#are often pulled from the literal exact same conveyor belts as limited run gbdjillion-dollar shoes

[earth-wyrms]

You're 100% correct. That social spiral is convoluted on purpose. It excludes the people who cannot afford - either with time or with money - to learn the nuances of the dance. Its why so much weight is put on the details of the aesthetics and etiquette and why so much of that "high quality rich people stuff" is actually really cumbersome to use: if I have the time or the money to afford to go to extra effort just for the aesthetics of something I can signal my social class (better than everyone who cant). Its why you'll look at absurdly wealthy mansions with the most uncomfortable looking chair-like-objects you've ever seen and wonder, "why would anyone sit on that?". You're not supposed to. If you'd ask you'd find out that the pseudo-chairs are $6,000 each - but you're not supposed to ask. If you were like me you'd already know that this chair-moeba was $6,000 and it is never to be used. The fact that you had to ask or dared to sit, signals that you are not in the know about the haute interior designer of the season; the guy who's work is the current symbol of our superiority. The fact that it changes is also the point. If you cannot spend the energy to be on the pulse of the present wealthy zeitgeist and if you do not have the money to change your chairs out every season, then you are a lower class of person than me. It's the mixture of social signalling that has literally always existed (powdering unwashed faces), combined with conspicuous consumption. You indicate how much money you have by burning it in frivolous ways that help no one else. (like shooting your car into space) So yeah rich people stuff is cumbersome and hard to use on purpose. Comfortable chairs are shunted off to a back room where they are actually used, but comfort should never be displayed. Out where you do your entertaining - where you communicate your status - is where you show off. Showing off and getting comfortable are opposites. Oh and the exclusivity becomes and ouroboros, btw. That's the spiral you pointed out. Thats why the zeitgeist changes and why you'll have people chiseling out their honeycomb calcite (beautiful, literally only found in the US state of Utah) countertops if too many of their peers also start installing honeycomb calcite countertops. Via my exclusivity not only am I better than the people who cannot afford (time, money, effort) to have this, I am better than my peers. I am better than the people I desire to impress. One-of-a-kind-ness that also cost thousands of dollars to buy is a sure-fire way to signal to everyone that I am a higher social class than them. Anyways. A LOT of this (and more) can be found in Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History, by Richard Ford Thompson who goes into this kind of material social dance through the lens of clothing. Who is allowed to, or should be excluded from, wearing what kind of clothing. Why is it so important, ect. - ask if your local library has it, can get it for you, or if you can snag an inter-library loan - or buy it from a small bookshop HERE

The hyper-wealthy need broken rules and abandoned morals/ethics to survive.