Further Rants From a Fashionville Refugee

(Just a note: while it was an interesting 'coincidence', the posting of these fashion related posts was not intended to collide with my presence at last night's B'nos Melachim Tznius presentation. The post was written before I saw it, and not intended to be a recap in any way..)

There are aspects of fashion I get, and aspects I don't get. For example, I get why someone would be very excited to buy a sweater they like because it is in style. But I simply can't figure out how it's possible that someone can buy a sweater that they like, and then stop liking it the minute it goes out of style.
And while it is within my comprehension to refrain from buying a skirt that you dislike, which also happens to be out of style at the moment, I can't for the life of mine figure out how a person can rationalize the purchase of a skirt that they dislike-when it comes back in style. And if someone mocks a particular style (which they dislike) when it's considered 'nerdy', I get that. But I just don't get how a person can buy that very same style when it becomes the height of fashion.
So apparently, my belief in these rules has permanently disqualified me from taking up residence in fashionville. But I must confess, it gets worse.
Firstly, realize who you are dealing with. My mode of dress has been described as "underwhelming". I wear the same black skirt every day of my life. Accompanying that is a solid top, usually black. In the winter, it's a cable knit sweater, in the summer, it's a collar tee-shirt. Sometimes it has three buttons in the front, and sometimes it has a small zipper. Once in a while, when I'm feeling daring, it's a v-neck. But honest that's as much variation as you get. The shoes don't get much more thrilling either. They are always flat, round-toed, black loafers. In short, I capture attention by my personality, not my clothes.
The next thing you should know about my clothes is that shopping gives me a headache. And I try to avoid activities that give me headaches. Therefore, I generally shop only when I absolutely can't avoid it. So, my clothing doesn't get replaced with the shifting of the styles. Rather, I wear it until the holes can no longer be patched and the permanent stains start attracting attention.
Are you getting the picture? Basically, to sum it all up, the shopping styles of MP and SD are polar opposites. We simply can't get each other. I think the system is dumb, and she thinks I'm dumb. That works. Perhaps I am.
Because the big thing that I have yet to figure out is brand names. And the big thing that MP has left to figure out is my lack of fascination with brand names. It just makes no sense to me. If you like a tee-shirt, does it matter what animal it has in the corner? Is an alligator really better than a horse? And are either of those really better than a hippo or something? What if, for variety, I want to sew a picture of a canary into the corner of my shirt? Is that un-cool? Why? Just because I didn't overpay for it? And what if I have a picture of a horse, but instead of Ralph Lauren's horse, I have a picture of Shloimy Klein's horse? Did I lose my coolness?
And while I'm on a roll, perhaps someone can explain the following concept. While I don't understand the thought process involved in overpaying for a name-brand object, I've sort of accepted it. Not as rational, sane behavior, but as evidence of the stupidity which is so prevalent in our society. But there is one aspect of it that I just can't accept. It is so mind-boggling, and so ridiculous, I hope there is someone who can explain this to me.
Why in heaven's name would a normal person, who is in full control of a normal and healthy mind, go out and overpay for a COPY of a brand name object? And even worse, I hear (correct me if I'm wrong) that they walk out of the little back room of some booth on Canal Street, clutching their oddly shaped plastic bag which, of course, has a triangular shaped tag with a poor replication of a prada logo, and they actually feel like they found a bargain. Why? Because it looks so real that nobody can tell the difference, but, since it is fake...it's cheaper.
Seriously. Does anyone have any sort of explanation for me?