explaining the "old money aesthetic"

It's interesting that for the rich they can get away with being sloppiness and it read as a sign of not caring or having to much money to care. But being poor and sloppy is a sign of bad breeding or being really gross. Of someone with no taste

I liked your point about interior design! Old money has historically meant that people inherit STUFF. Minimalism looks "relaxing" or "luxurious" only in a modern standard, but it is definitely a mark of new money rather than old

the main difference appears to be that when new rich people buy their way into college, it's a scandal. when the old money do it, it's a legacy.

There is a saying in the vintage fashion community that says, “vintage style, not vintage values” meaning that one may have an affinity towards the styles of the past without espousing the regressive values accompanying those outfits and hairstyles.

This was such an interesting video. I wonder if Gen Z's aspiration of the old money aesthetic stems from feeling burned out by "hustle culture." There was such an influx of influencers and entrepreneurs in the mid-2010s chasing brand deals, working to gain followers, creating businesses, selling merch, etc. that Gen Z grew up thinking they needed to be working on side hustle and creating their brand to achieve success and fulfillment. The old money aesthetic feels almost like an escapist sigh of relief-- a break from the hustle because you have generational wealth to fall back on.

it needs to be said: Mina you are killing it with the topic related outfits every video

I remember when The Corpse Bride introduced me to the "Old Money" and "New Money" situation, I remember Victor's family, a newly rich family and Victoria's family, an old money family marrying off their daughter to a new money family in hopes of retaining their former glory since they've lost all their money and Victor's family marrying their son off of an old money family in hopes of getting in the high society, though the old and new money aspect of the movie wasn't showed enough, It did help me get an idea as to what old and new money is.

I think we're obsessed with old money because we'll never be old money. There's no limit as to who can be "new money" but old money will always be just those who were born into generational wealth.

I was raised by my grandmother: a poor, non-white , illiterate woman. She was, tho, one of the most amazing seamstress I know and she learnt everything from second hand magazines that came with patterns. She couldnt even read and she learnt from the pictures. These magazines were mostly filled with what you would call "old money aesthetic" today, but for her, decades ago, it was what gave her confidence to walk on the streets even when hearing racist insults. I was raised having her teaching me how to dress "elegantly", so to me, when I see this trend, all I think of is my grandmother and how she would love for me to dress like that... haha. It is a bittersweet story but I thought I could share.

I was always told that “old money” families dressed in neutrals because they understood that being ostentatious would agitate the lower classes, who might threaten to disrupt the hierarchy.

I'd like to touch on the "taking tennis lessons on your free time" part because for me, it's pretty relevant. Many of us who romanticize old money admire and/or wish for the ability to have more time to enjoy life and develop skills out of sheer interest, or simply have a decent amount of time per day or week to dedicate to our own pleasure. Millennials are the victims of hustle culture in a decaying economy and gen Z are the consequence. Wealth doesn't even have to be extrapolated to generational level: it's extremely hard for an individual to make enough money to be able to afford said activities and when achieved, requires a 60 hour work week, if then. I am in med school in a third world country, aware of the fact that the first few years of my career won't allow me to pay rent. As the atheist/agnostic population grows and the romanticization of sacrifice as a way to find purpose devalues, a sense of meaning emerges in pleasure. Most of us don't know or don't believe there is a point to life, but agree it is to be enjoyed, either as a purpose itself or as a way of making the pointlessness more tolerable, yet, most of us are barely able to make some time to go to the gym or a bar on the weekends. Juxtaposed, old money families. Who spend their weekends at the country club, horse riding lessons, impromptu trips wherever and whenever, parties. Families who don't have to think twice or look at their wallet before making the choice to give into a desire. I think deep down, we all want and need a bit of this.

I'm from a lower-class family and somehow ended up dating a guy that was old money. Despite being worth millions they were frugal in odd ways. Most of their possessions were things they found second-hand or inherited and preferred to buy quality items that lasted them for a lifetime instead of overpriced fast fashion. They chose simple, local handmade items with no noticeable logos instead of a gaudy Gucci jumper that was made in some sweatshop in China. They taught me it's about having an eye for quality and the knowledge behind how/where those items were made. Just because something is expensive doesn't make it worthwhile to buy. My ex's mom knew the history behind all the books, clothes, jewelry, kitchenware, and art she owned, and all the different companies or designers involved. Everything in her house had a story to it. Books and being learned were also important. My ex and his family went to ivy-league college and there was a definite emphasis on doing well through discipline and hard work, not by throwing money around. He and his sisters didn't have any social media. They didn't have a TV in the house either. Just a radio. They were in their own bubble in some ways, disconnected from the world. They were also quite "normal" at times. They got groceries at a normal store, enjoyed going to the beach and having ice cream in the summer, drove an old defender, ate at a pizza joint once in a blue moon. There was very little, if any, junk food in the house actually. My ex didn't have McDonalds till he was in his late teens either. Anyway, they were kind of insane in other ways and did judge me for being lower class so eventually I had to peace out. God, I miss being bouji sometimes though...

love the use of lana del rey to introduce the deep dive on old money aesthetic, i've seen it used in many tiktoks and since lana projects the essence of the "trashy west coast girl" dreaming about old east coast money (in the national anthem music video especially) it's a great illustration of how people into this aesthetic are trying to copy an image of wealth rather than what rich people actually are like

It’s interesting that we glorify old money, i think its mostly a way to drag new money and paint them as the lesser of two evils. Perhaps we feel more disdain for new money because of the flashier braggy nature of the lifestyle, or because it is just constantly in our faces (in our feeds). BUT MAYBE theres even a factor about how we are deep down kind of jealous of new money people for having easily acquired lots of money quickly and recently, despite having started from a place similar to us (they are somewhat in our competitive circle? of our society, “it could/should be me”), whereas old money just seems so out of reach we don’t even consider it a possibility and therefore don’t need to feel they are even part of normal society and causing harm to society or be an object of jealousy. They are in the realm beyond reality, in fairy tale levels of magical and mysterious…

The fact that the female side of the "old money" esthetic was born from a desire to look "smart" and not sexualize yourself makes it seems alot more appealing to me. Under normal circumstances if someone told me I dressed like a rich white lady id be deeply offended but I am down to appropriate the look of a 50s/60s era college girl attending some prestigious school and trying to change the world.

It’s crazy to me that this was published 6 months ago, and this aesthetic is already out and replaced with the “clean girl”

When you talked about “east coast rich vs west coast rich” the first thing that came up to my mind was legally blonde. I’m not American so I wasn’t familiar with that differentiation, but one thing this movie shows it’s that difference. Think of Elle’s and Warner’s backgrounds. On one side, you have Warner who has a family name (Warner Huntington III), the connections to get into Harvard when at first got waitlisted, a generational senators family, a marriage that’s probably arranged with a woman of that same status. Even the detail that “the rock” that he gave Vivian is a family ring that his grandma gave him, their sober classical styles that match or the phrases that he says in that dinner when he breaks up with Elle “east coast people are different” or “If I wanna be a senator by the time I’m thirty I need a Jackie (east coast/old money) not a Marilyn (west coast/new money)”. On the other side is Elle, daughter of clearly new rich people. She lived all her life in the west coast, spends thousands on fashion and it’s interested in it, her parents that support her on that and even think that law school is for boring people, who have these styles that embody new rich and how she in college kind of gets picked and under appreciated for this. You can clearly tell that, and how throughout the movie the tables turn because Elle character develops and turns out a better lawyer than Warner, even though their backgrounds at first showed us a different path of events. And there is an actual phrase on this: “If I'm going to be a partner in a law firm by the time I'm 30, I'm going to need a boyfriend who's not such a bonehead” which kinds of means like “you questioned my capacities and now that I’m better than you, you want me, but I don’t get along with all of this crap”. Well, now that I clearly showed an incredible detailed analysis of my fave movie of facts that I never really thought about. I really enjoyed this video and in general I love your content keep it going !! PS. If there is something wrong with my writing sorry, English is not my first language, please correct me if I made a grammar or redaction error.

The movie Titanic first introduced me to this concept of "old vs new" rich. The "new rich" lady was the only one that was nice to Jack. She was also the only one upset about leaving her husband behind while on a lifeboat, probably cause she married for love instead of for money and the family name, like Rose was supposed to.

The Kennedys were considered nouveau riche amongst east coast social circles. Jackie’s step father Hughdie Auchincloss was from old money thus giving the Kennedys more credibility through marriage.

I read this in 'Rich People Problems', that the reason old money like to pick on the new money is actually deeply-rooted and hidden insecurity and distorted inferiority complex. Old money might feel a little uncomfortable, as unlike them, new money actually earned their wealth themselves, which makes the former wonder if they deserve their wealth.