is making money and proving you have it, you run the risk of missing out on other things such as being cultured and having familial traditions. Many families over generations cultivate identities through musical taste, hosting events in their homes, being part of the art world through curation purchase and philanthropy and connections to the world of politics. Some of these even being generational activities. This is not something that can be faked or made up for with a Max Mara sweater.
The sadder truth is that this offshoot of fashion culture is very likely a result of the economic hardships of this generation. It is easier to appear wealthy and to feel good about yourself than it is to buy a house or to invest in something that could help build future generational wealth. The sad truth is that we are in a place where cosplaying as wealthy has become the most we are capable of in a world where everything important and tangible is becoming unaffordable. As a result, many people want to look and feel wealthy through fashion as a form of escapism.
The problem of “old money” isn’t really just a problem about our desires to look like something we are not to feed our egos. It is a problem of circumstances where because of how bad the economy is becoming, we have turned to playing pretend in order to cope. So of course, everyone came up with a definition for the right kind of wealth, and of course everyone has bought the right clothes, bags and earrings to fit into it. “Old money” has turned from a tangible social class to an economic coping mechanism to fuel our own self importance.
Lusine Boyadzhyan is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the Arts & Culture department and can be reached at lboyadzhyan@cornellsun.com.
