Is Luxury Really Luxury these days?

Perhaps not. Hermes scarves made in China. Jimmy Choo shoes made in India. No talented European craftsmen needed here. European workers don't even touch luxury brands anymore unless they are illegal immigrants residing in Italy and are escorted to a secret factory in Torino to make Gucci products for $5/hour.

Luxury in Audrey Hepburn's time is not the luxury of todays' Lindsey Lohan's. LVMH, the conglomerate outsources most of its manufacturing leaving only the marketing to its French compatriots. Luxury is but two things now, illusion and image according to a new book by Newsweek's cultural correspondent Dana Thomas. According to this Wharton article (which is giving me resolve to quit my Burberry obsession), mass produced luxury is a contradiction in terms. She says "the contradiction between personal indulgence and conspicuous consumption is at the crux of the luxury business today," noting that the real work of the luxury industry is increasingly not to produce genuinely luxurious goods, but to shave costs while pretending that quality remains as high as ever.

So why exactly do we need luxury to support our image when mass produced luxury is available to everyone, whether real or counterfeit? Because society says we are worth more when we spend more on ourselves. We can feel better that we spend a particular amount of money when perhaps the rest of the world couldn't. I for one am starting to quit the luxury habit. Targe(t) it is!