Every man is a borrower and a mimic, life is theatrical and literature a quotation.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I think you’ve fundamentally misunderstood why people buy beautiful products, if you think it’s all about projection. While there’s certainly something to that (and I see absolutely no shame in that either!), it’s at the core about people feeling good about that which is pretty. That doesn’t make us shallow, that just makes us human.
There’s no shame in looking good - (37signals)