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
... Women painted their nails with once- forbidden polish. Formerly clandestine beauty salons opened in prominent locations. Men traded postcards of beautiful Indian movie stars, and thronged to buy imported TVs, VCRs, and videotapes. Even ...
... women's fashion in 2000 was a relief from the black, gray, and beige of the late 1990s, while those neutrals looked calm and sophisticated after the riot of jewel tones that preceded them. Psychologists tell us that human beings ...
... woman wearing it was out of it, end of story. The beauty of what's happening now is that you can be bohemian, minimal, sexy, or retro. There are so many options—anything goes.” Maybe not “anything.” Elle's list of acceptable diversity ...
... women in the mid-nineties, and how pierced ears ceased to indicate anything definite about men's sex- ual orientation. Those narrow European-style glasses say a lot less about someone today than they did ten years ago. Ours is a ...
... women moving from welfare to work. Founded in 1999, StyleWorks gave makeovers and style counseling to about one thousand clients in its first two years. As recent elections demonstrate, the politicians also need their image makers. From ...
Contents
T HE 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 |