Cultured.
Image courtesy of Frenchified
We’ve all heard the enviable tenants of what makes The French Girl so thin and cool: she eats smaller portions of really delicious food like chocolate, cheese, bread, meat. She has a smaller wardrobe filled with timeless, high quality pieces. In this way, she remains perfectly satisfied with less. This archetypical femme drives us American Yanks crazy – how do they do it and still look fantastic, brimming with je ne sais quoi?
I was recently in Paris – one of my favorite places in all the world – and while I did my civic duty and shopped (half-heartedly attributing my behavior to “contributing to the economy”), I was highly sensitive to cultural differences in terms of consumerism. Whereas in the States, a perky sales associate at J. Crew will tell me I should get sequined skinny trousers because they’re the “hit of the season” without trying them on, the elegant shopgirl in Paris will take the time to carefully discuss which color, cut, and fabric best suits me, and will last for years. It explains why I still wear all of the pieces I’ve acquired in France over the course of years.
Image courtesy of Manali Shah
Recently, a New York Times article entitled Why We Spend. Why They Save. explores the forces behind why countries like Germany, France, Austria and Belgium have maintained household saving rates between 10 and 13% while Americans struggle to save anything at all. I’ll spare you the details you can read in the article, but it boils down to this: a significant difference in cultural values. Much like personal values, cultural values are what a society holds dear and deems necessary to pass on to following generations.
Think about the European philosophy of food: instead of eating a whole bag of fat-free potato chips, indulge in one square of extra dark chocolate. It is the high quality morsel that gives the eater everything he or she needs; enough to satisfy without binging. Design anthropologist Dorie Tunstall loves the chocolate example as an analogy for cultural consumption.
According to Dori, the way against over-consumption is to buy objects that meet the needs of the consumer so that he or she won’t need to consume as much; like the square of dark chocolate. Now, she doesn’t mean that everything you buy must be the most expensive chair/jacket/boots/whatever, but it should contain the qualities that you want, at the right level that you need them. So, if you’re able to be cognizant and calibrate your unique needs, then you only need one particular version of whatever the thing is. You needn’t go out every week to buy another version of that thing, because you’re “metabolizing” it’s value very slowly. This concept works with bread. This concept works with shoes. Europeans understand this from a cultural standpoint, but it simply was never “taught” in the American cultural value system.
I became consciously aware of this phenomenon when I “gave up” fast fashion. No more H&M. No more Gap. No more Topshop. (I admit to the occasional Zara purchase, but we’re all human, non?) A few months ago, I treated myself to a blazer from Rag and Bone. I had never spent as much on any one piece of clothing, but the blazer was ideal. Perfect aesthetics notwithstanding, the brand behind the blazer connected solidly with me – perhaps created a deep value. R&G’s brand essence echoes the sort of downtown cool that I associate with my neighborhood (which I love a lot a lot) and see as an extension of my identity (as people often do in New York City). Beyond that, I know the pieces are made in the U.S., were started by two enterprising young New Yorkers – the same guys I habitually see at my local coffee shop. It’s a great deal: I get quality, identity, and a narrative to throw over my shoulders.
At the time of the purchase, I had a half dozen blazers in my wardrobe of varying degrees of quality. Once The Blazer came home, everything else seemed wrong. I would never need to acquire another blazer, because this one fulfilled every need I could self-identify. It was my piece of dark chocolate; it created a higher level of satisfaction, despite the eyebrow-raising price. All of the elements contained within that piece had meaning to me. In other words, it met my cultural values.
So why don’t Americans do more of this kind of consumption? That expensive blazer has actually saved me money and space in the long run. Why do we continue to have over-stuffed closets and under-stuffed wallets? Tunstall contends that it’s due to too much choice; too many brands. I agree, and would add that it’s our culture’s pre-occupation with trends. While observing the Parisians, I wouldn’t actually call anyone “trendy”, but more like “timeless”. Everyone looked fantastic, but their clothing choices would be as welcome 15 years ago and 15 years from now, as they are today.
Tunstall believes that mass consumerism has cheapened our values. Years ago, when people had about 2 suits and 1 pair of shoes, the quality and cut had to be timeless and of exceptional quality. Today, with so many choices, many of them inexpensive, the chance of making a “mistake” is greater. But, because of the perceived low risk (i.e. cheap price), we’re more likely to repeat those mistakes. For example, if you choose a brand that rings “hollow” to you in terms of values (bad cut, bad quality, bad treatment of workers), then you feel as cheapened as your values. So, you continue to buy in order to find that choice that rings “true”. Luckily, most retailers are switching out their merchandise every 2 weeks, so there is always something new to try.
Perhaps it’s our “bigger, better, best” culture in action. Since people tend to place cultural significance (their values) on objects, it makes sense that we would constantly want more, more, more. But I argue that if we could slow ourselves down and think about what is most important to our value system, we would consume more thoughtfully, mindfully. We could save more, look better, and spend time thinking about more important things. We could enjoy more dark chocolate, less 100-calorie packs.
I realize that I’m writing about the topic of over-consumption and values on the biggest shopping day of the year. Again, a symbol of our cultural values to behave somewhat irrationally in the face of over-consumption. Our culture does little to quell these tendencies, save small movements like Adbuster’s Buy Nothing Day. There is a lot we can learn from our European neighbors, and I hope there is more discussion like Dori’s and the Times in the future. As always, an exciting time to be thinking.
