Retail therapy makes us feel better. I wouldn't consider myself "rich", but I live comfortably. It's a coping mechanism to what otherwise is a depressing, miserable, crippling life. Shopping at a store like Bergdorf Goodman or Harrods is more than just about the clothes you buy -- it's an experience in and of itself, especially if you get a personal shopper.
It's not just shopping that makes me feel better -- expensive bars and fine dining are also great therapy, and I don't think I'd fit in at one of Alain Ducasse's locations if I wore flip flops and a T-shirt from Walmart. It sounds pathetic, but I feel slightly less of a loser when an 8/10 Stacy smiles and asks me how my $30 cocktail is. Even if it's the same Stacy who, outside of work, would pepper spray me if I dared so much as to look at her.
And I do enjoy dressing nicely. You're right that many brands are tacky. I try to avoid shirts which consist of nothing but an oversized logo, or shoes that one can notice a mile away. It screams "I'm nouveau riche and trying way too hard". But if I happen to be wearing a nice suit or a Lacoste polo, the first thought that pops into someone's mind is "nerdy quantitative analyst" instead of "fucking virgin loser still in mom's basement".
The great thing about money is that it allows you to buy things that make you feel a little bit better -- whether it's an Xbox, baseball tickets, pizza, caviar, single malt scotch, weed, cocaine, legos, plastic surgery, an escort, you name it. Each individual has, with any given budget, his own combination of purchases that maximize his happiness; why would incels be any different?
Why should I spend time and effort just to get brutally rejected again, when I can spend my money on things that I know for sure make me happy? Not everything I do in life is about some goddamn bimbo foid.
