the high cost of chameleon-like behavior

I have a good friend who has this knack for changing his whole persona when he starts hanging out with a new group of friends. It might be that he got a new job and the people he works with dress differently, so he gets himself a new wardrobe to fit in. Or perhaps it is a new girl he has started dating, and he suddenly starts to profess that he shares many of her same beliefs in politics and religion. You know the types - I call it the chameleon personality.

It would be easy for me to try and say that this guy is a lemming or a follower, and that he needs to start thinking for himself. But it wouldn't be very nice, and the truth is that this guy is just too nice. He is very sociable - perhaps too friendly. And even if you call him on his sudden changes, he claims that this is how he has felt all along. Forget the fact that we've been friends for a very long time and he's never mentioned it before.

Aside from my concerns of him changing who he is underneath the new wardrobe and facade, there isn't too much to worry about. In most cases, it is a phase that he passes through and then comes back to being his "regular" self - particularly when he changes his base of friends or his girlfriend again. One thing that does concern me though is that, like so many of us, he is financially challenged and these lifestyle changes certainly don't help.

For example, he got a new job in retail not too long ago, and felt the need to get out and buy himself an entirely new wardrobe consisting of $300 shoes, silk shirts and a D&G watch. Forget the fact that this sales job didn't pay much more than $10 an hour. I can understand wanting to look nice in your new job position, but for the money he spent on his new shoes I could have gotten myself several new wardrobes that would have fit the bill. It's just a shame that so many of these types of people also happen to be the ones who can't really afford the frequent change in appearance.

Perhaps the hardest part for me is deciding what to say to him about this behavior. I find it rather ridiculous and although I've grown accustomed to it, I don't like having to re-orient myself to his latest beliefs and approach to life. He's still a good friend and I think we still connect underneath all of the changes, but I occasionally get annoyed when he tries to push his new agenda in my direction in any way. But what's a friend to do?