Living It Up : America's Love Affair with Luxury
by James B. Twitchell
- Used
- Good
- Paperback
- Condition
- Good
- ISBN 10
- 0743245067
- ISBN 13
- 9780743245067
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
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About This Item
Synopsis
Luxury isn't just for the rich, says James B. Twitchell. Today you don't need a six-figure income to wear pashmina, drink a limited-edition coffee at Starbucks, or drive a Mercedes home to collapse on the couch in front of a flat-screen plasma TV. In Living It Up, sharp-eyed consumer anthropologist Twitchell takes a witty and insightful look at luxury -- what it is, who defines it, and why we can't seem to get enough of it. In recent years, says Twitchell, luxury spending has grown much faster than overall spending -- and it continues to grow despite the economic recession. Luxury has become such a powerful marketing force that it cuts across every layer of society, spawning a magazine devoted to spas, cashmere bedspreads on sale at Kmart, and a dazzling array of bottled waters. Twitchell says that the democratization of luxury has had a unifying effect on culture. Luxury items tell a story that we want to identify with, and more people than ever aspire to the story of Ralph Lauren's Polo or Patek Philippe. Shopping itself is no longer a chore but a transcendent experience in which we shop not so much for goods as for an identity. Sharply observed and wickedly funny, Living It Up is a revealing and entertaining examination of why we are all part of the cult of luxury.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Ergodebooks (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- SONG0743245067
- Title
- Living It Up : America's Love Affair with Luxury
- Author
- James B. Twitchell
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 0743245067
- ISBN 13
- 9780743245067
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster
- Place of Publication
- New York, Ny
- Date Published
- 2003-07-02
Terms of Sale
Ergodebooks
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