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SUBTLE LUXURIES. Arthur J. Kover Fordham University HCD Research . Luxuries often = ’Bling’. Expensive Impressing Public Quality. A Luxury Consumer ? ALSO athletes, rock stars, the rich, the not-so-rich needing to be seen “have-nots” looking for the ‘touch’.
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SUBTLE LUXURIES Arthur J. Kover Fordham University HCD Research
Luxuries often = ’Bling’ • Expensive • Impressing • Public • Quality
A Luxury Consumer ? • ALSO • athletes, • rock stars, • the rich, • the not-so-rich needing to be seen • “have-nots” looking for the ‘touch’
BUT SOME PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT • THEY DON’T WANT TO SHOW OFF. • INCONSPICUOUS. • QUIET LUXURIES/SUBTLE LUXURIES • WHAT ARE THEY? • WHY?
E.G.WRISTWATCHES Guess > $150 Blancpain < $4,200
Consumers of ‘subtle luxuries’ • Who: the sample • What are the luxuries • Why • A thread to tie this together
WHO: Participants A “snowball’ sample: A core of four + recommended + others acquired by inquiry. Total 14, 5 women, 9 men Age range: 31 to 82 (mode ~ 52) Middle class (most of sample) to very wealthy Location: Northeastern United Stated + I in Australia
What Are Those Subtle Luxuries?Named by Participants: Some Examples--Not as Obvious as they Seem • Personal items: pens, jewelry, watches • Clothing • Collections (often private) • Giving/philanthropy (often secret) • Free time/freedom (often in private)
WHAT PURPOSES DO THEY SERVE FOR THEIR USERS? • Filter access to or from others • Passive Exclusion • Protest (usually internalized, not for others to see)
Filter Other People • Quiet invitation for inclusion by social superiors • Openness only to connoisseurs; a “flash community” • Active invitation to connoisseurs / appreciators • The diamond ring and its social setting
Passive Exclusion • Hiding: Fear of thievery • Hiding: Misanthropy • Religious/ traditional reasons • Not caring: Perhaps snobbery (the case of Mr. Richesse) • Not caring: Love for the subtle luxuries themselves
Hidden Hostility and Secret Protest • The young lawyer and the firm’s partners • The giver of philanthropy
TO CONTROL ACCESS TO AND FROM THE PERSON SUBTLE LUXURIES THE PERSON
MORE ISSUES • LUXURIES SELF • APPLICATION to MARKETPLACE? • AUTHENTICITY • AND?