The other night I headed to the city for my branding theory class that inevitably was canceled because the instructor was stuck underground on the subway. Instead of an evening wasted in traffic I did a little window shopping at the posh downtown hipster mall, not really my scene but hey, who doesn’t love to indulge in a little guilty pleasure we call consumerism every once and a while. Shiny new stuff is so enticing isn’t it? There are purses, shoes and dresses calling, “you want me, don’t you… don't fool yourself, you can afford me” no matter how absurd they are for my lifestyle now. Wedge heals that I can’t chase a toddler in, the cute purse I can’t fit a laptop into and oh yeah and that dress that I could probably have fit into 6 years ago.
I’ve been much more aware of the fact that my tastes have been evolving since I became a mom. I’m a mom; do I look like a mom? It’s not a bad thing, just an age thing, an evolution thing, a progression kind of thing where practicality and simplicity are queen. So when I saw this little Vera Bradley clutch and I wanted it, it made me pause a bit. Grandma likes Vera Bradley? And if you’re familiar with this long established brand you’ll know what I mean. The prints are over the top and the styles are bordering on 80s vintage in my opinion. I’m not going to start collecting the stuff or anything, they already have their own cult following for that. But obviously they have wisely adjusted their color pallet and added some more contemporary designs to appeal to a broader more youthful market, but wait a minute - hold on a second, that includes me now! Dang, they got me.
So what’s in a brand and how do we become associated with a target audience? Well that I'm still learning but I can ask, how do we “re-brand” ourselves when we become parents and our identity shifts? I know I hold more value in what I do now as a mother than I ever did before I had a child. Can we re-brand motherhood to make it more appreciated? There are some people trying. Our culture feeds on the percieved value of carefully crafted brands and the qualities that they exude. For good or bad, that's the way we have been conditioned and it's not exclusive to any particular group or class of people. What are the qualities in the brand name that is you?
I don’t know if I’ll buy the silly bag or not, probably not. But I'm grateful for the reflection it provided free of charge. Some more food for thought below.
Brand New
No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs by Naomi Klein
Brand New by Jane Pavitt
