
Living It Up
Our Love Affair with Luxury
James B. Twitchell(Author)
Columbia University Press
Published on 3. April 2002
Book
Hardback
448 pages
978-0-231-12496-6 (ISBN)
Description
Economic downturns and terrorist attacks notwithstanding, America's love affair with luxury continues unabated. Over the last several years, luxury spending in the United States has been growing four times faster than overall spending. It has been characterized by political leaders as vital to the health of the American economy as a whole, even as an act of patriotism. Accordingly, indices of consumer confidence and purchasing seem unaffected by recession. This necessary consumption of unnecessary items and services is going on at all but the lowest layers of society: J.C. Penney now offers day spa treatments; Kmart sells cashmere bedspreads. So many products are claiming luxury status today that the credibility of the category itself is strained: for example, the name "pashmina" had to be invented to top mere cashmere. We see luxury everywhere: in storefronts, advertisements, even in the workings of our imaginations. But what is it? How is it manufactured on the factory floor and in the minds of consumers? Who cares about it and who buys it?
And how concerned should we be that luxuries are commanding a larger and larger percentage of both our disposable income and our aspirations? Trolling the upscale malls of America, making his way toward the Mecca of Las Vegas, James B. Twitchell comes to some remarkable conclusions. The democratization of luxury, he contends, has been the single most important marketing phenomenon of our times. In the pages of Living It Up, Twitchell commits the academic heresy of paying respect to popular luxury consumption as a force that has united the country and the globe in a way that no war, movement, or ideology ever has. What's more, he claims, the shopping experience for Americans today has its roots in the spiritual, the religious, and the transcendent. Deft and subtle writing, audacious ideas, and a fine sense of humor inform this entertaining and insightful book.
And how concerned should we be that luxuries are commanding a larger and larger percentage of both our disposable income and our aspirations? Trolling the upscale malls of America, making his way toward the Mecca of Las Vegas, James B. Twitchell comes to some remarkable conclusions. The democratization of luxury, he contends, has been the single most important marketing phenomenon of our times. In the pages of Living It Up, Twitchell commits the academic heresy of paying respect to popular luxury consumption as a force that has united the country and the globe in a way that no war, movement, or ideology ever has. What's more, he claims, the shopping experience for Americans today has its roots in the spiritual, the religious, and the transcendent. Deft and subtle writing, audacious ideas, and a fine sense of humor inform this entertaining and insightful book.
Reviews / Votes
The author is savvy enough to conduct most of his research in the real world. This is the rare book project that forces the writer to shop on Rodeo Drive, leaf through Vanity Fair... and visit the most extravagant spots in Las Vegas... [An] engaging addition to the growing field of Luxe Lit. -- Janet Maslin The New York Times Twitchell makes a persuasive argument that the desire for status goods provides a cohesive bond. Business Week Twitchell is an amusingly sassy writer, and he clearly had so much fun researching this book. San Francisco Bay Guardian Interesting tidbits... Twitchell makes the case for a mild defense of luxury in that its mass consumption ultimately lifts up the masses economically. Booklist Twitchell addresses conspicuous consumption in a new way, free of the superior tone often adopted by his academic peers. He embarks on a course of fieldwork that is both absurdist and charming, as he chats up Fendi salespeople and stands slack-jawed in the lobby of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas... He comes away with insights about the American quest for luxury products and provides a history of such yearning. With its intelligence and wit, Twitchell's exploration of consumerism belongs in every shopping bag. Publishers Weekly (starred review) [E]xerburant, sprightly, mischievous, gaudy, dippy, endlessly entertaining... -- Eugen Weber Times Literary Supplement Exuberant, sprightly, mischievous, gaudy, dippy, endlessly entertaining, and also a bit sad. -- Eugen Weber TLS Very interesting... intriguing... highly engaging, witty, and sophisticated. Choice Twitchell is at his best here: witty, observant, and self-deprecating...Living It Up is a pleasure to read. Twitchell is an engaging and entertaining writer. -- Ian Brailsford Australasian Journal of American StudiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
80 halftones
Weight
567 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-12496-6 (9780231124966)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2015
1st Edition
De Gruyter
from
€52.95
Available for download
Person
James B. Twitchell is professor of English at the University of Florida and the author of many books including Adcult USA, Lead Us Into Temptation, and 20 Ads That Shook the World.
Content
1. Over the Top: Americans in the Lap of Luxury 2. The Social Construction of Luxury: A Taxonomy of Taste 3. Let's Go Shopping: The Streets of Material Dreams 4. Where Opuluxe Is Made and Who Makes It: LVMH and Conde Nast 5. How Luxury Becomes Necessity: The Work of Advertising 6. From Shirts to Tulips: A Musing on Luxury 7. Viva Las Vegas! A Strip of Luxury 8. Still Learning From Las Vegas: How Luxury Is Turning Religious Conclusion A (Mild) Defense of Luxury