We hates us some poor people. First, they insist on being poor when it is so easy to not be poor. They do things like buy expensive designer belts and $2500 luxury handbags.
This is a good article but the main takeaway for me is just how deeply fucked up our society is that this kind of thing is what people base decisions like hiring on. Racism and sexism and then this bullshit on top of it? Makes me want to live as a hermit.
Twenty-some years ago I remember asking an officemate where she shopped, since I needed something nice for a job interview. Jeans were the norm in the academic computer lab where we worked, but she was always dressed like she was about to make a presentation to the board - conservative but stylish dresses or suits and always hose and low heels. Of course she was the only black person in the department.
I remember that later that night it hit me like a ton of bricks what she meant when she told me “I guess I just like to make sure I look like I know what I’m doing.” A big part of our job was tutoring students, another was assisting faculty with technical problems. She was the go-to person for anything related to MS Office, even for the people teaching those classes. Even during semester break when we were changing out whole roomfuls of equipment, though, she was in full make-up and dressed in a nice blouse and a stylish belt.