Every time I see someone wearing 
around here, I automatically think “TOMMY HILLBILLY.” This comes in part from a former boss who considered HILFIGER to be the epitome of high fashion. The Hilfiger name on everything he owned seemed a personal goal.
The other day as I was leaving Walmart, a genuine “hillbilly” type was entering. He was thin and ragged looking and wore a dirty t-shirt with the famous (and copyrighted) logo, but the name “HILFIGER” had been replaced by “HILLBILLY.” My thoughts about the brand are apparently not unique. I wondered if he considered the shirt a fashion statement. He didn’t seem the type for self-depreciating humor.
It turns out that the “Tommy Hillbilly” line is available from the White Trash Warehouse. Hot couture!
I think it is a safe statement saying he thought it to be a fashion statement, to be worn with real pride, even. I had my fill of Hillbilly culture and found nothing particularly attractive about any of it. I met some good people when I lived there (as I do everywhere I’ve lived).
I don’t like country music either …in fact, I despise the down trodden, I’m-a-helpless-victim, proud-of-being-ignorant culture it perpetrates. But that’s just me.
I suspect you are right about the fashion statement. I didn’t have a camera with me, or I might have asked if he wouldn’t mind if I got a picture of him. That would have answered my question, though.