Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster | Dana Thomas | informative and eye opening book

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster | Dana Thomas | Deluxe. How Luxury Lost Its Luster

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Deluxe: How Luxury...

	Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster Dana Thomas Penguin Press HC, The, 2007 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 35 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A hard-hitting behind-the-scenes look at the luxury fashion industry today There was a time when luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. Luxury wasn't simply a product, it was a lifestyle, one that denoted a history of tradition, superior quality and offered a pampered buying experience. Today's luxury marketplace would be virtually unrecognizable to its founders. Gone are the family-owned businesses dedicated to integrity and quality; the industry is now run by multi-billion dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand-awareness, advertising and above all, profits. Handcrafted goods are practically extinct, and almost all manufacturing has been outsourced to large factories in such places as China, where your expensive brand-name handbag is being assembled right next to one from a mass-market label that will cost substantially less. Dana Thomas, a journalist who has covered style and the luxury business for The Washington Post, Newsweek and The New York Times Magazine from Paris for the past fifteen years, digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci and Burberry don't want us to know. Traveling from the laboratories in Grasse, where the ingredients for Christian Dior and Prada perfumes are produced, to the crowded factories in China, where workers glue together "Made in Italy" bags by the thousands, Thomas explores the whole of today's high-end shopping experience to answer some pressing questions: What is the new definition of luxury when advertising for this lifestyle is targeted mainly toward the mass market? What are we paying for when quality has given way to quantity? Can integrity survive in a corporate culture driven to meet regular growth and profit projections? Is luxury still the best that money can buy? Thomas has traveled all over the world to interview corporate heads and factory workers, old-money, old-luxury clients and new luxury-obsessed middle-market consumers, and she paints a surprising picture of today's New Luxury. With Deluxe, she delivers a fast-paced, uncompromising look at the real world behind the glossy magazines and red carpet couture and asks: How did luxury lose its luster?

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informative and eye opening book

this book was overall well written and full of interesting tibits about everything from the decline of haute couture and the rise of globalization. it definatly changed my mind about fashion shopping. probably not going to buy "luxury" items (made in china, supports business tycoons and not the designers/artists) even though i've had in the past. i recommend this book to anybody who wants to be a smart consumer.

Deluxe. How Luxury Lost Its Luster

Book is amazing. One does have a different opinion when you shop at Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, etc. and you know in most cases the founders and their families have no say in their product. It's a corporate world and the bottom line is money. A must read for a luxury brand shopper. Enjoyed the historical info on the original designer.

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Well researched and fun to read

I bought this book to read during my vacation. In fact, I finished it when I arrived at my destination!
It gives insight of todays true luxury brands and products as well as the piratry problematic all over the world. Deluxe is very well researched and openly criticises extrentric family run luxury brands such as Prada. Especially the insider information was very much appreciated. Refreshingly entertaining and informative.

Excellent

What an excellent easy to read book. It's always good to get an "insiders'" view of an industry such as the luxury goods industry. I had never thought about the way they market or the activities that they cover until reading this book. It is definitely worth the time to read.

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Excellent overview of luxury market from a somewhat snobby perspective

As a person who tends to stay away from luxury brands though remains interested in this cultural phenomenon, I found this book to be extremely insightful, engaging and a very fair history of the luxury brand market. Dana Thomas takes us through the history of luxury houses as they move from small family owned creators of the absolute best in their field to corporate owned behemoths catering to the nouveau riche and wannabes as they sell a sexy and successful lifestyle image.

I found her in person reporting to be the most engaging as she shows us the people behind the luxury brands and the personality clashes and twists of fate that give us the brands and designs we have today. However, Ms. Thomas takes a somewhat snobby, though not rude tone, when talking about the democratization of luxury goods. Overall, an extremely good book.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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