system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
why do we as people devote so much time and money into looking like particular aesthetics?

by “particular aesthetics” i mean alternative subcultures and things outside of the norm. even i myself do this and the other day i was thinking about just how much time i spend searching secondhand shops, watching videos/following people that have the style id like, etc. i’m an alternative person and i want to look this way purely for myself, but what’s the psychology behind that? if anything most people are turned off by most alternative fashion, so why would it be so important to people to look like a particular aesthetic? i hope i explained that well!
gpt
I would venture that the pleasure of self-expression that lies outwith societal norms is a motivating factor for many. In some cases perhaps a desire for social cachet or oppositional/rebellious personality traits. All speculation, mind you.