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Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster | 
 enlarge | Author: Dana Thomas
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $6.19
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Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 12734
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0143113704
Dewey Decimal Number: 306
EAN: 9780143113706
ASIN: 0143113704
Publication Date: July 29, 2008
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Product Description
Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas 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. Deluxe is an uncompromising look behind the glossy facade that will enthrall anyone interested in fashion, finance, or culture.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Is mass market luxury possible, or an oxymoron? December 3, 2008
S. McGee (New York, NY)
To what extent does the idea of 'luxury' correspond with the reality of a luxury brand?
That's the question at the heart of Deluxe, in which veteran fashion reporter Dana Thomas leaves no Gucci logo or Birkin bag unturned in search of an answer. Historically, the brand WAS the luxury good -- without exclusivity and superb quality, old money simply wouldn't buy the item in question. But in the latter decades of the 20th century, a new breed of luxury moguls from LVMH's Bernard Arnault to the Versace clan have brought their goods -- or least a solidly profitable subset of them. principally accessories -- to the middle market. What has been lost and gained over the course of that transformation?
Thomas takes us to the scene to explore that question -- whether it's to the production lines in Paris or China, the offices of the fashion moguls and the stores where customers queue up to buy coveted items. She digs into the ugly underside of the industry, from the young Japanese women who work as prostitutes to be able to afford an Louis Vuitton handbag, to the sweatshop workers who toil over making some of those handbags (which specific ones, buyers are never likely to know, thanks to labeling techniques and strategies that Thomas discusses.)
An underlying question that Thomas rarely attempts to address directly is why consumers have proved to be such suckers for these brand name products, paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in exchange for a brand name and not always getting superior workmanship in exchange these days. (Leslie Caron's thoughts on the demise of couture and what the "luxury" of couture really meant, compared to the more mass-produced luxury garments of today, is rather intriguing.) The ways in which luxury goods manufacturers are able to whip up overexcited demand is, in some ways, just as disturbing as the questions surrounding the industry's business practices. Without that demand, there would be little to no piracy (no profit motive), and thus none of the organized crime, etc. that Thomas exposes.
Most intriguing and most likely to be "new" to many readers, is Thomas's discussion of those manufacturers and designers who have resisted the trend to "go mass market". Some view her evident approval of these individuals and firms as snobbish -- what I find intriguing is her evident fascination with the degree of personal attention of these people toward both the design and the craft of assembling the items, from shoes to clothing. Perhaps true luxury was never intended to be mass market? If Mozart had written advertising jingles, would they have lasted for centuries? It's perhaps an unanswerable question, and certainly these businesses are bucking the trend, but I found myself most fascinated with the details of how "true" luxury items are constructed.
Overall, this book will be a gripping inside look at the luxury brand business for anyone who has ever ambled down Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive and wondered how Prada et. al. have taken over the landscape, or wandered into a Coach store and noticed how much more rapidly the inventory is changing as the retailer tries to whet our appetite for one "must have" item after another.
 Excellent October 10, 2008
K. Bush (Australia)
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.
Deluxe. How Luxury Lost Its Luster October 4, 2008
B. Arnold (California, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
Excellent overview of luxury market from a somewhat snobby perspective September 2, 2008
Bryan Thompson (Chicago, Illinois)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
informative and eye opening book July 28, 2008
Nam Young Chung
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
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