Variety .... What ever happened to it?

Picture this - You go to a store, buy a shirt. Wear it to work the next day feeling good about the way it looks on you. Step inside your office and see another person (hopefully someone you don't know) wearing the exact same one! Walk on the streets and just pay attention to what people are wearing and you are bound to spot at least a few from your ward robe. The reason? Lack of variety here.

Face it - if your budget for one piece of clothing is max a $100, your choices would be pretty much Banana Republic, Express, Nautica, Kenneth Cole, and a selected few in Outlet Malls. These stores are all over US and carry almost the same clothes. Consider this and your budget being the same as the majority of the population. Odds of seeing the clothes you own? Don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. I think this affects the female species too, but to their advantage they have more brands to choose from.

This extends out to furniture too. If you have shopped for furniture before and head to somebodies place. You can pinpoint exactly where they bought it from. Worst being most of the stores have a lot of furniture in common. The Ikea brand is very much affected since all of us who start out with our first job go to Ikea to get cheap but decent looking furniture. Now even a blind person can recognize stuff from Ikea. Raise your hand if you have owned:

1. The black Futon from Walmart or,
   
2. The $10 lamp

I am raising mine!

Think of the time when you were back home. I couldn't recall anything I owned that was common between me and the people I knew, apart from cars! This brings me to TV's. Almost every household had a Sony Tube TV, which is now a Samsung LCD. Now Cars: Accord, Camry, Corolla, Civic, Altima and BMW 3 Series. No doubt these are the best choices available so, all of them want it and is exactly the reason why I don't own any of them. I'd rather buy something with lesser quality or a more expensive one just to be different!

And, What can you do about it? Buy boring clothes since no one else will, ridiculously expensive furniture, Pioneer TV and tell your spouse to buy any of the listed cars, then you don't directly own them. Finally, if Ikea is accessible from where you are. Move Out!