In or society, we have given meaning to owning luxury items such as cars, clothing or high end restaurants. Creating noticeable differences between social classes is the main reason why these expensive products are able to sell and high end restaurants are able to successfully stay open even in this economy. However, just because an item costs more does not necessarily mean it is worth more or is of better quality. This is very apparent when it comes to name brand clothing. It costs just about as much to make a pair of Old Navy jeans as it does to make those $200 a pair designer jeans. Because our society is very big on labels, people still ignore the fact that both pairs were made by someone in a sweatshop.
Being in a certain social class determines your taste in food, figuratively and literally speaking. When people in the working class eat out, their choice in restaurants is significantly different of those compared to those in the upper class. The main reason for this is because of capital, or money and also location. There are many noticeable differences between fast food restaurants and high end, five star restaurants. Typically restaurants that serve items on their menu for under $10 a meal or they have a ‘value menu’ are aimed at people who do not want to spend much and are on a limited budget. On the other end, high end restaurants often times do not list the prices on their menus. Another difference between restaurants aimed at different classes, is the language used on their menus. High end restaurants often use different languages for the foods listed, whereas the fast food restaurants often have pictures of the food shown next to some of the items they sell.
We have been socialized to have taste according to our social class. However, because of the media and advertising, people of different social classes are exposed to things or items that give us ‘status’ in society. Owning items like all the Apple products, and other various name brands are a few examples of showing others you can afford expensive items, which translates to being rich in our society. The perfect example of this is the family or individual that lives beyond their means. This means they are spending more money than they are earning. The expression ‘keeping up with the Jones’” puts people in debt because they buy into the meaning of owning items of status. In fact, it has been instilled in us that part of the ‘American Dream’ is to be able to afford expensive items.