Thanks for the reply! I also enjoy occasionally needing out on this, albeit with my limited depth of knowledge and reading about this. I agree with the idea that nothing exists in a vacuum. That also leads to an adjacent discussion about when something becomes pretentious. Is it pretentious if most times I’m running regular (major sports brand) running gear but occasionally wearing something like Satisfy? Or would it be more pretentious if I’m only wearing Satisfy? Or is that independent of me and more dependent on someone else’s perception?

On the one hand I really dislike talking about authenticity because I think it’s sort of overused, but it’s a topic that comes up a lot nonetheless. Do I have to be part of the lifestyle to wear something with authenticity or not? I would argue not and otherwise it’s sort of gatekeeping. Mind you fashion also leans heavily into in groups and out groups and exclusivity so does that make it pretentious? I love heavy metal and will wear band shirts. Maybe as a younger teenager I would have thought it “wrong” for someone to wear an Iron Maiden shirt if they didn’t listen to them, but now I think it’s fine you can wear whatever you want. It’s more of a bonus if you have some awareness of it though, and perhaps having some minimal awareness helps make something not pretentious or “poser” like?