pretentious, moi?
No. But oh so very judgemental. When we are what we wear, drive, phone, eat, and where we party, dine, holiday and shop, and it all apparently says everything there is to know about us, it’s hard not to be.
During Christie’s ‘vintage handbag’ auction earlier this month, nine Hermes Birkin handbags – apparently named after an actress, Jane Birkin – sold for more than £30,000 each, more than the price of an average three bedroom house in sunny Preston. So, despite the age-of-austerity handbag fever is alive and kicking. London stores report that that luxury items, personified by the season’s must-have handbag, are fairly flying out of the door and into a wardrobe near you.
This has given rise to the phenomena ‘conspicuous consumption’ and is defined as the lavish spending on goods and services mainly for the specific purpose of displaying income, wealth and a perceived level of taste. A luxury good is said to have a high income of elasticity of demand, which in plain English means the more you earn the more you want it. And with every season and every passing fad you gotta have the next one, and the next one, and the next one, as if you haven’t, you’re not even worthy of your own social circle. This cycle appears to me to be a particularly vicious circle and one which can only lead to ‘invidious consumption’ where you buy to deliberately cause envy and jealousy.
What’s behind this luxury lust? Undoubtedly the fickle world of fashion plays it’s part but by far and away the largest cause of such growth can only be explained in sociological terms. Such products as watches, jewellery, cars, Jimmy Choos, designer sunglasses et al are symbolic objects that act as ‘markers’ which enable the owner to visibly demonstrate that they ‘belong’. While an expensive bag has no added functional benefit over a cheaper model, what it says about the owner (in the eyes of many) is priceless.
