Observing Life: Why high-end brands shouldn’t determine our value

Louis Vuitton, ­Gucci, Hermès, Bulgari, Cartier, Lamborghini, Bentley – high-end brands seem to be everywhere now – and if you don’t have them, you are not part of the in-crowd.

More and more Emirati people are being judged by their possessions, and if you don’t have the latest trendy status symbol, you are put in a box. I’ve noticed how people look you up and down and form an opinion before even talking to you.

Why is this? It’s a question I’ve been trying to answer as our obsession with brands becomes more pronounced.

The idea struck me recently when I was meeting a friend for coffee at an exclusive cafe in London. I was wearing a normal T-shirt, jeans and a pair of Toms shoes. I didn’t have any designer ­accessories.

My friend arrived kitted out head-to-toe in branded merchandise – from a Hermès bag to a pair of Christian Louboutin heels. The moment she saw me, she had a look of displeasure on her face.

I could tell she was embarrassed to be seen with me, and even though we had coffee together, she quickly left afterward.

It was then that I realised she was judging me on appearance rather than ­personality.

Even though this doesn’t bother me too much, I’ve noticed that materialism seems to make people lose sight of reality, and simply dressing every day has become a competition with everyone trying to one-up each other.

Recently, I heard a woman tell her niece that it is the designer brands that make women beautiful. Really? I think it is the person that makes a brand stand out.

Unfortunately, this is not the general consensus. The desire for validation and the need to fit in has become so relentless that I believe it makes people forget who they are as individuals and forces them to conform to the status quo.

In the UAE it is not uncommon to see luxury cars on every street corner – this in itself is an example of the “look at me” mentality that has developed here.

A car in the UAE is representative of a person – if he or she drives an expensive car, people tend to respect them more on the road, while those who drive more downmarket cars are often shunned and disrespected.

I believe the wealth of some people in this country plays a big part in all of this. They have money to burn and often choose to buy big, for personal pleasure and as an attempt raise their social ­status.

Is this a good or a bad thing? Materialistic objects do have their value but society needs to remember that objects just provide temporary satisfaction.

We first need to be satisfied with ourselves – we are judged by who were are as people, not by what we own.

In the end, you can’t take material possessions with you when you die.

American country singer Porter Wagoner once wrote: “I’m richer by far with a satisfied mind.” Touché.