Conspicuous Consumption

Why Men Go Broke Spending On Women

The Huffington Post | Rebecca Searles | Posted 01.13.2012

Read More: Conspicuous Consumption, Chivalry, Date, Economics, Money, Lamborghini, Expensive Date, Ferrari, Diamonds, Models, Sex Ratio, Valentine's, Spending, Gold Digger, Big Spending, Dinner, Science News

The Ferraris and the diamond necklaces, the gold Rolexes and those lavish date-nights out on the town--wooing a woman can cost a pretty penny. To impr...

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Rebuilding Edith Wharton's House of Mirth

Lev Raphael | Posted 08.02.2011

Read More: Edith Wharton, Book News, Tom Wolfe, Publishing, The House of Mirth, Books, American Eve, Conspicuous Consumption, Novels, Gilded Age, Bonfire of the Vanities, New York, Robber Barons, American Literature, Wall Street, Books News
Lev Raphael

Certain books change your life, and Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth changed mine. The novel's brilliance blew me away in college, deepening my desi...

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Yankees Outbid Yankees for Lee's Services (Satire)

Brock Cohen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Arkansas, New York Yankees, Conspicuous Consumption, MLB Winter Meetings, Brian Cashman, Cliff Lee, Medieval Torture, Bad Contracts, Sports News
Brock Cohen

In an unlikely chain of events Tuesday, the New York Yankees finally secured a contract with 32-year-old pitching ace Cliff Lee that exceeded the team's previous offer, made five minutes earlier, by twelve years and $320 million.

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Why I Like Mad Men

Sam Chaltain | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mad Men, Conspicuous Consumption, Jon Hamm, Democracy, Don Draper, Capitalism, Mad Men Style, Entertainment News
Sam Chaltain

Mad Men is a quintessentially American show about disembodied desire and emotion. Set in the first few years of the 1960s, the show is filled with characters living in a gilded world.

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Is Sustainability an Impossible Dream?

Robyn Griggs Lawrence | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Housing Crisi, Green News, Growing Your Own Food, Conspicuous-Consumption, Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Sustainability, Banking Meltdown, Green Living, BP Oil Spill, Grow Your Own Food, Green News
Robyn Griggs Lawrence

To live sustainably, we first need to be part of a greater, systemic transformation toward a culture that regards that as a worthy goal.

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Will Consumer Spending Change Once the Recession Ends?

Jenny Darroch | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Post Recession Behavior, Conspicuous Consumption, Consumer Spending, Marketing in a Recession, Brands, Consumer Behavior, Business News
Jenny Darroch

It won't be hard to identify an increase in consumer spending but it will be more difficult to detect whether in fact consumer values have fundamentally changed. Now that will be interesting.

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Arab Divisions: New Trend in Guest-List Lifestyles Splits Arab Societies

Journalism Boot Camp | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conspicuous Consumption, Persian Gulf, Poverty, Qatar, Extravagance, Global Economic Crisis, The Pearl, Cairo, Arab, Luxury, Wealth, The American University in Cairo, Segregation, Egypt, Middle East, Anthropology, Hermes, Poor, Versace, Gucci, Doha, Development, Real Estate, New Cairo, Man-Made Island, World News
Journalism Boot Camp

In the Qatari capital of Doha, the desert has transformed into lush, luxury communities. It is part of a trend in social segregation unlike anywhere else in the world.

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Wall Street Pay Back Up! Look Out: The Bubble Man Cometh!

George Alexander | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conspicuous Consumption, Wall Street Crisis, Consumption, Wall Street, Wall Street Rebound, Business News
George Alexander

After the stock market rebounds and unemployment subsides will we go forth more prudently or will we return to the delusions of unrestricted entitlement that got us here in the beginning?

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The New Frugality: Even Well-off Consumers Tone Down Consumption

New York Times | SHAILA DEWAN | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conspicuous Consumption, End-of-Conspicuous-Consumption, Recession Lifestyle, Recession, New Frugality, Business News

ATLANTA -- It is a sign of the times when Sacha Taylor, a fixture on the charity circuit in this gala-happy city, digs out a 10-year-old dress to wear...

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The Critics and the Credit Cards

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Interest Rates, Credit Cards, Credit Card Debt, Bankruptcy, Interest Rate, Conspicuous Consumption, Money, Consumption, Buying Power, Business News
Christopher Brauchli

Credit card companies do not limit themselves to tutoring consumers in the art of financial responsibility. They try to insure that everyone who wants a credit card has one.

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JCPenney Describes Sale as "Doorbuster!"

Lisa Wade | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conspicuous Consumption, Wal-Mart Death, Walmart, Shopping, Economy, Holiday Season Commentary, Wal-Mart Stampede, J.C. Penney, Walmart Stampede, Feeding Frenzy, Capitalism, Wal-Mart, Consumerism, Black Friday Shopping, Black Friday, Walmart Death, Consumers, Style News
Lisa Wade

There is something truly amazing about a sign touting "Doorbuster!" sales that shows how quickly we forget, how callous we can be, and the level of incompetence at JCPenney.

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The Bailout of Joe the Plumber

Rick Smith | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Joe the Plumber, Economy, Conspicuous Consumption, Bailout, Humor, Shopping, American Dream, US Government, Style News
Rick Smith

On 12/1, the U.S. Government seized control of Joe the Plumber, preventing average Joe from falling into bankruptcy. He maintained that he was "just trying to live the American dream".

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Stampedes, Shootings and Bargains

Dwayne Raymond | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: India, Christmas Shopping, America, Fox News Channel, Economy, Terrorism, Conspicuous Consumption, Shopping, Crazed Shoppers, Wal-Mart, Gluttony, Death at Wal-Mart, Black Friday Shopping, Hoarding, Style News
Dwayne Raymond

This morning the news features stories of a stressed economy, but that takes second place to the smashing in of a Wal-Mart door by gluttonous Americans seeking deals on X-Box toys.

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The Irony of Irony

Ben Fractenberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Conspicuous Consumption, Sarcasm, Consumerism, Irony, Corporate Capitalism, Voter Registration, Urban Outfitters, Counter Culture, Voter Activism, Sardonic Detachment, Hipsters, Social Activism, Style News
Ben Fractenberg

Can I subvert corporate capitalism with my clothing choices and sardonic detachment? Probably not. Can I register people to vote by sincerely telling them why I think it is important? Most definitely.

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McCain's Conspicuous Consumption

Linda Hansen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Baby Boomer Retirement, Conspicuous Consumption, Social Security, John McCain, Politics of Personal Destruction, Character Issue, Morality, Campaign 2008, Wealth, Social Security Surplus, Barack Obama, Offthebus, Home News
Linda Hansen

John and Cindy McCain made roughly $6.5 million last year. Of that $6.5 million, $23,000 came from social security. That's right, the millionaire McCains draw steadily on a system he says is disgracefully broken.

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