I have a feeling that “material culture” is going out of fashion in some places. It used to be that only the rich and powerful could buy things and people wanted to imitate the rich and powerful.
Nowadays, at least in European cities, the rich and powerful like to pretend that they don’t need to own anything. Probably because of the cost of housing, having largely empty rooms becomes a sign of status. The rich also do not like to display brand names. Understatement is fashionable.
At the same time, the poor can now afford the bottom lines of known brands. Or maybe they buy counterfeit goods, I don’t know. Not the very poor, maybe, but the population who lives in high-rise buildings in not so safe suburbs tend to still believe that flashy clothes, cars and a big-screen TV are in.
The situation may be different in America, I don’t know.
