There needs to be a place to draw the line. The problem is that it's hard to figure out whether that feeling you get when you buy something is because you know other people will see you in it, and that gives you pleasure (as in, if you moved to a place where burlap sacks were considered "designer clothing" would you toss your current wardrobe and start shopping for burlap sacks?) or whether whatever you are buying would serve you equally well if you were stranded on a desert island (you get just as much pleasure having a sports car to race around in if you knew nobody would ever see you driving it- or at least enough pleasure to justify the cost of the car, assuming a desert island with well-maintained highways and gas stations).

-- JonathanWaisnor - 18 Apr 2010