000 02036nam a2200229Ia 4500
001 2857
008 230305s2003 xx 000 0 und d
020 _a9780743245067
040 _cTBS
041 _aeng
043 _aen_UK
100 _aTwitchell, James B
_922121
_eauthor
245 0 _aLiving it up
_b: America's love affair with luxury
_c/ James B. Twitchell.
260 _bSimon & Schuster,
_c2003
300 _axiii, 306 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
500 _aAmerica's love affair with luxury
520 _aLuxury 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.
630 0 _a​​MSc Fashion & Luxury Marketing - Understanding Fashion & Luxury Markets and customers​
_926039
650 0 _aConsumers
_xPsychology
_97445
650 0 _aLuxuries
_xMarketing
_97147
942 _2lcc
999 _c2722
_d2722