The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and ConsciousnessWhether it's sleek leather pants, a shiny new Apple computer, or a designer toaster, we make important decisions as consumers every day based on our sensory experience. Sensory appeals are everywhere, and they are intensifying, radically changing how Americans live and work. The twenty-first century has become the age of aesthetics, and whether we realize it or not, this influence has taken over the marketplace, and much more. In this penetrating, keenly observed book, Virginia Postrel makes the argument that appearance counts, that aesthetic value is real. Drawing from fields as diverse as fashion, real estate, politics, design, and economics, Postrel deftly chronicles our culture's aesthetic imperative and argues persuasively that it is a vital component of a healthy, forward-looking society. Intelligent, incisive, and thought-provoking, The Substance of Style is a groundbreaking portrait of the democratization of taste and a brilliant examination of the way we live now. |
From inside the book
Results 1-4 of 4
... Homeowners mix minimalist contemporary furnishings with antique Persian rugs. Even the gatekeepers of taste acknowledge and embrace aesthetic plenitude. They find the old rigidity strange and a bit embarrassing. “When we started ...
... homes for sale . New home owners can then use “ move - in coordinators ” to unpack and arrange their things in a visually appealing way . Aesthetically ambitious suburban- ites engage professionals to adorn their houses for Christmas ...
... home interiors have increased dramatically . Furnishings once reserved for rich aficionados are now the stuff of middle - class life . In the early 1990s , when Pottery Barn launched its interiors - oriented catalog , American home owners ...
... home owners who'd like to par- ticipate . The shows keep proliferating . BBC designers now redo gar- dens on Ground Force and , using only what residents already have on hand , make over entire homes on House Invaders . On TLC's While ...
Contents
The Rise of LOOK AND FEEL | 34 |
SURFACE AND SUBSTANCE | 66 |
MEANINGFUL Looks | 93 |
The Boundaries of DESIGN | 122 |
SMART AND PRETTY | 164 |
Notes | 193 |
Acknowledgments | 229 |
Other editions - View all
The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce ... Virginia Postrel No preview available - 2009 |
The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce ... Virginia Postrel No preview available - 2003 |
The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce ... Virginia Postrel No preview available - 2004 |