Luxurious Demise

[Matt Deckard]

I think it was better when luxury was harder to acquire. Better when you'd have to go downtown or fly to Paris in order to buy that certain ring or necklace for a gal. Nowadays these high end shops tend to be across from a sneaker store or a cheesecake factory. Just takes away something.

 

[Widebrim]

Well, I believe you have a point, although it is nice to be able to obtain a "luxury" item without having to go a distance for it. (Of course, in large cities like Los Angeles there have been luxury outlets for years which have catered to the monied class.) When you have to go the extra mile to make a purchase, it tends to make the item that more special. All in all, I think that the situation today reflects the idea that what was a luxury years ago, has turned into a "necessity" today...

 

[Kabel]

I still find luxury hard to aquire, haha, but that's probably more down to finances. Still it is true that you don't have to fly half-way down the world for it.

 

[kaiser]

Put the Internet on top of this and you do not even have to go out of the house to buy just about any luxury item you want. Times have changed indeed.

 

[C-dot]

All in all, I think that the situation today reflects the idea that what was a luxury years ago, has turned into a "necessity" today...

Very true. When I was 17, I saved money from my part-time job for a year to buy myself a Juicy Couture handbag. It was a real slice of luxury that I truly felt I earned. Most girls I knew had multiple Coach bags their parents bought for them. Back in the Golden Era, labels like Coach and Hermes were reserved for Hollywood movie stars.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Then there's South Coast Plaza, Orange County's Rodeo Drive. When it was built in 1967 it was just an ordinary mall with a Sears and Woolworth's (Sears is still there). Now there's Dior, Cartier, Gucci, Tiffany's, etc. In fact it's so weird seeing ads for these places that say "New York -- London -- Paris -- Costa Mesa"

 

[bunnyb.gal]

Then there's South Coast Plaza, Orange County's Rodeo Drive. When it was built in 1967 it was just an ordinary mall with a Sears and Woolworth's (Sears is still there). Now there's Dior, Cartier, Gucci, Tiffany's, etc. In fact it's so weird seeing ads for these places that say "New York -- London -- Paris -- Costa Mesa"

Gee, I'd like to see you lookin' swell, baby
diamond bracelets Woolworth's doesn't sell, baby...

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

Back on topic, I often wonder to myself, who has the disposable income to be able to acquire this stuff in, say, Costa Mesa, Podunk, MS, Huddersfield, UK what have you. Also, it does seem to cheapen it somewhat when it is ubiquitous - McDior, anyone???

C-dot, I remember saving up for that Etienne Aigner handbag (during that 5-minute adolescent phase where I was shooting for Preppie-dom.). And lord knows what has become of it! Today, however, I don't think for the most part I'd look twice at a designer item, especially if it had more than slightly noticeable branding on it.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Sometimes the ads even say Santa Ana. South Coast Plaza sits right on the Costa Mesa/Santa Ana city limits.

 

[Widebrim]

Sometimes the ads even say Santa Ana. South Coast Plaza sits right on the Costa Mesa/Santa Ana city limits.

As a Los Angeleno, I find that disturbing...lol

 

[C-dot]

C-dot, I remember saving up for that Etienne Aigner handbag (during that 5-minute adolescent phase where I was shooting for Preppie-dom.). And lord knows what has become of it! Today, however, I don't think for the most part I'd look twice at a designer item, especially if it had more than slightly noticeable branding on it.

Neither would I lol I still have my Juicy purse, and I wear it often. I like the label for its styling and playfulness, which is why I liked the purse, so its proved to be a good investment. I like other labels for the same reason (re: Vivien of Holloway), but it seems people buy from expensive labels to win friends and influence people, which I'm really too indifferent to do.

 

[Gregg Axley]

Yes luxury items can be found on the internet.
Amazon.com has a lot of them., and if THEY don't have it, many stores are online like Saks, etc.
You never have to leave your house, which means you never have to fight crowds during "holiday" shopping.
This in itself is a luxury for me. :eusa_clap
I do agree that it takes away from what used to be an exciting time, once you'd saved up for that item.
One of the strangest things I had done at the time (in 2003) was pick out a car, reserve it, and drive clear across the state to sign the paperwork. I had everything done when I got there, and just simply signed myself into 3yrs of payments (traded it a few years later to lower my note). Hey no haggling, no pressure from a salesman (why don't they wear white shoes and plaid suits anymore?), and it was over in about an hour after we got there.

 

[Haversack]

Real luxury goods are still out there. They tend not to have brand names and are made to order. As such, you do not find them in outlet malls.

 

[SGT Rocket]

I must agree with Haversack on this one. Luxury items are not really "brand" name any more; I think luxury would be more bespoke today.

 

[C-dot]

I must agree with Haversack on this one. Luxury items are not really "brand" name any more; I think luxury would be more bespoke today.

Perhaps the lines have been blurred?

I make a lot of things for myself, and I consider that a luxury.

 

[Tomasso]

Bespoke is a process and does not necessarily indicate the quality (materials or construction) of the final product. As for true luxury brands: They're out there, you just have to see past the smoke and mirrors of the myriad of pretenders who've joined the lux market in recent years. Of course it's not that easy as many of these pretenders use the facade of once venerable firms to sell goods that are produced by mid-tier subcontractors.

 

[Gregg Axley]

You mean like my Joseph A Bank items, and my Woolrich items that say "imported?"
Yeah, when you get down to imported items, there is a standard they must maintain for that brand.
You can have Jos. A Bank shirts made in the same country as Wrangler shirts, but the difference is
$70 a shirt, and the quality is apparent as well.
Years ago...many years ago, a brand meant something.
Not anymore...

 

[rue]

I think Chanel, Louis Vuitton and the older brands like them still hold up. Not only are their products still well made, but they still treat their customers like royalty at least in my experience [huh]

 

[Edward]

A brand - or, as we lawyers like to call it, a trade mark, is no more nor less than a signifier of origin of the goods (this is, of course, one reason we're so hot on trade mark infringement). Unfortunately all too often the brand is perceived by the market to have a value in and of itself. I see it all the time, especially in the electric guitar world (where some snobs even genuinely believe that simple point of geography - i.e. manufacture in the USA - is a guarantee of superior quality []in and on itself[/i]). In my experience, the so-called 'luxury brands' are selling the exclusivity of owning a product not everyone can acquire, whether that state of affairs is brought about by limited availability, high price, or both. A number of jewellers over the years have told me they consider Rolexes to be vastly overpriced (one even once pointed out two watches - one Rolex in the ten thousands, one much cheaper watch, around GBP100 - both had identical movements, costing GBP10.00, and both were every bit the equal as time pieces), and selling the brand rather than the watch. The current CEO of Gibson guitars boosted sales of their Les Paul instruments by doing little more than doubling the price. Plenty of people want a guitar, or any other product, for that matter, that isn't just so accessible. Perceptions of worth are gained from market price. The software industry, there's another. There they tell the tale of the company that produced a radical new application package and couldn't sell it: the market analysts told them to double the price, and when they did that they could barely ship fast enough to meet demand. Perceived value, that's all it is. Branding, price.... most of the time luxury brands are, in my experience, little more than smoke and mirrors. Sure, there's a lot to be said for the fact that if you've had to really work for something and it isn't easy to acquire, you will appreciate it all the more. I don't disagree with that, but I am extremely fussy about quality.

Anyhow, I'm rambling. I hate it, though, when a company tries to sell you a lifestyle brand (Harley are particularly infamous for this), based on ephemeral nonsense such as "heritage", rather than whether the existing product is any good or not.

 

[sheeplady]

Real luxury goods are still out there. They tend not to have brand names and are made to order. As such, you do not find them in outlet malls.

I'd call some of these artisian-made goods. I've never been a sucker for high end brands (I'm too cheap to buy something just because it's "name") but I am always a sucker for a well-done, well-made, creative piece made by hand. Personal taste. Even the most folk artsy, ruff hewn thing could be luxury to some.

A brand - or, as we lawyers like to call it, a trade mark, is no more nor less than a signifier of origin of the goods (this is, of course, one reason we're so hot on trade mark infringement). Unfortunately all too often the brand is perceived by the market to have a value in and of itself.

Branding, at least 10 years ago, was one of the biggest things that companies were working on. In the ultra-competitive market, you need to sell your brand. Given the fact that there are equal quality goods, you want to keep people coming to you because of the *experience* you sell. When you wear, consume, etc. that brand, you are not just getting something, but you are taking part in an experience. And that experience is highly constructed by advertising and efforts by the company who manufactures that experience.

Take for instance, "coca-cola"- the name itself is supposed to bring up certain feelings. Refreshment, images of their labeling, glass bottles, community work, etc. They want to make people rabid supporters- even marketers- of the brand. Hence why there are "coke families" and "pepsi families." In most tests, people can't tell the difference. But if you asked them, they'd immediately state why their brand is better.

I know people who do this type of thing for a living. They don't sell false advertising, but they do create a script for their goods and what type of experience you'll get by having that brand. And if people like the script and want to partake in it, they buy the product.

 

[Tomasso]

I think Chanel, Louis Vuitton and the older brands like them still hold up.

LV had some issues a while back. A lot of the lux houses play loosey goosey with the definition of handmade. Just because hands were operating the sewing machine doesn't make something handmade.

Personally, I think Hermès leather goods are unsurpassed in quality and you won't find a sewing machine in their atelier. Of course it helps when you operate several of the world's finest tanneries in order to insure that you work with the highest quality leather. And their competitors line up to pay top dollar for what they don't use.