A short story provoked this question: I was getting lunch and groceries in Whole Foods yesterday when a beautiful woman caught my eye. As we both made our way around the perimeter of the store, we made eye contact a few times but I didn't say hello. As I walked back to work, considered why. Part of it was that she was very well dressed, whereas I was in typical summer attire: cargo shorts and a tee. I thought about how in winter, I'd be more likely to be wearing a dress shirt and fedora, and thus be a little more confident trying to flirt with someone fashionably dressed.
And now, I am wondering how nice-looking clothes jive with an efficient, frugal lifestyle. It seems there's a spectrum: on one end are subsistence farmers and the like who don't have the means of making a decision here, and on the other end is someone who (say) bought a mansion with a credit card and insufficient income. (Interesting to note that the opposite end of the spectrum also includes no choices: bankruptcy is coming.)
The point of this post is not so much, "how do I find nice clothes for cheap?" but "should rejecting a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption imply that we also avoid all appearances of same?" What about the impacts that might have on our behavior? The oldest garment in my closet is a 15-year-old tee that I might wear for a jog or yard work; the nicest is a tailored suit I brought while traveling abroad. Naturally, I conduct myself very differently in those two getups.
Oh, and as I walked back to my office I saw her again, parking her SUV and going in for lunch at a French bistro. This time I did smile and say hello, and we laughed about how we'd both gone 3 blocks in identical time. (I'm sure everyone will point out what a terrible person she is and how it would never work out, yadda, yadda... don't worry! I'm just philosophizing.)