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Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre
 
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Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre (Hardcover)

by Dana Thomas (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Allen Lane (30 Aug 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0713998237
  • ISBN-13: 978-0713998238
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 267,580 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Sunday Times

'Fearless...What this book does is redress the balance in favour of the consumer'


Book Description

Get the inside stories on brands such as Chanel, Hermes, Burberry and Prada amongst others
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and full of fascinating stories, 17 Mar 2008
By Julia Flyte - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This comprehensive look at the luxury industry is a fascinating read that looks behind the scenes at the worlds of high fashion, designer perfumes and other luxury goods. If you ever read "The Fashion Conspiracy" by Nicholas Coleridge, this covers similar (but broader) territory. Dana Thomas has travelled extensively and clearly knows the industry well. She is also a gifted writer who can skillfully use anecdotes to bring well known figures to life, eg: Bernard Arnault of LVMH who has no hesitation in screwing over family friends to get ahead and who is so secretive that his own secretary didn't know when his wife had a baby, stylist Jessica Paster screaming at and threatening designers during Oscar week, Georgio Armani giving his mother style advice at the age of 12.

Although I very much enjoyed reading "Deluxe", it wasn't one of those books that you can't put down. It felt like I was reading a series of well-written articles in Vanity Fair rather than a book with a continuous narrative. It does contain some photographs, but I wish there had been a lot more. I wanted to see all these people who she was describing and understand what the products that she was talking about looked like. I also felt that the book could have been about 50 pages shorter - sometimes she didn't need to tell us absolutely everything about a given topic!

Halfway through reading this book I picked up the latest issue of Vogue magazine and looked through the advertisements. It was an interesting exercise and there is no question that I viewed them quite differently. Dana Thomas also talks about the evolutions in the retail and manufacturing industries that have contributed to the growth and improved profitability of the luxury goods industries. It's a very comprehensive and interesting book which I recommend to anyone who has an interest in fashion.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tour Elite Shows, Remarkable Ateliers, Sweat Shops, and Bogus Goods Stores, 30 Oct 2007
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
If you like behind-the-scenes books about privilege, luxury, greed, and lust for status, you've come to the right book. Ms. Thomas has a remarkable knowledge of luxury goods which she combines with an insatiable curiosity about everything related to luxuries. She's a keen observer who relates her tours of the highways, byways, and back roads of fashion so vividly you'll think you are part of the scene.

I was delighted to see that Deluxe was a perfect balance of the origins of luxury (as enjoyed by royalty), the methods by which luxury has been and is produced, how the major luxury goods houses got started and evolved, and the trends that dominate today and tomorrow. If there's some part of the book you don't like, you'll soon be into a part that you will like.

I had only one reservation about the book: Ms. Thomas doesn't seem to appreciate the benefits that upscale goods provide for middle class people. She seems to resent that the money made in serving the middle class has led many luxury firms to ignore those with the most elevated taste and money. I don't blame her for resenting that, since she knows that world well. But it does seem to me that having tens of millions enjoy life a bit more is hardly a bad thing.

You'll learn lots about perfume, hand bags, luggage, backpacks, scarves, knits, and dresses. You'll learn even more about those who make fashion succeed. It's a fun ride!
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling subject, outstanding writing., 16 Jan 2008
By B. Heinze (North of England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I found this book to be a fascinating read, that I could hardly bear to put down. Dana Thomas takes the reader behind the spin and marketing, lifting the curtain on the realities of the luxury industry today. She discusses how (and why) these realities have changed since the 1950s, as primary objectives for many companies have shifted, from creating and crafting excellence, to making as much profit for shareholders as possible, whilst striving to satisfy an increasing demand.

The book is very thorough and stands out as a painstakingly researched, well written work. My only disappointment was getting to the end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars not bad, but drags a bit in the middle
the author is obviously somewhat part of the 'aspirational luxury consumers' (she mentions her designer items she has bought throughout the book), but that's alright. Read more
Published 23 months ago by M. May

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