World GDP per capita (PPP) is about $13,100 a year. The median is probably lower than that. I doubt &quot;regular people&quot; buy $1-2K outfits, considering they might still need to pay for food and living space. Perhaps it is you who have not met &quot;a regular person&quot;.<p>Some people, living on uncommonly-high tech salaries in the bay area and similar locations, might indeed spend $1K on a change of clothes. I imagine some other highly-educated professionals in expensive cities might do as well. There is nothing wrong or unreasonable with that, per se. But &quot;$1000 outfit is standard&quot; is a statement that applies to very few people, and implying that it should be the norm is absurd under present world economics.<p>For the record, in my experience, most people I meet in tech and in the bay area, still won&#x27;t often get close to wearing $1k. Those who do is often only when you include things like prescription glasses, leather jackets and wearable gadgets ;)