I read somewhere that a UP professor once went to a café wearing ordinary flip-flops (tsinelas, Manny) and was not allowed to enter. What’s absurd was, the professor saw the guards allowing people who wore trendy and expensive flip-flops to enter without question.
Apparently, some establishments implement dress codes allowing only trendy and expensive flip-flops. Outrageous.
And then there’s this person I know who talks persistently about how great Havaianas are. How trendy, how classy, how expensive these flip-flops are. And he’s just so proud.
And I always think to myself, what’s so hot about this footwear? The only difference it has compared to more affordable brands of flip-flops is its name and the fact that it is imported. Think of colonial mentality.
It’s disappointing to know that many people still are victims of colonial mentality. For them, things that are made in other countries are ultimately better than locally made products. I thought colonial mentality was obsolete. Actually, environmentalists advise people to buy local products because the shipment of goods from country to country consumes a lot of energy and resources. But colonial mentality is not just what it is about.
It’s also about economic status. The Havaianas-wearing crowd wants to show everybody that they wear this kind of footwear because they can afford it. They want to tell everyone that they are rich. And for what reason? To get respect? No sir. They would more likely be getting animosity.
Funny. Most of the people I know who wear Havaianas don’t even have a million in their name.
So when I see people flaunting their Havaianas in an attempt to impress people or hear them shouting about their new pair of Havaianas to get attention, I just smile.
When you need to buy a pair of flip-flops for a thousand pesos just to impress people or get noticed by others, you must be a really mediocre and uninteresting person.
How pathetic.
P.S. This is not sour-graping. I can also buy a pair of Havaianas when I want to. But I have more important things in mind to buy.
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chuckled when i read the PS part.LOL
Posted by hannah at July 14, 2009, 5:54 pm