Iowa Fashion, Lifestyle, Consumer practices (Des Moines, Waterloo: purchase, high school, universities)

[hdinia]

Originally Posted by hdinia

Just like anywhere else, you will find people who have to have the latest and greatest along with those to whom labels and current trends do not matter.

Originally Posted by hdinia

I know at least 3 people who have more than a couple of Coach bags but I myself haven't spent more than $45 on a purse.
I have a Harley but also drive a Jetta.
I don't own a pair of Oakley's or shoes that cost over $100 but have several friends that do.

Your quote: Unfortunatly of the many people in the state of Iowa, seems that only a few are interested and only interested in tearing down the question. Mustang84 and El Rhino are the only two that gave an answer to the question. Guess for the rest of you it is too hard to come up with an answer.

I didn't think that my answer was all that "serious". Just true. I don't know that you will find quite as many people interested in labels in the rural areas but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Personally, I buy things because I like them - cars, clothes, purses whatever. I imagine that if I had a larger income then maybe some of those things would come with a larger price tag or a more recognizable name. I figure to each their own.

[mofford]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Mustang84 and El Rhino are the only two that gave an answer to the question. Guess for the rest of you it is too hard to come up with an answer.

I put on my Levis jeans (the kind without the baggy ass) this morning and hopped into my Ford Ranger to search around for a box of assorted chocolate guns and hand grenades that would make an excellent fathers day gift for most any dad. Every store should have some, but I came up empty. I should call Stams and ask them if they could make a box of them for under $1ooo. I kind of want a box for myself too.

[ghghx]

Now what's intersting to me about the question is that when I lived in California, I actually heard people who had just been introduced to each other ask "So, what kind of car do you drive?" or "What ZIP code do you live in?" If rankled me then and it rankles me now because it presupposes that people are going to define each other by conspicuous consumerism. In other words, it's shallow. I don't care what anyone drives, whether they wear designer brands or not or what expensive toys they have. I care that they are honest, hard-working, reasonably intelligent, and contribute more to the planet than they consume.

I'm not in Iowa yet, so my answer is moot, but I can't remember the last time I bought anything because of the brand. The car is a Saturn. Can't tell you what the purse is....maybe a Liz Clainborne. Whatever it is, I didn't really pay attention to anything except whether it matched the shoes and if I could get my wallet and mace in it.

Chocolate guns...I saw one once. A gal I know makes candy and fashioned a few for her husband and his twin brother for their birthdays. Chocolate guns with a cake made to look like a mounted deer head. It was hysterical in a kind of tasteless way. (Delicious, too.)

[head_nut]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

i find it a bit offensive (or maybe niave) to ask a question as if all iowan's would react or answer the questions the same way.

Also, i'm not sure if you've gotten the memo, but all blacks don't like fried chicken and watermelon and the jewish people don't own all the banks.

i totally agree!!

[Alicia Bradley]

Iowa isn't one undifferentiated square mile of cornfield.

I live in the oh-so-super-wealthy (oh yeah?) Eastern seaboard region known as 'Northern Virginia' at the moment and have never seen so many thousands of Applebee's-loving, couldn't-care-less-about-appearance lamers in my life.

I was born in Davenport, IA, incidentally, and have been missing the (urban, but not exclusively) Midwest's sense of funky hipness (innovative restaurants that won't break the bank, etc.) that seems to be sorely lacking here in Greasy Spoon Land, AKA Jersey South, AKA the Washington D.C. suburbs.

I don't know about you, but I get strong 'tacky newly-rich cheese-man' vibes coming off of the OP.

[Iowagirl566]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

All I wanted to know is what do you like. Never said I was generalizing an entire population. I asked a similar thread in the New York City Thread, the Phoenix thread, and the LA thread. Funny how those people would answer for themselves what it was that they personally liked or didn't like. Here in the Iowa forum I have yet to hear what your ideal car would be, what your ideal brand would be, or what is considered fashionable in Iowa. I am not asking for the entire state to answer, just you th individual reader. How much more simpler can it get than that?

If you had to pick a car, you personally, not your neighbor, what kind would it be? A= 1966 Ford Mustang

What brand of clothes do you buy? A = The most comfortable ones I can(I've been buying some Eddie Bauer lately)

Seems simple to me. Never said that I personally was obsessed with designer clothes items or looking better than anyone else, or spending more than anyone else.

Maybe you never thought as a kid "when I grow up I am going to drive a (pick a brand).

Maybe you never thought as a kid "when I grow up I want to buy (Pick a brand).

I'm not very brand conscious, I buy purses from Target or Stone Mountain brand and I don't usually pay more than $40. I plan my weekly meals around what's on sale and in season. I clip way more coupons than I use. I buy New Balance sneakers and Rocky boots as these are what feel good to me. I buy what fits and feels good. I do like to drink Starbucks coffee because it consistantly tastes the same and I know what I'm gettting. I drive a Ford Escape but kind of wish I had bought a Jetta.

[azbaked]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this so hopefully I'll get this posted right. Anyways, I happened across this thread thought I'd respond too.

I've never been to IA but was born & raised in a very small town in northern IN, I've been living in AZ for about 12 yrs now. There are so many differences between small town IN & large city AZ.

My question is why do certain people care about the type of car you drive, how big your house is, what the labels of your clothes, bags, shoes, etc are? Who really cares? It's the actual people, their character & morals that leave lasting impressions.

I saw all the pics from the other thread & they are all beautiful, and if the cars, clothing &/or the pics themselves are outdated & no one is shown wearing designer labels and expensive vehicles are no where in sight, who cares! The pics made me think of home.

Have a safe, happy, fun 4th!

[todd00]

i wouldnt say its to deep for pple here to tackle, i find people on city-data to be pretty sharp. its more likely many find it so silly and such a gross generalization making assumptions about everyone in the state, it just isnt worthy of a response. where ever you go there will be pple that are of the sheep mentality, that dress, drive and aspire to live in like cookie cutter mcmansions. the media pounds this into their commercials, be cool and follow the trends. people of reasonable maturity and intelligence make decisons based on individual tastes, and to a varying degree this is dictated by the almight buck. every state will have a mix of the sheep and the independent thinkers, end of story.

[garxhap]

I think this is one of the strangest threads I have ever read on City-Data. I'm having trouble understanding why someone is so fascinated with fashion trends in Iowa or anywhere else.

In my book, people who are preoccupied with what's trendy are a bit shallow. And probably insecure too. Just sayin.

[RonnieJonez]

Originally Posted by todd00

i wouldnt say its to deep for pple here to tackle, i find people on city-data to be pretty sharp. its more likely many find it so silly and such a gross generalization making assumptions about everyone in the state, it just isnt worthy of a response. where ever you go there will be pple that are of the sheep mentality, that dress, drive and aspire to live in like cookie cutter mcmansions. the media pounds this into their commercials, be cool and follow the trends. people of reasonable maturity and intelligence make decisons based on individual tastes, and to a varying degree this is dictated by the almight buck. every state will have a mix of the sheep and the independent thinkers, end of story.

I find society to be made up of two kinds of people...one, the shallow & superficial, the other, being the learned & reflective, it's to the latter that I hope my posts appeal to.

Someone wanting to have the right car, house, etc...really isn't a bad thing. Someone not wanting those things, there's nothing wrong with that either, I believe that holds very little bearing on individuals, Iowa, and the midwest in general, is not a free-thinking place. Most people are obsessed with the Hawkeye/Cyclones game (provides fodder for months after the fact), cheap drink specials, the state fair, or you have the irreversibly annoying Des Moines crowd who's been tricked into believing they're in New York City/Los Angeles now. On top of that, most people aren't very friendly unless you went to high school with them. There's a reason why the midwest is seen the way it's seen.

The whole "reverse superficial" ideology can be very snobby in it's own right...well, we don't believe in everything that isn't extraordinarily simple, so we're better than you. I'm not pushing any way someone should think, but a straitjacketed mentality is not a way to evolve.