sociology of luxury
Imagine showing Louis XIV your life. Almost everything would amaze him. He would offer you half of Gascony for your flat-screen television. Even driving a 20-year-old car would delight him. The Palace of Versailles consumed more water than the city of Paris, yet the cleanliness of your water supply would still astound him, as would your flushable t
... See moreRory Sutherland • Louis XIV Would Envy Your Life
1. Patricians
high wealth, low need for status
ex: Loro Piana
2. Parvenus
high wealth, high need
ex: Birkin lawsuit
3. Poseurs
low wealth, high need
ex: dupes, Stanleys
4. Proletarians
low wealth, low need
ex: Carhartt
Danielle Vermeer • Tweet
If we imagine a future where the majority of people have smoothed their wrinkles away with Botox, plumped up their lips with filler, sucked out their cheeks with buccal fat removal and straightened their teeth with veneers, will it become desirable to have the natural features that are becoming increasingly rare; the crooked teeth, the smile lines
... See moreDazed • Will Being ‘Ugly’ Be Aspirational One Day?
The creator of Real Housewives of Clapton had a theory for why niche consumer objects have become such potent symbols online. For millennials and Gen Z-ers, material gain is more about these small, semi-expensive life-style choices—oat milk in your latte—than about bigger ones such as buying a house or having children, which are much harder to achi
... See moreKyle Chayka • Making Memes for the Global “Oat Milk Élite” | the New Yorker
Of course, the most obvious example is Ozempic, the weight loss drug du jour among the elites, which works by suppressing hunger. Ozempic’s impact has been so seismic that analysts have reckoned the drug could have an unprecedented impact on food consumption. “I obviously don’t know when someone is taking drugs,” Anthony Geich, director of guest re
... See moreSerena Smith • Why Don’t Rich People Eat Anymore?
Modern luxury is the ability to think clearly, sleep deeply, move slowly, and live quietly in a world designed to prevent all four.
– Justin Welsh
There’s a difference between having good taste and being able to afford something. Rich people like Mark Zuckerberg, like Jeff Bezos: what do these people who have everything not have? They don’t necessarily have taste.