The Devil Wears Prada: Why You're Already In the System

“You think this has nothing to do with you” 

In The Devil Wears Prada, Andy enters the fashion world at Runway magazine and dismisses it as frivolous, superficial, just “stuff”. As Miranda directs decisions over seemingly identical belts, Andy scoffs at how trivial it all seems. 

Miranda responds: “You think this has nothing to do with you (…) when, in fact, you’re wearing a sweater that was selected for you, by the people in this room.” 

This scene is not just about fashion or cerulean sweaters - it exposes the illusion of being outside a system that is already shaping you. 

I thought I was exempt too 

Before studying Commerce, I thought finance was an industry I could stand outside of. I did not invest, follow markets or understand the language, so I assumed it was interesting for some, but irrelevant to me. 

Then I started studying Commerce and realised that I was already inside the system. 

Just as Andy’s “choice” of a cerulean sweater had been shaped upstream, I began to see how economic forces had shaped choices I once thought were purely personal: why certain schools seemed worth striving for, why medicine felt like the ultimate stable career, and why I was taking the tram to work due to geopolitical events ten thousand kilometres away. 

You don’t opt into financial systems. 

That is the illusion: that not understanding a system means we are outside it. 

Most people think they are not “in finance” because they do not work in finance, invest in the stock market or follow economic news - but financial systems do not require us to opt in. We are already in them, through wages, rent, debt, superannuation, consumption, tax and prices. 

Finance is not just an industry - it is basic infrastructure in our everyday lives. 

What feels like choice is often structured. 

This does not mean people are powerless, that futures are predetermined, or that individuals are not responsible for their decisions. 

What this does imply is that the contexts in which we make choices are often shaped by forces larger than us. 

Global forces are not purely global - they move downstream into everyday decisions that feel personal. Labour market demand shapes which degrees seem safe or worthwhile. Energy markets influence whether driving still feels practical as fuel prices rise. Interest rates affect what households feel comfortable borrowing, saving or spending. 

The 2008 Global Financial Crisis was a prime case study of how macro events triggered a cascade of changes in individual behaviour. What began as stress in the US housing market spread through global financial systems, weakening confidence and reducing household wealth. In Australia, Treasury notes that household assets fell by around $500 billion by early 2009, while households saved more and consumed less.  

At an individual level, this looked like delaying purchases, borrowing more cautiously and rebuilding savings buffers. These choices felt personal, but they were responses to conditions set upstream. 

That is the power of financial systems. They do not dictate what people choose, but they influence what people perceive as possible, feasible, safe or even a visible option to begin with. 

The divide isn’t participation - it’s awareness 

Before studying Commerce, I had little visibility into how financial and economic systems shaped my decisions. The reality is that everyone participates in financial systems, whether through wages, rent, superannuation, debt, consumption or tax.  

This exposed a stark realisation: although financial systems shape everyone’s lives, financial literacy is treated as specialised knowledge rather than fundamental infrastructure to decision making. 

The divide is not who is affected - everyone is. The divide is who has the ability to see it clearly enough and to respond with agency. 

The data tells the same story 

Financial awareness is not evenly distributed, as it often follows patterns of exposure, education, income and confidence. 

The OECD’s 2023 international survey found an average financial literacy score of 60 out of 100 across participating countries, with only 34% of adults reaching the minimum target score for financial literacy. In Australia, Deloitte Access Economics and Iress estimate that 59% of Australians have low levels of financial capability. 

Participation reflects the same divide. ASX’s 2023 Australian Investor Study found that 10.2 million Australians hold investments outside their home and superannuation, but men still outnumber women investors, 58% to 42%. 

These gaps matter because financial literacy is not only a skill. It is often shaped by what people are exposed to early: what families discuss, what schools teach, what industries people encounter and whether money is treated as something understandable or intimidating. 

The pattern is clear: exposure to financial systems is universal, but understanding of those systems is not. 

Awareness doesn’t guarantee outcomes, but it changes them 

Financial literacy does not guarantee wealth, mobility or security, as numerous structural factors still matter; income, family background, education, housing, labour markets and access to opportunity, amongst other factors, all shape people’s outcomes. 

However, awareness changes how people interpret the system they are already in. It affects how they understand debt, risk, saving, investing and long-term trade-offs. 

Although financial literacy does not inherently create equality, unequal access to it can still compound inequality. When some people learn earlier how money works, they are better positioned to make decisions that compound over time. Others may face the same system with less visibility, less confidence and fewer tools to navigate financial decisions. 

The cerulean sweater isn’t just about fashion. 

Andy thought her sweater placed her outside the fashion system. Miranda showed her it was evidence of the opposite. 

Finance works in much the same way - even when we do not invest, follow markets or speak the language, financial systems still shape the conditions around us: what feels affordable or risky, what feels stable or what is even a visible option. 

This is by far the most powerful thing I have taken away from studying Commerce. 

Economics and finance can seem abstract from the outside, but their tangible effects are far from it. They are fundamental infrastructure to the society we live in, where everyone is a participant. 

So the real divide is visibility, and the agency that visibility creates. 

References 

ASX. (2023). ASX Australian investor study 2023. https://www.asx.com.au/content/dam/asx/blog/asx-australian-investor-study-2023.pdf 

Deloitte Access Economics. (2025). The big lift: Economic and financial capability in Australia. Deloitte Australia. https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/economics/research/big-lift-economic-financial-capability-australia.html 

Freestone, O., Gaudry, D., Obeyesekere, A., & Sedgwick, M. (2011). The rise in household saving and its implications for the Australian economy. Australian Government, The Treasury. https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/03_household_saving.pdf 

OECD. (2023). OECD/INFE 2023 international survey of adult financial literacy. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-infe-2023-international-survey-of-adult-financial-literacy_56003a32-en.html 

Reserve Bank of Australia. (n.d.). The global financial crisis. https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/the-global-financial-crisis.html 

Reserve Bank of Australia. (n.d.). The transmission of monetary policy. https://www.rba.gov.au/education/resources/explainers/the-transmission-of-monetary-policy.html