Life's Little Luxuries

Yes this is true, labels are largely an opportunity to cash in. Although there are some things like fine wine where if you pay considerably more, you get a very different experience.
As Oggbashan says, if you know about sherry you can get a really delicious refreshing drink but most people think it's a sickly sweet unfashionable tipple for grannies. (I was thinking about doing a post on cheeses, actually! or maybe you'd like to give it a go? And one on sherry, perhaps mentioning the hilarious madeira too - Have some madeira, m'dear.)
If you wrote a high school story set at the time of TE999's daughter's era, and dressed the kids in Chanel jeans, it would be wrong.
And Armani is not what the richest men wear, they wear bespoke tailored suits without labels. If you are super rich then you don't do labels. I got just as tired as PennLady of constantly reading about a man supposed to have money coming out of his nose and style so cool it was practically frozen - who was wearing Armani. I decided it would be fun to do some blogposts giving a bit of information out so people could get these details right if they like writing and reading about that kind of thing. But if you don't like that kind of thing - don't read the blogposts!
:rose::nana::rose:
 
I'm going to throw my horse into the race here...

Don't knock Armani so much. Personally I don't like Emporio Armani, but I have good feelings about Giorgio Armani overall and I'll tell you why:

I have a little line that I have used with very great success in the past - 'must be able to deserve ah, ah, ah - ah-money...'

Armani for women uses extremely good fabric and is very very well made - but it tends to favour overly small women. I personally know some of the people who produced and directed the short film presentations that Armani has been using and these are some of the best video advertisements you will ever see - the music, the pacing, the conceptions - are wonderful, I think. Armani himself is a very clever designer and artist and I'm not averse to his stylistic approach to 'luxury.' I know that on my own (so-called as it is) 'lifestyle destinations' is a stay at one of the Armani spas somewhere - maybe Dubai.

Karl Lagerfeld says a few cute things now and again and his expression of what luxury is remains in my mind: 'luxury is being able to have something that is the best of its kind, in the best of circumstances.'

I would add that you need to at least 'like' the thing a little too...! That helps the experience.

Hand-filled, deckled-edge Vellin d'Arch is the ultimate luxury item. Followed by Nile Cotton anything. I have a fifteen year old short-sleeved shirt by Zegna in Nile Cotton that looks not a day over a few weeks old! Now there's value for luxury money.

There are many things I buy that I really can't afford. I can frankly, only truly afford the best.

Silver frankincense from Oman... Now there's a thing. The sultan of Oman burns over seventy per cent of the frankincense collected in Oman each year himself atop a small mount for the benefit of his subjects.

Florentine oris root butter. I have a small amount of this.

There are secrets to various esteemed, supposedly luxury culinary ingredients without knowledge of which these items seem very pale and/or bland. The greatest book on understanding such things is by Brillat-Savarin. I have an original first edition copy of this.

The greatest (traditional) book on race horse gambling is called The Racing Maxim's of Pittsburgh Phil. I have an original first edition of this. It's a small book. But it's not a lesser book.

Demerara sugar, when slightly burnt and added to rum or vodka, and poured at the end, over a decently cooked piece of salmon - makes the salmon exquisite.

Slava Zeitsev, the modern Russian designer, purchased the handcraft Russian factories that still make a unique silk and cashmere fabric with a design that was prized by the wealthiest people in Venice before Napoleon got there. And you can still acquire these items and they are not terribly expensive, but they are beautiful.

A Burmese Ruby, or a Lesotho diamond, or a top quality Tiffany Tanzanite, are wonderful to have, on the middle finger of an opera gloved female hand, when you are about to drink large martinis with someone. But a nice lemon quartz will also do and is a very underrated stone.

A faber-castell pencil, made from rare orinocco alder wood (I think, I could be wrong; I have to check) is a fabulous treasure.

A first class carriage train journey beats the hell out of a private jet any day.

Genuine arctic eider or snow goose down comforters are paramount items.

Robert Pante is the world's premier style coach.

And there is a million dollars on every page of the financial times every day - if only you know how to read it properly... There you go, ah, ah, ah, ar-marni again. Off we go, over the fiscal cliff!
 
The real problem isn't the mere mention of expensive consumer goods in stories. In many cases, the mention of a specific brand can make a huge difference in what is being portrayed. For example, stating

Calvin revved the engine of his red sports car before streaking off in a cloud of burned rubber and exhaust fumes.

doesn't tell me much except that Calvin is a bit of a jerk. The car could be anything from a Camaro to a Ferrari. There's a world of difference between the two.

As I see it, the real problem is the ham-handed way in which some authors sprinkle in these details. It's a matter of perspective. The average man is not going to notice that a woman is wearing "Jimmy Choos," but another woman might. The average person is not going to recognize the difference between an antique Hepplewhite or an antique Chippendale chair, but an antique dealer or collector, or a furniture maker or even an art student probably would.

Also, those who are customarily surrounded by such items do not note their presence; rather, they would note their absence and be more likely to comment on the inferior goods the unfortunate owners possessed in their place.
 
What writers sometimes do is convey an atmosphere by dropping a few names about. For example:

Calvin revved the engine of his red Alpha Romeo Spider before streaking off in a cloud of burned rubber and exhaust fumes.

suggests a different kind of hero to:

Calvin revved the engine of his red Audi TT Roadster before streaking off in a cloud of burned rubber and exhaust fumes.


Even if you don't know about cars, you get a sense of a different person from the more modern name of the Audi (I think).

I'm not trying to push the use of luxury items here, only to offer those who like to write about them a bit of easy knowledge so they can use these details most effectively.

Desire - I'm not trying to knock Armani, it's just that every time a writer wants to convey a rich man they seem to reach for the Giorgio name. It would be great if people more often said Lagerfeld. I think Lagerfeld conveys a more chilled, suave character. (And actually, anyone that rich is probably wearing bespoke tailored suiting from Savile Row.)

xxx :nana: xxx
 
No no, I do get your point and I entirely agree - the Armani/Giorgio NAME gets thrown around in the wrong way. In fact the reason I mentioned Emporio Armani is that among the stockbroker racketeers (I am kinda one so I can say that...) a lot of people flash EA, seeming to believe, I think, that it represents money and luxury and wealth. Where they get this idea from I'll never know.
 
I would imagine that the Armani/Giorgi name gets thrown around a lot in stories because the author isn't deeply knowledgable about the different brands (and, guess what, most of the readers won't be either) and wants to make the point with as many readers as possible. It's just shorthand to establish an image with the reader without bogging down the flow. For literary purposes I don't see the problem--a frequently used reference that does the job is far better than a clever, unique reference that goes over the head of most readers.
 
No no, I do get your point and I entirely agree - the Armani/Giorgio NAME gets thrown around in the wrong way. In fact the reason I mentioned Emporio Armani is that among the stockbroker racketeers (I am kinda one so I can say that...) a lot of people flash EA, seeming to believe, I think, that it represents money and luxury and wealth. Where they get this idea from I'll never know.

It started in the 80s. The media constantly referred to Pat Riley and his Armani suits while he was the coach of the Lakers. In the 90s, Jay-Z and other rappers adopted the Armani brand as the preferred mode of conspicuous consumption. Lavish advertising in GQ has helped Armani to maintain that image.
 
I would imagine that the Armani/Giorgi name gets thrown around a lot in stories because the author isn't deeply knowledgable about the different brands (and, guess what, most of the readers won't be either) and wants to make the point with as many readers as possible. It's just shorthand to establish an image with the reader without bogging down the flow. For literary purposes I don't see the problem--a frequently used reference that does the job is far better than a clever, unique reference that goes over the head of most readers.

True. We're writing free porn for the masses here, not Pulitzer worthy prose.
 
As Oggbashan says, if you know about sherry you can get a really delicious refreshing drink but most people think it's a sickly sweet unfashionable tipple for grannies. (I was thinking about doing a post on cheeses, actually! or maybe you'd like to give it a go? And one on sherry, perhaps mentioning the hilarious madeira too - Have some madeira, m'dear.)

:rose::nana::rose:

Try that one !
 
002.jpg

Merry Christmas!

I had some presents left over.
 
Oh no, I don't agree we're writing free porn for the masses!

I am posting a few free things, yes, but the fact that it is both FOR the masses, and does actually GET to a lot of people, is neither free nor is in any way intended to be sub-standard from me.

Like some others here, this is one of the few places that we can express what, in the normal courses of our 'other' lives, we would not be able to say at all.

In the common popular media, there is a filter system that spins morality and even ethics towards the power of establishment money and establishment assertion of their rules onto everyone else. This place is a very serious breath of fresh air indeed. I personally think the power of having certain ideas enter into the mass public consciousness, which they wouldn't otherwise or ordinarily do, is extraordinarily significant for society as a whole.

It is of course, also certainly acceptable that there is a kind of shorthand style of writing about surrounding details which means that tropes about certain things are commonplace.

There is an aspect of modern writing that also, I believe, needs to move into areas that have been taboo in mainstream entertainment - for one good reason because society itself has moved on, and a lot of commercial entertainment is just so overdone and trite and lacking in real adult interest. Out of the crucible or meatgrinder that LitE is, a few first class things regularly emerge that frankly, put most of the output of the mainstream publishing houses utterly to shame.

This is not by any means an alleyway wall in ancient Rome onto which graffiti is being furtively written, and even if it were 'only' that, it would stand the test of time as did the graffiti of ancient Rome in any case!
 
Oh no, I don't agree we're writing free porn for the masses!

I am posting a few free things, yes, but the fact that it is both FOR the masses, and does actually GET to a lot of people, is neither free nor is in any way intended to be sub-standard from me.

I don't think of it in terms of writing for the masses--more that detailed attention to fashion and clothes in a story turns me off. It's rarely something that propels the plot and it make me think the author is bubbleheaded and shallow. Saying a suit is by Armani, whether it's a cliche or not, solidly categorizes either what a character is or is pretending to be in a story and that's quite enough--and is understood by a greater range of readers than naming some exotic brand. What someone is wearing only rarely has more importance in a story than being a quick aid to categorize characters for the reader.

There was just a thread here on the AH on perfumes that went completely over the top, I thought. I hadn't heard of hardly any of those brands, I think it's a waste of time and brain power to become as knowledgable about them as some of the posters are, and most of them wouldn't tell most readers a thing if they were named in a story.
 
It started in the 80s. The media constantly referred to Pat Riley and his Armani suits while he was the coach of the Lakers. In the 90s, Jay-Z and other rappers adopted the Armani brand as the preferred mode of conspicuous consumption. Lavish advertising in GQ has helped Armani to maintain that image.

Hey! thanks for this, that's really useful background.

Handley_Page - thanks for the link! I will look too and see if they have that epitome of fine erotic writing, The Hippopotomus Song. That beautiful line making the exquisite rhyme with hippopotoma: "As she hadn't gotta ma/ to give her advice".

Pilot - I will look for the thread on perfumes, which might be useful to me so thanks for that.

Desire - many thanks for your thoughtful contributions.

And JackLuis, thank you for the picture of the young lady who is not wearing Armani.

xxx :nana: xxx
 
:nana:
(This banana is not wearing Giorgio Armani - although it quite likes Armani.)
 
I never use popular brands in my stories. Mostly, because a lot of the work I've done was written when I was still in my senior year of high school, and freshman year in college.

This is what I had to work with, as far as high fashion.

http://www.aldeasinfantiles.org.mx/empresas-sos/proyectos/fundacion-ado/GalleryImages/converse.png

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg11/shiningtrends/shutter_shades_sunglasses_trend.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tiyaW_YKW1Y/SHYC0Y_vUkI/AAAAAAAAAcI/M-7MCAu4rYw/s320/jeans+sagging+2.jpg

http://*******s.devhub.com/img/upload/2011_ugg_boots.jpg


Thanks, but no thanks. If ugly shoes and uggly boots and saggy pants and douche-shades are popular, then I'd rather have my young characters be unpopular.
 
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