Yeah, “visible” success isn’t limited to millennials.
I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition to houses in limited access subdivisions (in the right neighborhoods, of course), fancy cars and designer clothes were major deals. TV shows like “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” “Dallas,” “Dynasty,” and “Beverly Hills 90210” were everywhere. Even more “normal” shows usually featured well-off families in big suburban houses, often with a housekeeper (in fact, the housekeeper was the star of shows like “Mr. Belvedere,” “Who’s the Boss,” and “Charles in Charge”). It was also the era of the supermodel, a constant reminder of highly polished visible success in beauty and desirability. For people in coastal cities, the ability to eat at Spago or Le Cirque was such a huge deal that I, a midwestern teenager, somehow knew those names and what they meant. Travel was definitely a thing. Some of my peers from wealthier families made sure that everyone else knew about their families’ trips to ski in Aspen or to Maui or the Caribbean.
None of this is new. Only the signals and media change.