How brands destroyed quality standards
The cognitive tax of slop: why every purchase now requires unpaid research
A while ago I saw a Burberry advertisement from the 1980s in the Netherlands. I was surprised how many stores stocked it at the time: dozens across the country, not just P.C. Hooftstraat (the Dutch answer to: Fifth Avenue/Bond Street/Avenue Montaigne)
My grandfather was fond of brands like this. He always dressed sharp, even though he was a ‘simple’ mechanic at the Dutch Royal Air Force. He invested in pieces that lasted. The stores where he bought them could repair them. He owned pieces he’d been wearing for over 30 years.
Men like my grandfather never needed to doubt if the trench coat he bought was the Burberry ‘Made in Thailand’ edition or the more expensive Burberry Prorsum ‘Made in England’ edition.
There was only one Burberry back then.
