It's self-effacing it's hard-luck the shtetl stories. All those Coasters things are an amalgam of Yiddish and black humor.
In regards to being a fashion aficionado there's a certain amount of taking yourself seriously in the professional world. The self-effacing person can't completely go down the serious road. But I design and love when things are beautiful.
During the Depression my dad made radios to sell to make extra money. Nobody had any money to buy the radios so he would trade them for dogs. He built kennels in the backyard and he cared for the dogs.