In the past, I’ve written that I’m not one to celebrate the Sex and the City lifestyle. I have difficulty getting behind paying for a brand name without differentiating functionality behind it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m overly analytical or if there’s something Y-chromosomey about it. I look around at most of the things I own, like say an Element brand flat screen and I am quite happy with its performance for the money. When it comes to fashion though, I have to admit that I don’t get it. Maybe, I’m too much of a Maxxinista (wait, is that Maxxinisto for me?).

I’m reminded by this when I see stories about this $1,050 swimsuit that you shouldn’t get wet. Let me repeat, over $1000 for a swimsuit that you shouldn’t get wet. In my opinion it is also an unattractive swimsuit that will leave an ugly triangle tan-line. Nonetheless, I’m sure there are people with effectively unlimited money that will buy this. That article also gives a nod to the $500 pair of socks that you can’t wash as well as the 8-inch high heels, that are hardly suitable for walking. (The toe-shortening surgery that the article is really about is an article for another day.)

I shouldn’t pick on women’s fashion exclusively though. After all, I could buy dozens and dozens of the swimsuits, socks, and shoes mentioned above for the $250,000 price tag of this Harry Winston watch. The key feature of the watch is, of course, giving you the time in hours and minutes. There appears to be no second hand. When it gets to a new hour, wow, it looks entertaining. Here’s a video:

One of the most disappointing aspects of this is that the crazy spending can’t even be blamed on the Price-Placebo Effect. People know going in how impractical the items are. They don’t do anything better much, much cheaper versions. In fact, in most cases they perform their function quite a bit worse.

It saddens me to see money spent like this. I realize that some people have enough money that purchases like these are insignificant. I can’t imagine being such a person without having a bit of guilt. In the back of my mind, I would think, what would the red cross, dog shelter, or Kiva.org do with that $1,000? Am I really going to get more out of watching all 566 parts of a watch fly together to form a number every hour, or knowing that I could have permanent changed the lives of hundreds of people in a third world country.