The Chav

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One great aspect about working for a luxury brand is the chance to 'wear test' an expensive item. The quality assurance division will conduct wear test trials for almost every new accessory or outerwear piece. Employees wear an item for 2 weeks and then return it for observation. Then, now here is the best part, after the trial the wear tester can KEEP THE ITEM!!!!!

So, I was chosen to wear test a great Burberry Check Bag- YAY!!! I was all excited about it, but to my surprise, when I returned to tell me team my great news, they all said, 'Oh, but too bad its check. That is soooo Chavy!'

Ofcourse, I thought to myself, 'Whats a Chav?'

Zara, another intern on the team, told me all about a Chav. I assisted her in writing this paper for her university. (Good thing that this Chav thing is only in the UK. I am very excited to wear my new bag back in the US 😊)

The Chav

Burberry is a distinguished company and luxury brand, when wearing their clothes society would depict that you are wealthy and situated in the middle to upper class. When the working class subculture began wearing clothes from the symbolic company i.e. Burberry Cap, society frowned upon them and labelled them the derogatory term ‘Chav’. The Middle to Upper class (Luxury Consumers) had claimed Burberry, perceiving it to be a brand out of reach to those living on council estates, drinking and causing trouble i.e. working class. It has escaped the minds of many that it is in fact the working class who are producing the same clothes that society see’s fit only to be worn by those who are wealthy. The Burberry Baseball Cap has become the only way a ‘Chav’ can project an image of wealth to its onlookers but unfortunately this has backfired.

The word Chav is used as a derogatory term in the United Kingdom. It’s used to describe a subculture taking over Britain at a fast pace. Spotting a Chav couldn’t be easier, their Burberry Baseball Cap, Sportswear, Trainers and Gold Jewellery can be seen from miles away coupled with their ignorance, stupidity and a general lack of respect for society. All these characteristics are seen as the defining features of the Chav in today’s society.

In 2004 the clothing brand Burberry quickly became closely associated with the Chav subculture. Burberry’s Baseball Cap in an iconic check became centre stage as a sought after item all Chav’s had to have. In an attempt to distance them from this overwhelming subculture Burberry dropped its branded baseball cap ceasing all production. The Burberry Cap has become a headlining symbol for the Chav subculture making it a recognisable tool of identity.

The Chav phenomenon has come under heavy criticism and some will argue that it amounts to snobbery and classism. “Calling people Chav’s says far more about the caller than it does the called. It pinpoints the exact area which the name caller is most anxious about” (J.Burchill, the Times, 2005). Julie Burchill described the Chav subculture as a form of social racism and John Harris of The Guardian argued along similar lines with an article in The Guardian in 2007.

For the rest of the population excluding the Chav’s most will come to the same conclusion about the subculture. “Chav’s are in habit of causing trouble, hanging around the streets, drinking and taking drugs, their parents don’t care and they don’t work” ( J. Harris, The Guardian, 2007). Those in favour of Chav are unfortunately are far and few between. A website dedicated just to hating Chav’s (www.chavscum.co.uk) gives you a step by step guide on how to spot a Chav and even has a blog on ‘slating’ them.

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Photos

A Bag that is similar to me Wear test bag
But mine is sooo much better