# Rant about obscenely expensive crap in "luxury" magazine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2008, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102 "2008-11-17T06:42:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/81 "2008-11-18T15:13:56Z")
Every dollar that is spent on overpriced useless crap is not competing with my dollar for the things I do buy.Thankfully, fools and their money are soon parted. I hope they pay their astrologers, and chi adjusters, and beauticians way too much too. Feng Shui is good. How about paying to have a magnitude 50 astronomical object named after your dog. Good Idea. Tris ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/82 "2008-11-18T15:30:30Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I agree with this. Most old money types would never be caught with diamond earbuds. The tacky, flamboyant stuff appeals to the types who really, really want to show off that they’ve “made it”. I think it’s similar to the phenomenon you see in some poor neighborhoods where people who really can’t afford it will buy expensive clothes or pimp their car in an attempt to give others the idea they’re a big shot. > > As for the magazine itself, I totally agree that most of that stuff looks hideous and I wouldn’t want it even if I could afford it. However,I don’t object to its existence. The beauty of America is that nobody gets to tell you what to do with the money you’ve earned. Veblen said (words to the effect of): the utility value of a luxury item is directly related to its cost and uselessness. Hence, the “value” of non-wearable jewelry. I seem to remember a curious fact: very expensive jewelry is heavily insured, and the insurance regulations specify how long (and under what circumstances) it may be removed from the vault and actually worn. So most rich women wear fake replicas of the real stuff (which stays in the bank vault)! ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/83 "2008-11-18T18:40:05Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Heh. The latest LL Bean commercial features a _“Dog Gift Tote”_ for $29.95. Where is a dog supposed to get that kind of money? 😛 Pffft. Credit card, of course! On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog! ---
**Author:** ![Jaglavak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jaglavak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaglavak)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/84 "2008-11-18T21:41:45Z")
First off, I wouldn’t wipe my ass with the stuff in that catalog. But thanks for the laugh. In spite of that, I believe that anything that separates rich people from their money without actually wacking them in the head is morally right. Provides jobs, circulates cash, etc etc. So if some lady’s hat ends up looking like a giant fishing lure, hey double the price and start a trend. However I think you guys are dancing around the central point. In any economy, rich people happen due to what they call ‘stickiness’. That includes barriers to startups, legal barriers, money exchange barriers, the good ol boy’s club, even knowledge barriers. Some rich folks got that way through hard work and brilliance. Others inherited. But many of them end up rich mostly by being in the right place at the right time and grabbing the opportunity. When economic barriers are lowered, money flows better and then hard work and innovation rise to the top, and equality tends to happen. I read all this in a well researched article in a peer reviewed publication, I think American Scientist. Unfortunately that was around 10 years ago and I can’t find the cite. But it just confirmed what I already strongly suspected. Most of the truly rich folks I’ve met have been pleasant dipshits. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/85 "2008-11-18T22:41:22Z")
I have to agree with \*\*alice\_in\_wonderland \*\*and **Sleeps With Butterflies** : If people have the dough and want to spend it on that stuff, it’s all good. We really do need people to spend right now! I may not agree with what they want to buy, but it’s not my biz. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/86 "2008-11-18T23:38:07Z")
There’s the moral side of it, but to me my visceral response is less “the price of that hideous handbag could pay my rent for two years” and more “the price of that hideous handbag could pay for the best European vacation ever.” Basically, I can’t believe that _even the rich_ would buy that. It seems that if you wanted luxury, there are infinitely more pleasurable ways of pampering yourself for the same amount of money. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/87 "2008-11-18T23:46:53Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > There’s the moral side of it, but to me my visceral response is less “the price of that hideous handbag could pay my rent for two years” and more “the price of that hideous handbag could pay for the best European vacation ever.” > > Basically, I can’t believe that _even the rich_ would buy that. It seems that if you wanted luxury, there are infinitely more pleasurable ways of pampering yourself for the same amount of money. Yup, this makes sense to me. If I was super-rich, no doubt I’d blow money in all sorts of self-indulgent ways … but not buying hideously ugly bling. ---
**Author:** ![czarcaztic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@czarcaztic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/czarcaztic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102/88 "2008-11-19T00:49:51Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > . The beauty of America is that nobody gets to tell you what to do with the money you’ve earned. I wish my mortgage holder felt the same. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rant-about-obscenely-expensive-crap-in-luxury-magazine/473102.md?page=4)