Paul Fussell

So Rich They Can Afford to Look Poor

Filed under: Apparel

There is apparently a point at which some excessively rich individuals decide to do away with decent standards of dress altogether. They are literally so loaded they can afford to look homeless; their rags become a sort of reverse status symbol. In fact, as author Paul Fussell noted in Class: A Guide Through the American Status System, shabby clothes "advertise how much of conventional dignity [the upper classes] can afford to throw away. The wearing of clothes excessively new or excessively neat and clean suggests that your social circumstances are not entirely secure."

We'd like to think that's the reason behind the appearance of the celebs on Nerve's new list of the "Top 10 Rich People Who Look Poor." It would certainly seem to be for notoriously-underdressed billionaire Condé Nast owner Si Newhouse, who clocks in at # 7. But we think it's more than likely that the Olsen Twins (#6), Britney Spears (#3) and Amy Winehouse (#1), who's reportedly worth $20 million, are actually just slobs. Check out the full list here.

Tags: Amy Winehouse, AmyWinehouse, Britney Spears, BritneySpears, Cond Nast, CondNast, expire-images2009-4-28, Nerve, Olsen Twins, OlsenTwins, Paul Fussell, PaulFussell, Si Newhouse, SiNewhouse

Paul Fussell

So Rich They Can Afford to Look Poor

Featured Galleries

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular

Also on AOL