Out-of-Touch Elite: Designer Coat with Navy Rank Costs More Than Sailor's Monthly Pay
Being an elitist must be nice sometimes.
After all, if ignorance is bliss, elitists must live in ecstasy. The total tonal and cultural disconnect from everyday Americans that some of these elitists have is jarring.
That disconnect is so far removed from anything resembling common sense that it’s fair to wonder if they’re actually doing this on purpose.
Case in point, the latest example of elitist tastelessness comes from noted fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
Just to be clear, Ralph Lauren could very well be a wonderful human being. I certainly don’t know him personally.
This is more an indictment on creative choices that just screaming, “Let’s ignore a giant swath of people living in middle America.”
I’m no fashion expert, but I’ll concede the coat looks nice.
But notice the “eagle-and-anchor bullion patch”? That patch denotes a Navy rank that typically takes years of hard work and service to own.
Instead, it’s being used to cash in on patriotism, hard work be damned.
In fairness, the peacoat is a longstanding Navy staple. It makes some semblance of sense to include the patch.
But whereas one typically acquires a peacoat by enlisting or going to the local Army surplus store and spending less than a $100, the Ralph Lauren peacoat is reserved for only those who have a lot of disposable income.
The Ralph Lauren peacoat comes in at a cool $3,495.
Just as a frame of comparison, a dhief petty officer makes, on average, $2,944 a month. It takes them 26 years before their salary goes up to $5,291 per month.
So the very same Navy officers from whom Lauren is aping the look of his peacoat couldn’t afford the peacoat at all, unless they work for more than 20 years, in which case the coat would cost them most of their monthly salary.
How disconnected from reality must you be to think this was a good idea? Sadly, it’s becoming a theme that’s all too common.
Who cares about the working class or military heroes when you can make a quick buck off their backs? Clearly not the elitists.
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