Gen Z has fundamentally rewritten what luxury means, wanting transparency about sourcing and ethical labor practices rather than just a heritage story told through expensive advertising campaigns.
Walk through any mall today and you'll notice something fascinating: the stores your parents swear by? They're practically ghost towns for anyone under 30.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after watching my mom proudly show off her new designer handbag while my younger cousin rolled her eyes and pulled up a vintage find she scored on Depop for a fraction of the price.
The generational divide in shopping habits isn't just about preference. It reveals something deeper about how we define value, authenticity, and yes, status itself.
Let's explore the stores that highlight this shift.
1. Tiffany & Co.
That iconic blue box? For Boomers, it's the ultimate symbol of romance and luxury. For Gen Z, it's overpriced nostalgia wrapped in outdated marketing.
I remember when getting anything from Tiffany's was considered the gold standard of gift-giving. My parents still talk about their wedding gifts from there like they're family heirlooms.
But here's the thing: Gen Z has fundamentally rewritten what luxury means. They're not impressed by a brand name that charges $300 for a silver keychain. They want transparency about sourcing, ethical labor practices, and actual craftsmanship, not just a heritage story told through expensive advertising campaigns.
They'd rather support independent jewelry makers on Instagram or buy lab-grown diamonds that don't come with the environmental and ethical baggage. The blue box doesn't carry the same weight when you've grown up questioning everything about traditional status symbols.
2. Coach
Coach used to be the accessible luxury brand that made you feel like you'd made it. Now? Gen Z sees it as the brand their aunts carry to brunch.
The problem isn't necessarily the quality. It's that Coach became too available, too predictable, and too stuck in its own formula. Outlet stores everywhere diluted the brand's perceived value, and Gen Z can spot the difference between genuine exclusivity and manufactured scarcity.
According to research, younger consumers are drawn to brands that feel authentic and align with their values, not those that simply claim prestige.
Plus, they've watched fast fashion cycles come and go. They know that today's trendy handbag is tomorrow's thrift store find. So why invest in something that screams "mid-2010s suburban professional" when you could thrift a genuinely vintage piece with actual character?
3. Brooks Brothers
Nothing says "I'm serious about my career" to a Boomer quite like a Brooks Brothers suit. To Gen Z, it says "I'm stuck in 1987."
The traditional corporate uniform is dying, and Brooks Brothers represents everything Gen Z is actively rebelling against in workplace culture. Stiff fabrics, rigid dress codes, and the idea that you need a $800 suit to be taken seriously? That's not how they see professional success.
They're building careers in tech, creative industries, and remote work environments where a Brooks Brothers suit would look wildly out of place. They value comfort, personal expression, and clothes that work across multiple contexts. A single-purpose corporate costume doesn't fit their lifestyle or their budget.
When they do need formal wear, they're renting it or hitting up vintage stores for unique pieces that don't look like everyone else's investment banker uniform.
4. Chico's
Here's where the generational gap becomes almost comical. Ask a Boomer about Chico's and you'll hear about sophisticated, age-appropriate fashion. Ask Gen Z and you'll get a blank stare followed by "Is that a restaurant?"
I've mentioned this before, but the whole concept of "age-appropriate" fashion is something Gen Z has completely rejected. They're not interested in stores that tell them what they should wear based on demographic data and focus groups.
Chico's built its entire business model around a specific age bracket and lifestyle that Gen Z finds limiting and outdated. They want clothes that reflect their personality, not their birth year. They're shopping across all age ranges, mixing vintage finds with contemporary pieces, and refusing to be boxed into someone else's idea of appropriate style.
The store's aesthetic also feels dated. The color palettes, the fits, the whole vibe screams retirement community chic rather than anything remotely appealing to a generation raised on diverse, global fashion influences accessed through Instagram and TikTok.
5. J.Crew
There was a time when J.Crew represented aspirational American style. Those days are long gone for Gen Z.
What happened? The brand became the uniform of a specific type of privileged, preppy lifestyle that Gen Z finds both boring and exclusionary. It's the official clothing line of "my parents summer in Martha's Vineyard" energy, and that's not exactly the vibe younger shoppers are going for.
I actually remember thinking J.Crew was cool in college. But that was before I traveled extensively and realized how limited and culturally specific that aesthetic really is. Gen Z, growing up with global connectivity, never had that narrow window of thinking one brand represented style itself.
They're also put off by the pricing. Why pay J.Crew prices for basics when you can get similar quality elsewhere for less? Or better yet, why buy into a preppy aesthetic at all when you could express something more authentic to who you actually are?
Speaking of discovering what's authentic to who you are, I recently took The Vessel's Wild Soul Archetype Quiz. It reveals which power animal walks with you—the Phoenix, the Buffalo, the Dragon, or the Wolf—and honestly, it gave me insight into why certain aesthetics resonate with me while others feel like I'm wearing a costume. Understanding your own instincts and nature can actually help you make choices, from fashion to lifestyle, that feel genuinely aligned with who you are rather than who you think you should be.
6. Banana Republic
Banana Republic positioned itself as sophisticated workwear for the modern professional. Gen Z is asking: what modern professional?
The entire premise of the brand feels outdated. Business casual as a concept is dying, and with it goes the need for an entire store dedicated to "office appropriate" clothing that's slightly more stylish than Brooks Brothers but still safely corporate.
Gen Z's career paths look nothing like their parents'. They're freelancing, working remotely, building personal brands, and moving between industries in ways that make a Banana Republic wardrobe feel absurdly specific and limiting.
They need clothes that work for a video call, a coffee shop work session, and meeting friends after, not a separate uniform for "professional life." The whole concept of compartmentalized wardrobes for different life sectors feels inefficient and wasteful to a generation thinking about sustainability and minimalism.
7. Michael Kors
Few brands capture the Boomer/Gen Z divide quite like Michael Kors. For older shoppers, it represents accessible luxury and timeless style. For younger ones, it's the logo bag that everyone's mom carries to the grocery store.
The ubiquity killed it. When a brand's logo becomes so common that you see it everywhere from actual Michael Kors stores to TJ Maxx, it loses whatever cachet it once had. Gen Z values exclusivity differently. They'd rather have something genuinely unique, even if it costs less, than a recognizable logo that's lost all meaning through overexposure.
I've watched this transformation happen in real time. Michael Kors bags used to feel special. Now they're just... everywhere. And Gen Z, having grown up watching this brand dilution happen across multiple labels, has developed a resistance to obvious branding in general.
They're also skeptical of the quality-to-price ratio. Why pay premium prices for something that's going to fall apart in two years when you could invest in something truly well-made or save money entirely and embrace the throwaway nature honestly?
The bottom line
This shift in shopping habits isn't just about taste. It represents a fundamental reimagining of what status means in the first place.
Boomers grew up in an era where designer labels and established brands signaled success and good taste. Gen Z grew up with unlimited access to global fashion, vintage markets, and independent designers. They've seen behind the curtain of brand marketing and decided that the emperor's new clothes aren't that impressive after all.
They're defining status through sustainability, authenticity, uniqueness, and personal expression rather than recognizable logos and traditional luxury markers. Whether that's better or worse is beside the point. It's simply different, and these seven stores are paying the price for not adapting fast enough.
If You Were a Healing Herb, Which Would You Be?
Each herb holds a unique kind of magic — soothing, awakening, grounding, or clarifying.
This 9-question quiz reveals the healing plant that mirrors your energy right now and what it says about your natural rhythm.
✨ Instant results. Deeply insightful.
