裝富炫富能帶來什麼好處(上)

Scroll through rapper 50 Cent’s Instagram feed and you’ll find a preponderance of photos where he basks in unimaginable riches.

瀏覽饒舌歌手“50美分”(50 Cent)的Instagram頁面，你會發現很多炫富的照片。

There’s the shot where the rapper, real name Curtis James Jackson III, can’t seem to find his legs because they’re buried under $100 bills. There’s another where he’s stocked his refrigerator with bundles of greenbacks. More confusing still is a snap where the rapper arranges his “lunch money” ($100 bills) to spell out the word “broke”.

在其中一張照片裏，這位真名柯蒂斯•詹姆斯•傑克遜三世(Curtis James Jackson III)的饒舌歌手的腿似乎不見了，因爲他用100美元的紙幣把它們埋了起來。在另一張照片裏，他在自己的冰箱裏裝滿了一捆捆的美元紙幣。還有一張更令人困惑的照片，他用自己的“午餐錢”(一堆100美元紙幣)拼出了“broke”(破產)這個詞。

That last image is the most telling. Jackson filed for bankruptcy in July last year, claiming debts of between $10m and $50m, according to court documents. But when the 40-year-old was summoned to a Connecticut court in the US this February, the judge explained that she was having trouble reconciling the man in front of her with the man in those Instagram photos.

最後一張照片最爲吐露真情。法院文件顯示，傑克遜去年7月申請破產，他的負債高達1000萬至5000萬美元。但當美國康涅狄格州的一家法院今年2月傳喚這位40歲的饒舌歌手時，法官表示他完全無法想象面前的那個人就是Instagram照片中的“50美分”。

The rapper’s creditors had tipped her off to the Instagram account, according to the New York Times. Jackson’s response was as simple as it was unexpected.

據《紐約時報》報道，這位饒舌歌手的債主給法官展示了他的Instagram帳號。傑克遜的回答簡單得令人意外。

The piles of notes were “prop money”, he wrote in documents filed to the court. “Just because I am photographed in or next to a certain vehicle, wearing an article of clothing, holding a product, sitting next to what appears to be large sums of money or modelling expensive pieces of jewellery does not meant that I own everything in those photos.”

成堆成捆的錢都是“道具紙幣”，他在提交給法院的文件中寫道，“我在照片中坐進或靠近某輛汽車、穿着某件衣服、拿着某個東西、坐在一大堆錢的旁邊或者帶着昂貴的首飾，並不意味着我擁有這一切。”

Everyday people are leasing a lifestyle beyond their reach in order to project an image of power.

普通人也通過借來的東西享受超出自身能力範圍的生活，希望以此給人留下有權有勢的印象。

The rapper is hardly the first person to prop up his public image with borrowed finery. It’s an open secret in Hollywood that much of the clothing and jewellery worn by celebrities has been “seeded”, or loaned, to them by fashion brands. And those lavish cars? They’re often leased (or even rented) from high-end dealers who specialise in working with athletes and stars.

“50美分”並不是第一個通過借來的東西提升自己公共形象的人。明星的很多服裝和珠寶其實都是“播種的”(seeded)，也就是說，這都是從時尚品牌那裏借來的。這在好萊塢早已是公開的祕密。豪車呢？通常都是從專門跟文體明星打交道的高端經銷商那裏租來的。

And it’s not just celebrities; an increasing number of everyday people are leasing a lifestyle beyond their reach in order to project an image of power and authority they hope will give them an edge.

其實不只是明星，越來越多的普通人也在通過借來的東西享受超出自身能力範圍的生活，希望以此給人留下有權有勢的印象，以便爲自己賦予優勢。

Worth the investment?

這筆投資值得嗎？

Image consultant Marian Rothschild, author of the book Look Good Now And Always, said making small lifestyle changes to give the appearance of wealth or power can often prove to be a good long-term investment for professionals. Consider it investing in your personal brand.

《總是看起來很好》(Look Good Now And Always)一書的作者、形象顧問瑪麗安•羅斯柴爾德(Marian Rothschild)表示，對於專業人士而言，通過對生活方式的輕微調整來營造有錢有勢的形象，通常都是一項不錯的長期投資。可以把它視作是對個人品牌的投資。

“People these days are realising, ‘I need to up my game for what I believe my potential is, where I want to go, and how I want my life to be. So I’m going to make this investment by buying this Rolex watch, or leasing this gorgeous car, or overextending myself on my wardrobe for this season’,” she explained. “It’s kind of like a peacock extending its feathers and saying, ‘look at me’.”

“如今的人們漸漸明白一個道理，‘我需要通過展示我的潛力、我想去的地方和我渴望的生活方式，讓自己上一個臺階。所以我要進行一些投資，購買這塊勞力士手錶，或者租下這輛豪車，或者在這場活動中穿着不屬於自己的衣服。’”她解釋道，“這有點像孔雀開屏，爲的就是讓人們都來看我。”

A recent survey from global staffing service OfficeTeam found that 80% of executives take clothing choices into account when considering an employee for a promotion, while a similar study at Korea’s Yonsei University found that interviewees with clearly branded luxury clothing were more likely than their competitors in cheaper clothing to not only win the job, but also receive a higher salary.

全球派遣服務提供商OfficeTeam最近進行的調查發現，有80%的高管在提拔員工時，會考慮他們的穿着。韓國延世大學的一項類似研究也發現，如果穿着鮮豔的豪華品牌服裝前來面試，不僅比穿着廉價服裝的競爭對手更有可能應聘成功，還有可能獲得更高的薪水。

It’s kind of like a peacock extending its feathers and saying, ‘look at me’.

這有點像孔雀開屏，爲的就是讓人們都來看我。

The study concluded that the job candidates instantly increased their status in the eyes of others by actively signalling that they could afford the luxury brands and were, thus, seen as higher up in the hierarchy of capitalism.

該研究認爲，只要主動讓對方知道自己買得起奢侈品牌，並因此被視作身處較高的資本主義階層，那麼求職者在他人眼中的地位就會瞬間得到提升。

Carol Megehee, a co-author on the study and professor of marketing at Coastal Carolina University in the US, said that how and when you wear a prominent brand can have a big impact on your target audience’s unconscious bias. But it might not always be positive.

該報告的聯合作者、美國卡羅來納海岸大學市場營銷教授卡羅爾•梅格希(Carol Megehee)表示，穿着名牌服裝的方式和時機可能對你的目標受衆產生很大影響，使之形成無意識的偏見。但這種影響未必總是積極的。

“If you’re a woman who is going in to interview with another woman you may not want to over flash with luxury brands because it might actually work against you,” she explained. Megehee noted in her study that brand logos had considerable benefits in most interactions, but there was a clear gender bias between women where, at least anecdotally, she believes jealousy may be at play.

“如果你是一位正要去面試的女性，而你的面試官恰好也是女性，那或許就不應該過度炫耀自己的奢侈品，因爲這有可能對你不利。”她解釋道。梅格希指出，她的研究顯示，品牌標誌在多數情況下都會帶來明顯的好處，但女人之間卻會存在明顯的性別歧視，至少，嫉妒心可能會起到一定的作用。