10 Things That Are Tacky When You're Poor, But Classy When You're Rich

In this episode, Chelsea dives into things that get coded as classy or tacky depending on whether you're rich or poor, from acrylic nails to tiny homes.

Sources:

-exposed brick:

-living in the country:

-casual dress:

-acrylic nails:

-tiny homes/van life:

-gambling:

-outsourcing childcare:

-wearing logos:

-haggling/negotiating:

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[donalny]

#1 thing that is trashy if you are poor but classy if you are rich: Accepting money from the government.

[sophiameneely]

On the flip side of minimalism, I think often times owning a lot of stuff when you’re lower income is a necessity. You can’t throw away something because you might need it later. It’s the security in knowing “if I get rid of it, I can always buy another one”.

[montserratperpuli]

As a Mexican, living in Mexico, another thing is how we are viewed as immigrants is we live in the USA, but Americans call themselves ex pats when living in Mexico, or another low income country

[lokelosk]

This is such a good video. It also reminds me that people that move to other countries are "immigrants" if they are working class, but "expats" if they are rich or living a "nomad lifestyle". It always pisses me off.

[d]

I used to volunteer at our local homeless shelter and I saw how necessary a smart phone was to navigate the social service system - to get hold of the right person in the right office, to schedule appointments and figure out the transportation system and on and on.

[lestranged]

Classy when you are rich, tacky when you are poor: being bilingual. growing your own food or keeping chickens.

[AM.]

Having a drug addiction while rich: "they need help"
Drug addiction while poor: they did it to themselves, throw them in jail, don't help them-they will just use it to buy drugs.

[MisterTutor]

Rich people are judged for conspicuous consumption while poor people seem to be judged for ANY consumption.

[letsgetmental]

I remember in middle school that my aunt (dark skinned Dominican) was taking to me (white passing Puerto Rican mix) to a get my hair and nails done for my birthday. I got there earlier than her and this woman that was waiting for an appointment was giving me suggestions, which included acrylics, and then when my aunt walked in she asked if they did acrylics there. I guess the woman thought it was okay to say this to me but she told me “ugh that would make her even trashier” I couldn’t believe it even back then

[krn]

An added point to moving to the country. People from big cities move out to these rural areas and then make trouble for the lower income people who live there and throw fits because things aren't the way they were in the city. Growing up rural we had a family from NYC move into the closest house to us (1/2 mile away) and the complain about our livestock. They didn't like the bulls bellering during breeding season, they didn't like the flies. They didn't like the combines running at 2:00 am in the field across the road during wheat harvest.

Then don't move next to a working farm. That's someone's home and business, not a place for you to live out your cottagecore fantasies.

Shockingly they lasted less than five years before moving on.

[jaredgenova]

There are so many additions, but one I would add: speaking one or more languages outside of your first language. For many immigrants, it's seen as low class to have to make a phone call to your parent, relative or friend; or to have to translate for someone. If you're from an upper middle class or upper class background, you're seen as "open minded", "educated", and "worldly". Such a double standard. Great video!

[crystallewis]

It's funny, I thought Chelsea wore animal print on purpose because animal print is one of those things that people often see as "classy" if it's a designer item but "tacky" if it's a low-end brand. This happens a lot with fashion: for example, large hoop earrings have become trendy among influencers but have previously had a reputation for looking cheap (and among some groups, women who wore large hoops were even considered slutty).

[rileylawson]

“IS IT THE NAILS THAT ARE LOOKED DOWN ON OR THE WEARERS” 👏👏👏

[Eponine_Sandon]

Some other things:
Having many kids
Eating junk food
Driving old cars
Both stay and home moms and working moms

[lynnj]

"...he should have to dress like the robber baron he is..."
Ma'am, I spit my coffee. Thanks for that one.

[tristanmills]

Another is tans. Historically, being tanned was a sign of lower class, out working in the sun all day. Now on rich people it's seen as a good thing (even the obvious fake tan), but for poor people, still a mark of being a manual laborer, or worse gets into the racism of having darker skin...

[marianhampe]

The counter-signaling is super fascinating in the context of colleges and universities as well. I went to a liberal arts college out on the west coast, and a version of counter-signaling combined with thrift "upcycling" made for a super disorienting culture where extremely wealthy students were "dressing down" and in turn speaking poorly of students who didn't. This, of course, ended up rearing its head when it became obvious that the students who were lower income or scholarship students became the targets of this think-piecey mockery by the rich upcycle crowd. I swear it was like being part of a social experiment.

[BubblyViolin]

Saw this parenting approach to allowances and it really peaked my interest: intentionally setting it low, and telling your child that if they want a higher one, they have to justify why. This isn’t done to ‘torture’ your child, but to teach them the skills necessary to be a good negotiator before adulthood.

[maggierobertson]

The jump in luxury brand popularity blows my mind. As an elder millennial I'm still scarred by the '08 crash. No way I would leverage myself that far.

[analea]

Deciding to have a bike as transportation vs driving an expensive car. When rich people choose a bike as a daily transportation it’s so fancy and eco friendly and they are praised for being sustainable but when an average person does the same they are broke and need to level up to be taken seriously
Drinking/ Smoking also are such a classy social activity and almost a requirement for riches and tacky and unhealthy activity for poor