#aesthetic poverty

[fieriframes]

[There is a sort of aesthetic poverty about conservatism.]

[lithuvan]

ever since i saw the sam smith airport jeans photos i couldn't stop thinking about this

at least pelle wore some leggings under his jeans

[hole34]

btw it's okay to be a vegan and to *have* to eat something made with animal products if absolutely necessary

if you're poor and your ONLY access to food is something that has dairy or meat in it, it's okay.

like i never go out of my way to buy or ask for meat or milk or cheese, but if i am currently at a point where i absolutely do not have any food and my only access is a donated lasagna or whatever, i am going to eat it. i do not support it but i also don't believe in letting food that has been given away or discarded go to waste * if it is my only option. *

being poor or in poverty is absolutely not your fault and some things about that life are going to be very unideal, but that doesn't mean your morals are any weaker or any less respectable.

[golden-letters]

fuck capitalism i hate being stressed about money i want to frolic in tulip fields with wind in my hair and letting mud stick to the soles of my bare feet drinking water from waterfalls and howling at the moon

[zmediaoutlet]

was scrolling through your tags and saw "i wonder if he and dean argue abt gas money" and i feel like dean is in charge of their finances. like maybe there's more to be said about that topic like winchester money or lack there of, that maybe you have opinions about? i'd love to hear them.

love your writing, btw ❤️

Dean is definitely in charge of their finances, altho what "finances" means in the era of "we know how to hack credit agencies" is a little fuzzy. (Someone pointed out a laptop screenshot where Dean emails Sam and says that Sam "owes him gas money", which is both a) endearingly dumb and in character, and also b) YOU SHARE MONEY, DORK. THERE IS NO MONEY. [Dean: "It's the principle!" me: I repeat, dork.])

Winchester money is an interesting one! In the way-way back there was this big sprawly meta conversation about their interaction with class that really went all over the place, but what's interesting about it to me is that they are no-collar while coding blue-collar middle class. Like the old middle class, of limited debt and home ownership but still being on a modest salary and with modest tastes. Maybe a vacation once a year, etc. Not that that was their exact situation, but it's the social bracket they occupy. Note that Sam was desperate to get into the white-collar strata and really tried hard to play at that, especially in s1, but like a lot of the jumped-up masses he was more bougie nouveau riche than actually part of that set -- note how he couldn't order a glass of wine in Provenance (which happens to be one of my most hated scenes in the whole series, but that's not Sam's fault, lol). He makes fun of Dean's blue-to-no-collar tendencies but he's irrevocably part of them, and luckily he grows up mentally enough over the first few years that we don't get as much of that college kid crap, just home from school and making fun of Mom's casserole for not being what the kids in the city think is cool. You like the casserole, kid. Stop fronting.

But Winchesters-and-money really takes on a whole other valence because they're free of it. Like obviously in latter years once the credit cards get perfect (I guess that's as of the introduction of Frank and/or Charlie) it means nothing, and I'm glad of that bc we actually don't need to think about it, it's a solved problem. But when they're younger, there's the literal in-the-moment needs of food/gas money/clothes/where are we gonna sleep tonight, and they're very hand-to-mouth. But the way they're hand to mouth is like... fine. They don't have to worry about a mortgage. The Impala certainly does not have insurance, and neither do they have health insurance. There is no retirement account and there are no debt collectors knocking. They're free of the credit/financial system in a way almost no one else is, because they're also completely free to steal and pirate their way through life. Not least because it's the moral choice inside the textual universe -- they have to be free to save the day, so who cares if they're fucking over some random person's credit history.

It does a really interesting thing to their characterization. They're not stuck in the backbreaking poverty of e.g. the characters in Shameless. They aren't struggling to pay bills because they don't have bills. There's in-the-moment urgency but once that moment has passed and there's food in their bellies and gas in the car and Sam's got a new pair of shoes without a hole -- they don't really have to think about it the way most would. It's almost more of an aesthetic than it is a foundational shaping. That said, you do have to solve those moments as they come because there's no savings cushion, either, so either you get the new cards from the PO box or you figure out how to scam someone or you, you know. Do whatever else Dean might've done, to make sure there was food on the table.

[mai-333]

The Poverty Aesthetic;

Why do people want to look poor?

N.hoolywood Fall/Winter 2017 men’s collection

Not wanting to look polished and elegant isn’t something new. Messier aesthetics have been popular styles since the 1950s. The hippies of the 60s wore a beat up, vintage carnival look. Punk rock trended in the 80s where people wore shredded, torn, or bleached jeans. The 90s had grunge where tattered and even dirty clothes were worn, with distressed denims and flannels. But while these trends were primarily influenced by music and political movements, the current phenomenon of wanting to look homeless or poor is not.

The poverty trend really started with shoes. Taking inspiration from grunge fashion trends which included well worn Doc Martens and Converse. Many people took to manufacturing this look by purposefully making their shoes look dirty, and old. So while these may look similar, the 90s grunge style was created through thrifting and repurposing clothes. This new trend is a mockery to 90s grunge, faking a used look is pathetic, many people who are forced to wear tattered shoes would love your brand new ones. If you really want the distressed shoe aesthetic then buy them second hand, or just wear your shoes until they look worn. This has escalated severely, to the point where luxury brands such as Gucci and Balenciaga, are now selling new used looking shoes.

N.hoolywood and Magnolia Pearl have both been criticised for glamorising the poverty aesthetic. Even John Galliano, who’s 2000s homeless inspired collection later influenced the parody Zoolander film. Celebrities such as Johnny Depp have been seen wearing ‘distressed chic’ outfits which could have been seen on a homeless person, except that he’s actually wearing Magnolia Pearl.

It is no surprise that people have taken issue with the poverty aesthetic, because this is only an aesthetic for those who have the choice. It is the ultimate luxury to be able to choose to dress poor. What a poor person will be judged for wearing is now a trend for richer people. Rich people view poor people through their lens of privilege. This style is not just controversial, it is ignorant, out of touch, and overall just privileged.

Choosing to wear second hand clothing, oversized and layered outfits, is not the issue. I understand that many people choose to dress in a more alternative and grungy style which may look similar to what is worn by poor or homeless people. It is not problematic to wear distressed or tattered clothing when you can afford otherwise. Dressing in worn and second hand clothing is one of the best ways to tackle fast fashion and over consumption. The issue lies where rich people want to masquerade as poor, when luxury brands sell and promote ‘homeless chic’ fashion.

[chlamydia-biohazard]

[runbulletproof]

Friends, there's something really wrong with my cat's hip/leg and we really need to get him a vet appointment. After rent and bills we don't have enough to take him. If anyone wants a bone or pendulum reading, please let me know!! I'm so so worried about him. I can't sleep knowing he's in so much pain 😭 Thank you so much for reading 💖

Cashapp • Paypal

[punk-abuse]

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

'you were raised with an angry man in your house. there will always be an angry man in your house. you will find him even when he is not there.'

[xiamdeathx]

Last update for my 90s poverty ✨a e s t h e t i c✨ house's living areas. I gave myself a little pang of nostalgic pain when making it. The house was heavily inspired by the trailer I grew up in (I nearly shot soda out my nose when I saw @awingedllama's counters and cupboards that came straight out of my old trailer,) and while I hated the way it looked growing up I kind of wish I could live in a place like this again. It just feels like home.

Up next: The bed rooms and bathroom!

[tentacleteapot]

this is going to sound like I’m vagueing about somebody or being snarky and mean but for once I’m not, I actually haven’t seen a post like the one I’m about to describe for a little while, but—I’m always fascinated by the inconsistency of where people draw their personal lines of “this is just too implausible for me”.

like, I remember a lot of posts reacting to the uptick of Lady Knight art and posts about same by basically going “you know knights were basically just cops, right?” and “yeah well your sapphic romance isn’t gonna feel so cute when you think about how many orphaned peasant children were dying of dysentery just offscreen” and stuff like that, but it’s like—as soon as you look into the average people’s interests I guarantee you’ll find at least two or three things about which they’re willing to say “I know this isn’t realistic but I think it’s really cool” or something similar. speaking for myself, I know I’ve fallen prey to “this is popular on tumblr right now and that makes me never want to hear about it again” before and will do so again, but I’ll freely admit that I also do give other media and genres slack and credit that I don’t extend to the media and genres I’m not as interested in. I just think it’s interesting to see where people draw that boundary even if I often don’t agree with it.

[ubetterburnwitch]

I keep thinking what the ethel cain lore would look like if she lived in soviet europe instead

[chronostutter]

the issue is that i really like patch-ridden jean jackets/battle jacket/whatever you call it in terms of aesthetics but i fear that most are often extremely corny and even more performative

[golden-letters]

i keep thinking damn everyone's out having fun being on holiday and i'm working and i ask myself what's the point then i realise it's not about having a point or not. i don't have the money to travel abroad. i only have the choice of rotting in bed or doing something with my time. i am going to choose the latter.

[fals3nd]

beth is perfectly content watching from the sidelines. she always has been, even before her breath became too faint after dancing for it to be a necessity she sit to the side during balls. her fingers tap in time to the sound of the music and she wonders, idly, if she could play the tune on her pianoforte. "hello," the second-youngest miss march says with a small smile, "are you not interested in dancing this evening?" @proditeur