Living It Up

Rating:
Summary: Posh LUST
Review: Entertaining book, well written, thought provoking, ultimately absolving us of our sins of posh LUST.

Rating:
Summary: A Guilty Gordon Gekko
Review: Living it Up starts with the premise that consumption--even overconsumption--is good for the economy and good for your community. Twitchell makes a coherent argument that those who pay ridiculous prices for things they don't need make it possible for the rest of us to pay lower prices for the same things. Then, what used to be a luxury to one generation (indoor plumbing, cars, computers) becomes a necessity for the next.

But somehow, Twitchell seems guilty about all this. He even quotes Gekko (from the movie Wall Street), a bit sheepishly. He praises "first-users" (those who buy the first VCRs, etc. at high prices) while sneering at the stereotypical yuppie with all his toys. Professor Twitchell mocks the voluntary simplicity movement by picking the most hypocritical example he can find, of a back-to-nature advocate who buys acres of her neighbor's land. But he ignores such aspects as not spending more than you have, reducing the amount of stuff you own, enjoying the occasional luxury rather than shopping as a habit.

Interesting reading if you are fascinated by our consumer culture, but a bit confusing as the professor tries to decide where he stands on over-consumption.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: The author has no familiarity with his subject and routinely provides the reader with incorrect information.

Rating:
Summary: Another Contribution to "Lux Lit"
Review: The subtitle attracted me to this book: "Our Love Affair with Luxury." I assumed that the first-person plural pronoun refers to Americans in general and to affluent Americans in particular; that Twitchell views the relationship between a consumer (or consumer wannabe) and material objects resembles a love affair; finally, that luxury denotes both material objects and the lifestyle (if not quality of life) they collectively create. After having read the book, I concluded that my assumptions were essentially sound. Twitchell conducted extensive research for this book. He traveled throughout the country, roaming around various upscale retail establishments, observing salespeople and engaging in conversation with many of them. For Twitchell, what is luxury? He suggests "a mallet with which one pounds the taste of others" (does this preclude the appreciation of luxury for its own sake?) and "those things that you have that I think you shouldn't have" (does this include a terminal illness?). If I understand Twitchell (and I may well not), his research leads him to several conclusions. For example, that contemporary values are influenced significantly by advertising; that the the shoppes along Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue are "cathedrals" of consumption in which their customers are guided to "epiphanies" which determine purchase decisions; and that experiences with faux luxury (e.g. those found in the opulent casinos of Las Vegas) are better than none at all. When determining social status, Twitchell views what he calls "opuluxe spending" as a more relevant criterion than is one's ancestry: You are what you can afford to own. Not all would agree with him. I don't.

However, few (if any) of Twitchell's readers have conducted the research he has on all this. My own experience suggests that distinctions between Old Money and New Money are less informative than the matter of taste. (Twitchell suggests few such distinctions.) Vulgarity cuts across all economic levels but, in general, the consumption of those in the Old Money category is less conspicuous than consumption by those in the New Money category. (If Twitchell has read The Millionaire Next Door, I wonder what he thinks of Tom Stanley's conclusions.) Almost all of the affluent people I know collect and redeem coupons, are constantly alert for bargains, try to get the maximum number of shaves from a razor blade, etc. Early in life, I learned that those referred to as "tightwads" are relentlessly frugal but not opposed to "opuluxe spending" per se. Unlike most others, they maintain tight control of a "wad" which permits them to purchase just about anything they may desire.

What to make of this book? First of all, it's highly entertaining. Also, its general subject is one which has not as yet received as much attention as I think it deserves, although a number of other books ("Lux Lit") have also been published in recent years. Moreover, I think that Twitchell is really on to something important when suggesting (or at least implying) that expanding consumerism on a global basis will create greater access to "the finer things in life." Who knows? That may well raise taste levels, require higher quality and greater value from those who design and manufacture consumer products, and perhaps (just perhaps) increase both the standard of living and quality of life. Given the current War on Terrorism as well as the hostilities in the Middle East and throughout much of Africa, the sooner the participants stop shooting and start shopping, the better.

Rating:
Summary: Luxury, a new religion analyzed
Review: This is a landmark book. The author analyzes in very detail the mechanisms behind selling luxury to the public, including the religious attributes affixed to those products.
"Probably it shouldn't get into the hands of consumers", because they might find out they are spending too much money for ordinarily manufactured goods with high status affixed by advertising. On my trips to the US, I wondered how big, luxury only shopping malls could survive, this book tells the reason why. Europe is still more conservative with luxury spending.
I wanted to give it 5 stars, but the language used is very difficult to read. To exclude most luxury spenders?

Rating:
Summary: Luxury, a new religion analyzed
Review: This is a landmark book. The author analyzes in very detail the mechanisms behind selling luxury to the public, including the religious attributes affixed to those products.
"Probably it shouldn't get into the hands of consumers", because they might find out they are spending too much money for ordinarily manufactured goods with high status affixed by advertising. On my trips to the US, I wondered how big, luxury only shopping malls could survive, this book tells the reason why. Europe is still more conservative with luxury spending.
I wanted to give it 5 stars, but the language used is very difficult to read. To exclude most luxury spenders?