Living It Up : America's Love Affair with Luxury [Paperback]

James B. Twitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2003

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.

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the author of works on advertising, materialism and modern culture, University of Florida professor Twitchell should have been the most immune to acquisitive desire while doing research in posh Rodeo Drive and Madison Avenue stores. That he was momentarily struck with passion by a Ralph Lauren tie not only demonstrates his humanity, but also underlines one of his theses: no one is above a bit of luxury lust. The reason for this, he says, is, "We understand each other not by sharing religion, politics, or ideas. We share branded things. We speak the Esperanto of advertising, luxe populi." These are sentiments voiced by many who study consumer culture, but 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. With the research done, but the tie unbought, he comes away with insights about the American quest for luxury products and provides a history of such yearning: "The balderdash of cloistered academics aside, human beings did not suddenly become materialistic. We have always been desirous of things." Many of those things, in the recent past and definitely in the present, have been imbued with an aura of opulence and indulgence, Twitchell posits, leading to a kind of emotional satisfaction through shopping, especially for items outside one's budget. With its intelligence and wit, Twitchell's exploration of consumerism belongs in every shopping bag.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Ah, the evils of luxury. Spending for its own sake, accumulating unnecessary "stuff," the need to own for status, the trophy car, the trophy home, designer everything. But here's the conundrum: what is considered luxury for one generation is considered necessity for the next, and today's credit-addicted society makes luxury, or at least the appearance of luxury, available to all. Who better to sort the whole thing out than Twitchell, one of Newsweek 's "100 Cultural Elite." He has some interesting tidbits about what has been considered opulent in the past, and he has coined a new term for those universally craved name-brand objects--opuluxe. It's image above substance--think Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Montblanc, Nike, Evian, and Starbucks. But is the desire for high-end junk as wasteful and garish as it seemed when it was available to only the few? Twitchell makes the case for a mild defense of luxury in that its mass consumption ultimately lifts up the masses economically. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743245067
• ISBN-13: 978-0743245067
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,168,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Contribution to "Lux Lit", July 30, 2002

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living It Up (Hardcover)

The subtitle attracted me to this book: "Our Love Affair with Luxury." I assumed that the first-person plural pronoun refers to Americans in general and to affluent Americans in particular; that Twitchell views the relationship between a consumer (or consumer wannabe) and material objects resembles a love affair; finally, that luxury denotes both material objects and the lifestyle (if not quality of life) they collectively create. After having read the book, I concluded that my assumptions were essentially sound. Twitchell conducted extensive research for this book. He traveled throughout the country, roaming around various upscale retail establishments, observing salespeople and engaging in conversation with many of them. For Twitchell, what is luxury? He suggests "a mallet with which one pounds the taste of others" (does this preclude the appreciation of luxury for its own sake?) and "those things that you have that I think you shouldn't have" (does this include a terminal illness?). If I understand Twitchell (and I may well not), his research leads him to several conclusions. For example, that contemporary values are influenced significantly by advertising; that the the shoppes along Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue are "cathedrals" of consumption in which their customers are guided to "epiphanies" which determine purchase decisions; and that experiences with faux luxury (e.g. those found in the opulent casinos of Las Vegas) are better than none at all. When determining social status, Twitchell views what he calls "opuluxe spending" as a more relevant criterion than is one's ancestry: You are what you can afford to own. Not all would agree with him. I don't.

However, few (if any) of Twitchell's readers have conducted the research he has on all this. My own experience suggests that distinctions between Old Money and New Money are less informative than the matter of taste. (Twitchell suggests few such distinctions.) Vulgarity cuts across all economic levels but, in general, the consumption of those in the Old Money category is less conspicuous than consumption by those in the New Money category. (If Twitchell has read The Millionaire Next Door, I wonder what he thinks of Tom Stanley's conclusions.) Almost all of the affluent people I know collect and redeem coupons, are constantly alert for bargains, try to get the maximum number of shaves from a razor blade, etc. Early in life, I learned that those referred to as "tightwads" are relentlessly frugal but not opposed to "opuluxe spending" per se. Unlike most others, they maintain tight control of a "wad" which permits them to purchase just about anything they may desire.

What to make of this book? First of all, it's highly entertaining. Also, its general subject is one which has not as yet received as much attention as I think it deserves, although a number of other books ("Lux Lit") have also been published in recent years. Moreover, I think that Twitchell is really on to something important when suggesting (or at least implying) that expanding consumerism on a global basis will create greater access to "the finer things in life." Who knows? That may well raise taste levels, require higher quality and greater value from those who design and manufacture consumer products, and perhaps (just perhaps) increase both the standard of living and quality of life. Given the current War on Terrorism as well as the hostilities in the Middle East and throughout much of Africa, the sooner the participants stop shooting and start shopping, the better.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Luxury, a new religion analyzed, August 31, 2003

By 

Walter Eichelburg (Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living It Up : America's Love Affair with Luxury (Paperback)

This is a landmark book. The author analyzes in very detail the mechanisms behind selling luxury to the public, including the religious attributes affixed to those products.
"Probably it shouldn't get into the hands of consumers", because they might find out they are spending too much money for ordinarily manufactured goods with high status affixed by advertising. On my trips to the US, I wondered how big, luxury only shopping malls could survive, this book tells the reason why. Europe is still more conservative with luxury spending.
I wanted to give it 5 stars, but the language used is very difficult to read. To exclude most luxury spenders?

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very smart, very thoughtful, May 14, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Living It Up (Hardcover)

Many writers have taken on the subject of luxury spending. The issue seems to have growing weight these days given the spread of luxury products through a very broad income range. Many approach the question as if it were one of morals, or one of emptiness. The refreshing thing about Twitchell is that he understands that people simply like things and always have.