I have a perception, whether it’s self induced or via society, that I don’t fit into the life I lead. My son is at a private school, we drive a big 4×4, live on a private residential estate and I’m a stay at home mum who doesn’t need to bring in an income. We don’t struggle financially. Assumption is the mother of all f-ups!
4 out of 5 mornings, when I drop Tristan off at school, I’m in my activewear. They are from Mr Price Sport. My day to day wardrobe is usually from Woolworths. We don’t travel overseas annually as a family (Tristan is only 2 and he hasn’t been overseas yet but has flown a lot domestically). In fact Shaun and I have only been overseas once since our honeymoon in March 2014. Do I fit into the mould you have based on the description of our lives above? I don’t think so; and it honestly doesn’t really bother me. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me at all; but for the most part it doesn’t.
When I look around at the other families on our estate and at school I see (or assume) clothing is all from various fashion labels, annual (some biannual) overseas holidays and generally a more ‘upper class’ lifestyle. And this isn’t through pure assumption, we as parents & neighbours talk and I’m quite a perceptive & bright cookie!
Having said all that, I am not a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. I wear what I find comfortable and I don’t see the worth in spending R1000 on a pair of jeans just so they have a brand name. I sweat in my gym clothes, why does it matter if they say Adidas or Mr P? I have never wanted to go and spend loads of money on branded anything (except gym trainers, those are New Balance and I won’t compromise on that) so why would I suddenly start now other than to try and fit a ‘mould’?
I guess this perception can be likened to the phrase ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. I also guess the keyword in this post is PERCEPTION. It’s my perception that I don’t fit a certain mould. Maybe I’m completely off the mark, I don’t know. And, as I said earlier, it doesn’t really bother me.