by Paul Waddington

Created on: December 11, 2009   Last Updated: April 08, 2011

 "How to be classy without being rich"  -  the more I read this and think about the topic the more it grates and annoys me as the title itself already implies that to be classy  you have to have the financial means to achieve this status and this is clearly not the case.

My own thoughts on the word classy are something of quality, something with an understated elegance that stands out from other similar things around it, a benchmark that should be aspired to - with regards to people it is something that comes from the inside and is radiated effortlessly to the people and world around them regardless of how much money they have or the size of house or car they possess .

Class cannot be taught or bought, it cannot be faked, class is something you either have or dont have, class comes from who we are within, it comes from the difficult situations we have faced in our lives and how we have dealt with and learned from them. If Saddam Hussein had wore the finest Saville Row suits, Gucci loafers, Hermes ties and finished off with a Patak Philipe watch would he be classy ? No he would still have been a genocidal maniac, he would have been the the same person just dressed up in classy trinkets.

Some of the most classy people I have seen have come from some of the poorest of countries I have been to, Vietnam for example, one of the poorest countries in the world ( based on average yearly income per person) but the women there exude class, they scream class and they don't even realise it, it is the way they are, the way they carry themselves, the way they have been raised and the enviroment they have been raised in. 

So back to the topic how to be classy without being rich - stand tall, be honest, treat others with respect and dignity, don't compromise or let your standards slip just because others around you do, stand alone if you know it is the right thing to do and defend/argue your case calmly and balanced. Yes you can pretend to have class and be classy, you can buy the most costly and classy items known to man and put on a great pretence when in public but when all your expensive trinkets and costly goods are stripped away would you still be classy ?

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