Evidence suggests that buying things is an inefficient way to turn money into happiness (you're better off buying experiences). You tend to end up on a treadmill where you have to buy more and more expensive versions of everything just to maintain your level of satisfaction with them.<p>When I buy a "thing" it's as a means to an end - it's not what I own that matters, but what I do with it. Sometimes that means the power of a tool is important, but most of the time it means buying the cheapest thing and spending my money on things that are more meaningful. I remember what I've done, and forget what I own.
There is the beauty contest, and then there is Keynes' beauty contest, in which people flock to what they think other people think is beauty.<p>I think people respect an informed choice about an asethetic, but some distrust the flocking.