Depending on who you ask, luxury can mean a number of different things. My understanding of luxury is multiple things. The first is owning the nice, fancy top of the line products that we associate with celebrities. For example, a Rolls-Royce is the vehicle that a lot of famous people own so therefore we associate it with success and fame, but also because of the price. Most luxurious items are very expensive. It's that well known brand that everyone knows that has been titled a fancy top of the line brand that I associate luxury with. Luxury also means things that make your life easier. We have all heard that saying "We don't have that luxury." An example of this is when I was in Afghanistan we lived in a mud house and operated from there. We had to wash our clothes in a well and had no electricity for 7 months. Little things like a washing machine and electricity were luxuries we didn't have or things that make our lives simple here in the states.
For the understanding with the famous brands, it goes to an extent until it becomes excessive. This excessiveness is achieved when a person only buys these fancy brands and items and doesn't settle for anything less. To me that's going a little overboard and I feel sorry for those people because they have no control over their lives anymore and almost belong to the company that they have devoted their lifestyle towards. I think the threshold is owning some of these luxurious brands, but not thriving on owning everything that people think is luxurious and the hottest new thing as soon as it is available.
That ad is a great example Preston--it can't really get much more blatant then that. I plan to show this one in class on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteI'm digging your blogs, my man. I'm a fan of luxury, too bad I've yet to achieve much of it, but hey, what else am I in these classes for..I totally agree with the obsessiveness over brands, seems as how I'm a die-hard brander. I see both sides of the argument, but maybe one day, both sides can live in one perfect, unbranded world together. :]
ReplyDeleteI love this post Preston. You really made me feel like I just got a reality check or something. This is awesome and I can't wait to read more of what you have to say!
ReplyDeleteI had these questions in mind to ask in class today (but had to cut it short to get to the Midterm prep): "What is luxury? Says who? And isn't it different things to different people?" It seems like that is what your blog says in part. Because, like you say, in one context luxury can mean top of the line cars and other high-end goods, but in another context it can mean basic things like electricity and appliances that we take for granted. Great post.
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