Arlene,,,, is this some kind of a co-incidence? Coz I just bought a Diesel denim pants worth $205... lol
hi to all!!! --- In [email protected], "tribalknowledge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Luxuries you can live without -- and should > > $200 jeans? $800 sheets? Paying a premium now for image and brand > cuts into our real quality of life down the road. > > By MP Dunleavey > > Correct me if I'm wrong, but it wasn't that long ago when the mere > concept of Williams-Sonoma (or Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel, > et. al.) would have struck most folks as . . . nutty. > > Oh sure, I'll pay a premium price to buy upscale versions of ordinary > stuff -- replacing functional things I already own -- because my > lifestyle must reek of affluence! > > Thirty years ago, people would have scoffed at such vanity. Today, > inundated by high-end specialty stores in every corner of the retail > market, more and more Americans are succumbing to the siren song of > these so-called affordable luxuries. And at what cost? > > A case of 'affluenza' > In his book "Luxury Fever," economist Robert Frank describes the rise > of this swankier-is-better mentality -- and the toll it's taking on > people's financial lives. "Although it is the mansions of the super- > rich that attract attention -- homes of 15,000, 20,000, even 40,000 > square feet -- the far more newsworthy fact is that the area of the > average house built in the United States is now more than roughly > twice what it was in the '70s," he writes. > > The trappings of affluence are no longer limited to those who can > afford them. Increasingly, middle-class Americans will pay top dollar > just to have the veneer of luxury -- and retailers, wizards that they > are, continue to provide the fantasy of wealth, even when all you're > buying is a garden trowel. > > The things we can't live without > In case you have NO idea what I'm talking about, please scroll > through this list of once-ordinary goods and services that now come > in versions ranging from the merely overpriced to the truly > outrageous: > � Pots: Now known as "cookware." Please think nothing of paying > $125 for an All-Clad omelette pan. Eggs not included. > > � Jeans: The $200 pair of designer denims is back. Which is > good, because that pair of $75 Diesels just isn't cutting it anymore. > > � Knives: Still called "knives," but a set of prestige Henckels > can set you back up to $1,500. > > � Cosmetics: The switch from Vaseline Intensive Care lotions > ($2.49) to skin-sensitive Neutrogena ($7.99) is a slippery slope to > Kiehls ($25) -- but then why not go ahead and splurge on La Mer, > which starts at $90 for a fraction of an ounce. > > � Strollers: There's no limit to what you can splurge on baby > gear, so I'll just use this brief example: If you invested the $700 > you're inclined to spend on the trendy Bugaboo stroller, your child > could retire with an extra $100,000. > > � Sheets: Now called "linens." It's amazing that people can > justify paying $800 for 1,000-threadcount Royal Crest sheets when 20 > years ago no one had any idea how many threads per inch their sheets > had. > > � Sneakers: Now called "athletic footwear," and they have us > paying $150 for a pair of Air Jordans instead of $25 for a pair of > Keds. But price isn't the only problem. We also expect to own several > pairs for all the sports we do. > > � Watches: Now they're "timepieces, but it's no longer about > telling the time. For about $20, you can buy a watch with a quartz > movement that won't lose a minute in the next 10,000 years. But even > without the optional encrustation of diamonds, you'll still fork over > $7,500 and up for a Rolex President or pay a couple hundred thousand > for a Cartier watch. And we're still talking about a plain-looking > gold watch -- not something Liberace would have worn. > > � Chocolates: It was the humble Hershey Bar that won WWII. Then > along came Godiva at $16 a pound. But why not spend $84 a pound on > Debauve & Gallais chocolates with (note all the place-specific names > that make ordinary ingredients sound exotic) Piedmont hazelnuts, > Turkish grapes, Bourbon Island vanilla and West Indies rum as > ingredients. Now, try saying that list of ingredients without the > place names and see if you still want to cough up $84. > > � Scotch: I can remember when people used to get excited about > a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black, which will set you back about $50 > these days. How could we have been so pedestrian? Now, nothing less > than 30-year-old single malt will do. Price tag: $250 and up. > > � Bathrobes: You can get a nice flannel for about $50, or one > made from Egyptian cotton (what's wrong with Texas cotton, anyway?) > for $250. But really, the one we're all secretly lusting after is the > $6,000 Daniel Hanson robe constructed (not made) with silk-trimmed > pashmina. And where the hell did pashmina come from? Cashmere wasn't > good enough anymore? > > � TV: Sure, you could spend $700 for a 36-inch conventional TV, > but that's so '90s. Why not spend $5,000 for a 60-inch plasma screen? > It'll only cost you a few thousand more to acquire a house with a > living room big enough. > > � Wine glasses: Now called "wine stems," shelling out $130 for > a set of six Riedel glasses is just the beginning. Now you need eight > sets, each with a slightly different shape to "enhance individual > grape varieties and styles of wine." And to think I used to believe > that what was in my 6-for-$6 Ikea glass was all that mattered. > > Many of these examples show that no matter how much you're willing to > spend for a little luxury, there will always be a newer, better > version out there that's beyond reach, taunting you. It's an arms > race that pits the middle class against the upper-middle, who in turn > are striving with the rich, who are struggling to live like the super- > rich. > > But it's an arms race all but the wealthiest are destined to lose. In > the last five years, "the top 1% of earners have seen their wages > shoot up like a rocket," says economist Chuck Collins, senior program > developer at United for a Fair Economy, a research group in Boston. > > Not so for the rest of us, writes Frank: "Middle- and low-income > families have had to finance their higher spending by a lower rate of > savings and sharply rising debt." > > Retail therapy > If all these upscale purchases put the financial screws to the > average Joe, whose dollar is already stretched, why does it continue? > > It's tempting to buy into the "quality is worth paying for" rationale > some would have you believe. But often the difference in quality is > all but undetectable. Can your body really tell the difference > between 300 and 1,000 threads per inch? We like to think of ourselves > as connoisseurs, but how many people can really taste the difference > between 30- and 40-year-old scotch? > > Sometimes, the difference in quality is real, but the price you have > to pay for it far exceeds whatever you might gain in durability, > usefulness or design. A silk-trimmed pashmina bathrobe can be a > beautiful thing, but $6,000? Please! > > In reality, many of us use these splurges, affordable or not, to make > ourselves feel better. Paco Underhill, a retail analyst and author > of "The Call of the Mall," says acquiring various high-end > lifestyle "accessories" gives a psychological lift to people "who > have had to compromise on other things," he says. "They'd like to > drive a Jaguar, but can't afford it, so instead they'll carry a Coach > bag." > > The price we pay > Sadly, this cycle of spending on image and brand tends to escalate. > What was once a luxury or a one-time splurge quickly becomes a > necessity. Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert dubbed it a pattern > of "miswanting" -- because what people want (i.e. a life of wealth > and luxury) can't be fulfilled just by acquiring the trappings of it. > > And what's worse is that trying to buy the appearance of luxury can > become a roadblock that stops you from building up your own, true > wealth. Because -- as impressed as your friends are by your > pricey "stems" or $700 stroller -- that's just money going toward a > fantasy, instead of being invested in a way that might truly enhance > your quality of life someday. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. 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