At one point in Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley" the author stops by to visit his super rich Texan friends for Thanksgiving. Though they could have afforded better, they were dressed in faded blue jeans and scuffed cowboy boots.
Along with this high literature, I've also been browsing the pages of People magazine lately, and Steinbeck's experience in Texas reminded me of the pictures I'd seen in People of the likes of Brad Pitt. His jeans have obviously fake holes torn in them and a worn look that clearly didn't come from actual wear. It also made me think of the brand name clothing stores I'd visited in South Africa over my last few months of travel. I had been looking for a simple pair of corduroys, but all I could find were pants with fake patches here and psuedo fray there.
This is in contrast to the clothes I see folks in my village wearing, of course. Buying a pair of already worn out pants would seem ridiculous to them. They have patches on their jeans, sure, as well as holes stitched up on their shirts, but that's because new clothes -- clothes without holes -- are expensive. You've got to be so rich (and somehow disrespectful?) to buy new clothes with holes and repairs designed into them.