In the more censorious social levels of American society, there has long been a fashionable aversion to gadgetry. (The word gadget is itself a pejorative term for durable goods.) In such circles, shiny rumpus rooms, imaginative barbecue pits, expansive television screens and magnificent automobiles no longer win acclaim. They may even invite mild social obloquy. A degree of shabbiness in personal attire is now sought, and all but universally among the young.
