Deluxe

Jan 18, 2008 Joel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: shallow wealthy persons

Very near the end of the book, Thomas sums up her book through the eyes of a friend.

"I see where you're going with this: luxury companies have gone mass and along the way forgotten their original mission, which was to provide the rich with truly exceptional products."
The friend continues,
"So here's what I want to know: What do the rich do now?"

This is not what I wanted to know. What I wanted to know was, why should I care what the rich do now, or ever did? Thomas's entire thesis seems to be "lux...more

12 likes · like · see review

Aug 25, 2008 Jason Pettus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

I confess, I know barely anything about the world of high fashion, and so of course especially know nothing about the highest end of it all, the so-called "luxury" brands like Prada, Gucci and Hermés that charge just insane prices for the stupidest little stuff (a hundred dollars for a handkerchief, f...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2008 Joe Ringenberg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

a good read. piles of research, interviews with the best of the luxury cast(e), investigative journalism, and fashion-magazine luxury brand wallowing-in.
Ten Things I can now argue for/against:
1. Hermes bags, luggage, and scarves (for)
2. Chanel No. 5 (for)
3. fake handbags (against)
4. child labor, human trafficking, the black market (against)
5. Louis Vuitton (against)
6. the conglomeration of luxury brands (against)
7. Japanese cultural values with respect to luxury goods (against)
8. architect Peter...more

13 likes · like · see review

Mar 01, 2008 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I should not have read Deluxe immediately after having read Richistan. I’m a huge fan of coupling two similar books, it’s like peanut butter and jelly, or whiskey and my mouth, but this combination was unintended or at least unconscious and these true tales of Excess and Image left me in a bizarre, contradictory paradox of feeling both rich and poor. Rich in Spirit. Poor in Reality.

If there ever was a pair of prissy Siamese twins sashaying around America on their yachts clutching Hermes handbags...more I should not have read Deluxe immediately after having read Richistan. I’m a huge fan of coupling two similar books, it’s like peanut butter and jelly, or whiskey and my mouth, but this combination was unintended or at least unconscious and these true tales of Excess and Image left me in a bizarre, contradictory paradox of feeling both rich and poor. Rich in Spirit. Poor in Reality.

If there ever was a pair of prissy Siamese twins sashaying around America on their yachts clutching Hermes handbags like vultures to a carcass, it is Deluxe and Richistan. More wealth and money in America has meant more shopping and buying. Throw in some ruthless business tactics and aggressive marketing and you have sewn a gown of change. Drastic change. But contrary to the alliterate subtitle, Deluxe isn’t about Luxury Losing Its Luster. It’s about luxury losing its faint glean of pretension. A polish perhaps long overdue.

Though Dana Thomas certainly wouldn’t agree and spends 346 pages disagreeing. As she explains in her introduction, “The luxury industry has changed the way people dress. It has realigned our economic class system. It has changed the way we interact. It has become part of our social fabric. To achieve this, it has sacrificed its integrity, undermined its products, tarnished its history, and hoodwinked its consumers. In order to make luxury “accessible,” tycoons have stripped away all that has made it special.” And though that may sound like some vindictive, polemical, rabble-rousing, Thomas can’ sustain her vitriol throughout the entire book. She loves the luxury industry too much.

Deluxe is a tale of Modern American Consumption, which is not about quality or practicality, or need, or even price, but about the Brand, which is a Lie. And like all the other well-marketed and perpetrated brands (lies), luxury has been masterfully sold. For the most part, luxury goods are still of superb design and style, but just mass-produced and marketed.

Deluxe is about how globalization has finally made it to the luxury industry. The “art” of luxury has been replaced by the bottom line. If you’re a shareholder in say, LVMH, that line looks very nice (the luxury goods industry is a $157 billion business). If you’re Dana Thomas, that line does not look as lustery as it used to.

Deluxe is about the reformation of a storied, elite industry historically run by artisans and craftsmen that has been taken over by capitalists with their eyes not on design, style, and luxury, but on their balance sheets. Once in power, these businessmen applied the Usual Tactics to the luxury industry with profitable results: outsource to reduce costs, market heavily in order to sell the image, status, and story of the brand, and then market to the middle class, especially with entry-level products like fragrances and handbags, and sell what’s left for a discount at outlet malls. Now that the fussy ogre that is America has been sated and is lying down for a nap, go after the emerging markets: China, India, and Russia.

This may seem all fine and well and par for the course, but what Dana Thomas takes issue with is that the Luxury Industry has lost its credibility and has forsaken its noble past. As she explains, “When luxury brands themselves go mass market, however – selling a full range of goods in ubiquitous boutiques, outlets and duty-free stores and on their own Web sites – they undermine their well-crafted message. They become an everyday occurrence, a common presence. They aren’t a luxury anymore.”

Thomas’ story is significant and interesting enough but blandly told. As a fashion writer having covered the industry for decades, she has great reverence and respect for luxury but her straightforward, journalistic approach felt flat to me. The blow-by-blow history interspersed with anecdotes failed to make me care about the loss of a little luster. That’s not to discredit Thomas’ impressive tale. Deluxe is clearly a labor of love and the result of exhaustive research and travel from someone who was already on expert on the topic. It contains a variety of opinions and perspectives but you almost wish someone told it with a smaller bias and a bigger penchant for weaving a more revealing tale.

Thomas is at her best when she departs from bemoaning the loss of abstract, nebulous ideals and focuses on the legitimate social and economic ramifications of this industry’s massive evolution. One of the most interesting elements of the book was Thomas’ investigation into the widespread counterfeiting of luxury goods that has risen from luxury brand’s outrageously high demand. As Thomas notes, “The industry’s marketing plan had worked: consumers don’t buy luxury branded items for what they are, but for what they represent. People don’t believe there is a difference between real and fake anymore.” But before you buy a fake Fendi bag to satisfy your lust for status and image, please, please read this book. Counterfeiting is a dark, detrimental black market and before you know it you’ll believe that commercial that insisted that smoking marijuana contributed to terrorism. Counterfeiting contributes to terrorism too by the way. So buy from your local grow house. And buy a real bag. After reading this book, I can tell. I can. See that stitching?

But what was really interesting was learning that Gucci uses a special machine developed and used exclusively by them to cut cowhide that uses water jets moving at twice the speed of sound. As Thomas observes, “The water jet is remarkable to see because, in fact, you can’t see it. All you see is the leather cut, as if by magic, and a mist from the water jet dissipating to the sides.” Isn’t that NEAT?(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 10, 2007 Suede rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It wasn't that I didn't like this book, but that I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know.
But, on the plus side, the author was very factual about what was going on in the world of luxury. I didn't feel that it had a overwhelming biased bent. I thought she would point out repeatedly how silly it is to spend 2K on a bag that everyone owns that's covered in a logo (hello, it's free advertising, what are we girls? A billboard? I think not!) I (obviously) would have berated the logo...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 16, 2008 Tiny Pants rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, consumption

This book I had wanted to read since it came out, and it was great. Humorously, not long after I read it, I saw that it was for sale at the Kitson warehouse sale, alongside marked down Habitual jeans and Michael Kors wedge sandals in an unheated, hangar-like space (where no, I didn't buy anything -- though I did score at the similar Lisa Kline sale). On this same trip, I also saw the (awesome) Takashi Murakami retrospective that notoriously included a Louis Vuitton boutique in the middle of the...more This book I had wanted to read since it came out, and it was great. Humorously, not long after I read it, I saw that it was for sale at the Kitson warehouse sale, alongside marked down Habitual jeans and Michael Kors wedge sandals in an unheated, hangar-like space (where no, I didn't buy anything -- though I did score at the similar Lisa Kline sale). On this same trip, I also saw the (awesome) Takashi Murakami retrospective that notoriously included a Louis Vuitton boutique in the middle of the exhibition -- which definitely makes you think (about dropping a grand for a somewhat ugly bag, but also about you know, the relationship between art and commerce!). Anyway, this book was quite well done. It combines the narrative about different aspects of the luxury goods trade with detailed histories of different houses, and in general is very compelling. After reading the chapter about counterfeiting, you would never, ever want to buy a counterfeit handbag (and not just 'cause you're fooling yourself that you think people can't tell the difference -- trust me, we can, and that thing looks like crap).

On the flip side, you may come out of it really wanting to buy an Hermes bag. The interesting thing is that the author in no way dislikes luxury goods -- this isn't a Juliet B. Schor or James Twitchell kind of academia-lite read, the author is a fashion journalist. She kind of loves snobby stuff, and revels in anecdotes about like, how good the service at Christian Dior used to be like twenty years ago before they re-did the store. Rather than a diatribe against the massification of luxury and its consequences for the masses (debt, "affluenza", etc. -- though there's a bit of that in there, especially in the chapter where she goes to Vegas), it is more about how these things have lost their specialness for the very wealthy (although really for anyone who buys them). So it is sort of weird. The book ends up at that ridiculous store in Brazil, Daslu, and her talking about it like it's an uneqivocally good thing, which came off sort of weird for me. But in any event, the book is quite entertaining, and you learn a lot of stuff -- plus aside from okaying Hermes and Chanel, it really does take the air out of a lot of one's other handbag ambitions.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 12, 2008 Meridith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: patrik

Great, thoroughly researched book tracking the explosion of masstige in the 90s--the players, the haters & the globalisation. All your fashion subjects are represented.

Geography: There is just enough backstory for the fashion-addled with ADD: the politics behind the rise of China as a manufacturing giant, new money in Russia & buying power in India.

History: among the first to understand the importance of branding are the social climber & legend Gabrielle Chanel & ruined genius Pa...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2008 leighcia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: unfinished, non-fiction

I probably shouldn’t review this book, as I’ve never actually been in possession of it. I read or skimmed through about 50-70 pages of it while going to Barnes and Nobles at lunchtime. In any case, the book traces the development of the luxury brand corporations, all the while lamenting the loss of fine artisan craftsmanship that once characterized brands like Louis Vuitton or whatnot. The author focuses a lot on the founding of various large fashion corporations, and the profit-driven motives t...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 29, 2010 Gail rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, nonfiction

Maybe it was fate, I dunno; but I read this from a crusie ship library as I was on a cruise to Panama when the Haiti earthquake occurred. It lent a certain ironic tang to my reading.

The book, which is a fairly seamless compilation of journal articles and notes, discusses the ways in which the old carriage trade companies have changed their approaches to marketing and to production as they attempt mostly successfully to increase profits. It details what happens when small, exclusive, and proud co...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 15, 2007 Rachael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone interested in modern culture

Immediately engaging. THE book I would ask a genie for at this moment, but instead found on the tables of Barnes and Nobles. A fascinating and incredibly relevant read. Luxury culture is perhaps one of the most discussed of current events, and will continue to be. To be savvy on this topic is invaluable. I've been reading fashion magazines for years, so I knew most of the names and references and could appreciate the gossip, but it would be clear and interesting for everyone. It will inform all...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 27, 2013 Wayne Sun rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's freakin' awesome. What else is there to be said? I'm not usually too big on super high-end luxury fashion, but I love the work that goes into creating retail brand experiences. It traces almost every major 'player' in the industry out there. From Louis Vuitton to LVMH to Bernard Arnault to the growth of small mom-and-pops in France and Italy to mass-produced, mass-marketed goods to the emergence of 'hot spot' retail locations over time (Rodeo Drive, Waikiki), to the historical importance of...more

like · see review

Oct 20, 2012 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: relates-to-china, relates-to-europe, relates-to-france, relates-to-japan, relates-to-korea, relates-to-russia, relates-to-united-states

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. It's not a serious work of academic study looking into luxury today, and if you keep that in mind, your reading experience will be better. The only detractors for me, really, were the occasional "they can't pull the wool over my eyes" phrases Thomas drops when she seems a little too eager to show the reader that she didn't believe someone she was interviewing, or that some clue dropped by another source betrays some great travesty. Though thankfully not...more

like · see review

Dec 16, 2010 WORN Fashion Journal added it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-business-of-fashion

In the beginning there were clothes. They were at your service – they performed for you, practical, reliable, appropriate. Still, we are thoughtful creatures, driven to art and individuality – and so clothes became fashion, and eventually, fashion became couture. No longer strictly practical, this new rank of clothes represented something more than just a cover. They were luxury: costly fabric impeccably tailored to be durable, classic, and stylish. But what is luxury now? Dana Thomas’s book Del...more In the beginning there were clothes. They were at your service – they performed for you, practical, reliable, appropriate. Still, we are thoughtful creatures, driven to art and individuality – and so clothes became fashion, and eventually, fashion became couture. No longer strictly practical, this new rank of clothes represented something more than just a cover. They were luxury: costly fabric impeccably tailored to be durable, classic, and stylish. But what is luxury now? Dana Thomas’s book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster is the culmination of several tears of work, collaged journalism, and covert interviews. This sometimes brutal chronicle of the luxury fashion industry is both history and commentary and invites a re-evaluation of all things haute.

Primarily a Eurocentric account, Deluxe moves through the history of luxury brands from their humble beginnings in France and Italy to the global conglomerates they have become. From family-owned couture houses to fashion luxury groups, Thomas’s main thesis is clear: high-end fashion has been watered down for mass consumption. She mourns this unwelcome dilution without subtlety, freely using war imagery to describe the violent takeover of fashion’s most beloved houses, “where dreams, desires and beauty are manufactured.”

Thomas marks the beginning of the decline of couture in the 50s, coinciding with the rise of the middle Markey and the start of fashion licensing. Since then couturiers have been replaced by ready-to-wear luxury designers who churn out assembly-line products with a luxury price tag – a price tag reflecting the desirability of the logo rather than the item itself. Companies once private and dedicated to product integrity are now public, driver by ego and shareholder greed; quality, once the hallmark of couture, has been obscured by the incessant demand for profit.

What do we imagine luxury is? The fulfillment of the senses – touch, sight, smell, taste – the sound of the garment rustling as you let it drop over your head, or as you walk within it. How does it feel? Today, Thomas laments, luxury is brand – the “cult of luxury.” It is no longer about the quality of the product, the stimulation of the sense, but about profitability – how to cheapen the foods and sell them to the widest audience possible. The product is secondary to what it represents, and its quality is a consideration low on the list. Thomas depicts this new industry as an unstoppable global force and even Louis Vuitton, the historic couturier credited with the first fashion show and first name-brand logo, and a house long respected for integrity and quality of design, is ultimately referred to as the “McDonald’s of the fashion industry.”

Deluxe is a memorable read, including accounts of the birth of consequences of Chanel No. 5 (did you know that every 30 seconds of every day, there is a bottle of Chanel No. 5 sold somewhere in the world?) and the innovative production of the Gucci handbag. There is also an amusing and fascinating introduction to Miuccia Prada, Poli-Sci Ph.D. and Mime understudy. Thomas invites us to join her in the presence of the fashion mavens. She never fails to detail the mannerisms, hesitations, and of course dress of these personalities that have shaped the world of luxury fashion.

With an easy, yet structured style, Thomas manages to remind without repeating, presenting her information in an orderly, but not necessarily prescriptive way. The frequent (sometimes bordering on excessive) use of statistics may threaten to become wearisome, but this is balanced by allowing the reader to approach each chapter independently. Divided into three parts Deluxe first sets the global stage: the formation of luxury groups, public stock offerings, and globalization. The book then breaks down the luxury industry by item (handbags, perfumes, textiles, shoes) and places each into a historical, social, and political context, lending an unexpected depth to the discussion. Finally, it takes on the contemporary mania with brands, from knock-offs to mass luxury as seen in the success of such chains as H&M and Zara. Thomas’s ability to rephrase and revisit the key elements in her study complements her research in such a way that even the most distracted reader will be able to follow along, or skip forward or backward to the most interesting subjects. With the introduction of such notable terms as “democratization of luxury”, “bipolar shopping disorder,” luxury refugees,” “fast fashion, and “Parasite Singles,” Thomas’s prose is both stimulating and evocative.

In the end, Thomas exhibits a certain nostalgia for an earlier, more refined expression and experience of taste and style. But while her book is most certainly a lament, she chooses to exit the discussion on a hopeful note, concentrating on those, like shoemaker Christian Louboutin, who have remained committed and loyal to the idea of luxury as exceptional quality, service, elegance, and authenticity: “Luxury is not consumerism. It is educating the eyes to see that special quality.” (reviewed by Rachel Melis)(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 09, 2010 Gloria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book from Elizabeth.

I found this book both fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating: the history/origins of some of these famous companies, the shift that occurs when the meaning/goals of the companies shift either through the rise of business thinking and/or the slow devaluing of both design and craft thinkers/ makers. Frustrating: At some point the author makes a great point about how luxury had shifted from actual thing itself to what it represents. She lays this on consumers; however I would...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2011 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

It wasn't nearly as interesting as other analyses of consumer culture, and no one in this book comes off as sympathetic to me, save for the children in the counterfeit sweatshops. I feel that we're supposed to feel for the women who cried because another women showed up to a club in an identical counterfeit version of the Dior dress she had, and who remarked "This isn't comedy, it's tragedy," intensely out of touch and undeserving of our sympathy. I felt the description of the growing income dis...more

like · see review

Aug 27, 2012 ^ rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: business, non-fiction, review-liked, books-with-1001-to-10000-ratings

This book is interesting to read. I set out with the preconception that I would discover why people behave like sheep. Why do individuals feel emotionally secure carrying a ‘luxury-label’ branded handbag? The stock answer is to feel part of a tribe: however that is powerfully contradicted by the so-called ‘tribe’ with which one doesn’t so much as pass the time of day, let alone invite the brand-bonded ‘blood brother’ stranger home for dinner? Has the power of visual communication now overcome th...more This book is interesting to read. I set out with the preconception that I would discover why people behave like sheep. Why do individuals feel emotionally secure carrying a ‘luxury-label’ branded handbag? The stock answer is to feel part of a tribe: however that is powerfully contradicted by the so-called ‘tribe’ with which one doesn’t so much as pass the time of day, let alone invite the brand-bonded ‘blood brother’ stranger home for dinner? Has the power of visual communication now overcome the power of social interaction between individuals? I enjoy buying a product that has been well thought out, engineered to fulfil its function, and which is both a delight to use, is beautiful to look at, and doesn’t fall apart within ten years

Dana Thomas has written an intriguing book here. Too many so-called ‘luxury’ brands have descended to milk the massive riches of the mass-market by focussing on quantity to the detriment of the quality which lent them the ‘luxury’ tag in the first place. The story of that downfall is comprehensively, fascinatingly and well told by the author.

It is unfortunate that Ms Thomas did not choose to select the most choice and apt examples of evidence to justify her thesis rather than flinging everything she’s discovered at her reader; arrogantly assuming that her reader enjoys the luxury of time, and lots of it. Her thirteen page introduction sets an objective, of sorts, for the remainder of the book. On page 13 she states; “In order to make luxury accessible, tycoons have stripped away all that has made it special.” That could have been stated on page 1, and saved the trees required to make the other twelve pages.

Perhaps her profession as a journalist accounts for her distressing tendency to pile up the descriptive evidence? On finishing this book I felt cheated: I wanted to read more about her conclusions and ideas for changing the status quo.

My principle gripe with this book is that the author’s thesis appears to be misplaced. The title of the book, “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre” is technically incorrect. It is not 'luxury’ that has lost its lustre; Ms Thomas’ clearly stated argument is that it is individual products, and an awful lot of them, once cherished, now lie badly tarnished through mass production, exploitation of labour markets, and crime.

In Chapter 6 the author illuminatingly describes the highly skilled (and time-consuming) manufacture by hand of Hermés bags. In Chapter 11, “New Luxury”, she discusses and praises the comprehensive and cossetted - by invitation only - shopping experience at Daslu, in São Paolo, Brazil. With apparent unconsciousness she implies, but does not state explicitly, what is ‘now’ (in 2007) considered ‘luxury’: TIME.

So what’s new? Throughout history, TIME has always been valued above almost all else. TIME is luxury, not goods. The very rich have always had paid assistants/servants (& before that, slaves) to do their bidding, merchants chasing their custom, and artists seeking their patronage. There is nothing new in that. If Ms Thomas had recognised this, even at the most basic level, why, at the very least, did she not apply a more apt sub-title to her book?

The list price for this book was US $27.95. I bought this book for £2.00 from a charity (thrift) shop. Good value, I thought, for three days’ reading; and recyclable back to a charity shop. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 22, 2010 Amy Norton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those interested in the history and evolution of luxury brands

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Thomas' findings certainly gave me a lot of valuable insight into the history of fashion's best-known labels and a new sense of appreciation for those that strive to maintain the original standards of quality espoused by their founders; however, the way she chose to end the book caused me to knock down the rating from 4 to 3 stars. I found her analyses of the Chinese, Russian, and Indian markets tedious and not entirely necessary. I also thought that Thomas' Hollywood producer friend's question,...more Thomas' findings certainly gave me a lot of valuable insight into the history of fashion's best-known labels and a new sense of appreciation for those that strive to maintain the original standards of quality espoused by their founders; however, the way she chose to end the book caused me to knock down the rating from 4 to 3 stars. I found her analyses of the Chinese, Russian, and Indian markets tedious and not entirely necessary. I also thought that Thomas' Hollywood producer friend's question, "What do the rich do now?" was a silly and uninspired catalyst to bring about the book's conclusion. I see the relevance of asking something like how can luxury retain it's place as a status symbol now that it's gone so mass-market, but this seemed easily answered in that all the richest of the rich have to do is continue to order custom-made Louis Vuitton trunks, Hermes Birkin bags, and haute couture pieces that they won't actually wear but still need to have.

Furthermore, I would have liked Thomas to place the trajectory of luxury brands into a larger context. She does so somewhat in the "Going Global" section, but I was left feeling as though she wants me to believe that luxury fashion and jewelry houses are virtually the only companies that have sold out to corporate interests and have allowed those interests to dictate the houses' direction. The remotely savvy consumer however should be wise to not only this fact, but the fact that nearly every other industry has succumbed to bottom-line and shareholder-demand-driven pressures (I'm thinking of the auto industry, the commercial food industry, and the beauty industries in particular). Luxury brands aren't unique in this regard. Perhaps there will be a backlash against "massclusivity" (and I hope there will be), but I'm ultimately confused as to where Thomas wants me to direct my concerns - at the average middle market consumer dropping several months rent for a logo-print bag, foolishly buying into the luxury dream for a bag made in a remote Chinese factory, or the Bernard Arnaults of the world who are trying to make me believe I need this bag in order to look chic, sexy, and successful? In the meantime, I'm going to carry my faux python tote with a gold MK emblem dangling from the handle on my first day of work in the real world and know that I bought it because I loved it, and for no other reason than that.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 30, 2009 Gayle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Vuitton luggage, the Chanel bag, the Dior dress--all come from a tradition of luxury and exclusiveness. That tradition has evolved into a powerhouse industry that has changed luxury to a commodity that anyone can possess. Dana Thomas documents that evolution in Deluxe, which will change the way you see this season's Prada bag.

Thomas begins by noting the beginnings of luxury, the foundation of the great luxury product houses, and their corporatization, if you will, in recent decades. There ar...more

like · see review

May 09, 2012 Putri Daskian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An enjoyable book. I don't normally enjoy reading about fashion but this I think gives a counterproductive effect compared to its fashion publication cousins. As the title suggests it de-luxurized the whole industry and steps away from the what we normally see (more specifically, what we are normally allowed to see) and for this thesis to came from someone who is part of the group of people who are central to the world of high fashion is quite refreshing. I do however get the feeling that Thomas...more

like · see review

Dec 06, 2012 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Luxury" used to mean something expensive, finely crafted, rare, of the very best quality. Only the rich and the few could afford true luxury. Then luxury goods companies realized that they could make a LOT more money if they could convince the large middle-class masses of us to buy into the "luxury" dream with mass-manufactured products that aren't really finely crafted or of high quality, and certainly not rare. I can't afford an haute couture Chanel suit ($25,000), but I can afford some Chane...more

like · see review

Oct 24, 2007 Sheherazade rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well-researched and written, but I was hoping for more criticism of the industry itself, especially in regards to cost-cutting and the declining quality of these goods. I got the sense that as a fashion writer, the auther still holds these brands in such high regard to really see things with a clear eye. An outsider perspective (or a real industry insider) would have given this more edge.

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 25, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, women

This book was written more like a series of articles on different parts of the modern fashion industry. The overall theme, as much as I can tell, it's that it no longer luxuy because it is made of inferior products or quality by worker in sweatshops and middle class people can affored ir.

I can agree that the first half is terrible (sweatshops and cheaper quality) but the author's lamentations that executives are catering to the hoi polloi is ruining fashion and luxury is too classist to take se...more

like · see review

Jul 30, 2011 Sophie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very very very well written. Thomas charts the rise and rise of the luxury goods industry and shows how brands such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Dior have evolved from being a symbol of prestige and exculusivity to sinply being a symbol of having a large disposable income. Thomas also looks at the companies that still value craftsmanship and quality over the profit margins that come with catering to the mass-middle-market. Hermes only makes bags to order, and there is a year-long waiting l...more

like · see review

Sep 26, 2010 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Since I don't know much about luxury goods, I thought it would be a good idea to find out what motivates people to spend $2000 dollars on a handbag. Is it really worth it? Deluxe gives a good history of luxury goods and how they became accessible to the masses. I did appreciate it actually breaks down quality from hype. While I never ever wanted one, this book pretty much assures me I will NEVER own a logo Louis Vuitton. It's tawdry and you are making yourself a billboard. If I ever have the inc...more

like · see review

Jan 04, 2011 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: couture, chanel, louis-vuitton, hermes, dior, luxury-goods, fashion

I love high fashion biography and criticisms. There is something romantic about mourning of the decline in quality leather goods in this mass-market society. You can tell Thomas is not a fan of GAP, Forever 21 and those other clothing stores that produce for the mass for pennies. Had she kept on that branch and researched the rise and fall instead of where the uber-rich are currently shopping. The stretches of research Thomas covers on the making of Chanel 5 is breath taking. When I read about t...more

like · see review

Jul 29, 2012 Justine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-want-to-re-read

This book essentially chronicles how mass consumption affected the luxury industry. Thomas's view that such consumption has cheapened luxury can be elitist, but it's nevertheless an interesting. She successfully illustrates how luxury initially embodied quality and unattainability. You bought a designer purse because it was well-made and signified the best there was to offer; now purchasing any designer item is about displaying labels that have actually become rather hollow. Dana Thomas may be p...more

like · see review

Dec 01, 2008 Scot rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a lively, well researched social history of the world of high fashion. Now I’m a far cry from a metrosexual (I hate to go shopping and don’t really recognize or care much about status associated with name brand clothes or products), but even a doofus like me can learn a lot from this informative book. With nicely chosen details and carefully selected anecdotes, Thomas illustrates that when haute couture got started in eighteenth and nineteenth century France, luxury in all its forms was...more This is a lively, well researched social history of the world of high fashion. Now I’m a far cry from a metrosexual (I hate to go shopping and don’t really recognize or care much about status associated with name brand clothes or products), but even a doofus like me can learn a lot from this informative book. With nicely chosen details and carefully selected anecdotes, Thomas illustrates that when haute couture got started in eighteenth and nineteenth century France, luxury in all its forms was always an exquisite, beautiful, and precious thing for a very small elite. With the burgeoning of markets following World War II, things begin to change. Artisans were still making and marketing status symbols of refinement, but the desire to sell to more people and increase profit triggered a shift to conglomerate product groups, such as Louis Vuitton evolving into the international behemoth LVMH. For their elusive bit of the dream of the very rich, many bourgeois consumers began to buy low end accessories such as cologne water, a scarf, or a small bag associated with a high end fashion name, and eventually the corporations put the emphasis there to market more to the masses. Tapping into a ready market of Japanese women with money led to the rise of duty free shopping worldwide. The essence of luxury is now being further diluted as globalization leads not only to fast growing new markets in China, Russia, and India, but also to a cheapening of products for sale as once traditional artistry, now mechanized to varying degrees, often gives way to exploitation of cheap international labor in the production process, and hand crafted items of intricate beauty are replaced by fine works made by machine that ultimately still can’t compare to the earlier manmade luxury items. As we all get a bit of luxury, its very essence is compromised.

Although I’ll never be a fashionista, this book taught me a newfound appreciation for the House of Chanel and the folks who make the Hermes bags, for both these groups still emphasize the precious artistry of each individual bottle of perfume or handmade purse, and are less concerned with stockholder profit margins. Thomas documents how and why American celebrities became involved in the marketing of brand name fashion items, and what impact this has had on international marketing and fashion cycles. How and why places like Rodeo Drive got started is carefully delineated. The problem of counterfeit rip-offs of name brand products never seemed that serious a crime to me before, but it was staggering to read how many billions of dollars a year this costs and how deeply it is connected not only with international crime syndicates but particularly with Islamic terrorism.

Although it didn’t mention it, this book gave me a much deeper insight into the film “Sex and the City”—I now understand that movie: it is essentially a soft porn celebration of the fixation on these luxury items many women have. I also recommend connecting this study of the globalization of fashion and high status items with Lane Crothers’ “Globalization and American Popular Culture,” for there are and will continue to be many deep interconnections between fashion and pop culture as they evolve in the ongoing process of globalization.
(less)

like · see review

May 19, 2012 Kathleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book could be boiled down to a long article -- perhaps it from a series of articles originally?? It was hard to sustain interest since I am not a "luxe" type, even when I still had disposable income. There are some good points towards the end, where the big companies do not seem concerned that they have damaged their brands in the West because buyers in Russia, China, and India will pick up the slack - -maybe so, but for how long? I work in Shanghai, and when an office girl or an ayi has an...more

like · see review

Feb 28, 2011 C.M. Mayo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This deeply researched and elegantly written expose of the luxury business has nothing--- and everything--- to do with today's bloated and WalMartized publishing industry, a subject I admit I care a lot more about than fashion. That said, I found this book riveting. My favorite quote, by shoe designer, Louboutin:

"I see these men who build luxury brands to make money, and I am working in the same industry but I feel I have nothing in common with that... Luxury is the possibility to stay close to...more

like · see review

Feb 13, 2010 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a very interesting discussion about the history, present status, and future outlook of luxury clothing. "Clothing" is the operative word in that last sentence, because one of my main grips with this book is its laser-like focus on the luxury clothing and accessories business. While the discussions was well thought out, compelling, and interesting, I think the author could have expanded the argument to include luxury brands in other retail sectors. What about luxury cars? Private jets? T...more

like · see review

title link	preview: Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster
avg rating	preview: Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster Goodreads rating: 3.75 (1166 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2287912.Deluxe?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348043231l/2287912.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2287912.Deluxe?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas[/url]

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (15)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Dana Thomas

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Deluxe: How Luxur...

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (15)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Dana Thomas

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Deluxe: How Luxur...

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (15)