How Pineapples Became the Gucci Purse of 1700s Europe
The fruit had gone from being a rare curiosity to become an expensive but attainable luxury, at least for the wealthy. It became common practice to display a fresh pineapple at dinner parties to impress guests. This led to delightfully absurd situations: the pineapple became valued more for showing than for eating, and some people, who wanted to sh... See more
How pineapples got cheap
Columbus may have brought one back successfully to Spain, although pineapples tended to rot on the long return voyages across the Atlantic. He called it piña de Indes (“little pine of the Indians”) for its resemblance to the pinecone and declared it “the most delicious fruit in the world.” For the Spanish-Italian historian Pietro Martire d’Anghiera
... See moresi.edu • The Prickly Meanings of the Pineapple
Commodified Hawaiian culture—the “luau,” the “hula girl,” and “aloha”—became part of the American vernacular and everyday life.
Adria L. Imada • Aloha America: Hula Circuits through the U.S. Empire
Issue #15: Why Japan's Vintage Shopping Is So Good
thebandana.jp
Why does luxury brand Balenciaga sell a $2,000 purse modeled after a $1 blue Ikea shopping bag? What’s behind the craze for seemingly distressed and worn-out Gucci sneakers? What is Sarah Jessica Parker doing rummaging through the dusty clothes in Rome’s Via Sannio flea market? Why is Cracco, a Michelin star–winning Italian chef, using commercial p... See more