Twitchell, James B <br/><br/>
Living it up  : America's love affair with luxury  
/ James B. Twitchell. 
 -  Simon & Schuster,  2003 
 - xiii, 306 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm 
<br/><br/> America's love affair with luxury 
<br/><br/> 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.<br/>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.<br/>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.<br/>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. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9780743245067 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Uniform Titles: </label><br/>​​MSc Fashion & Luxury Marketing - Understanding Fashion & Luxury Markets and customers​ 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Consumers --Psychology<br/>Luxuries --Marketing