Luxurious

Name: Luxurious
ISBN: 9787568902083

黛娜·托马斯 / 李孟苏Chongqing University Press · ChinaMar 2026

4.2

Word count: 219K words
Chapters: 19
ISBN: 9787568902083

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Summary

“Luxury” was once the exclusive preserve of an aristocratic world built on inherited fortunes. Its history is a history of shopping defined by tradition, refinement, and extravagance. Yet today “luxury” is packaged and sold by multi-billion-dollar international corporations concerned above all with scale, publicity, brand recognition, advertising—and, of course, enormous profits. This book casts a hard look at the glittering and asks: “Why has luxury lost its luster?”

Deluxe is a work of documentary fashion writing that dissects the hidden side of the fashion industry, systematically tracing the rise of luxury brands and overturning the image they once held in the public mind.

Editor's review

Deluxe pulls “luxury” out of the shop window and the advertisement and places it back within its own history. Dana Thomas follows the trajectory of luxury brands to show how an aristocratic preserve became a commodity packaged and sold by global corporations, with scale, publicity, brand recognition, and profit as the new watchwords. As documentary fashion writing, its value lies not in displaying glamour but in asking: once luxury has been industrialized and marketed, how much of its original luster remains? The systematic account of how the brands rose helps readers understand the basic logic of today's luxury industry and reconsider their own judgment when faced with brand advertising. No professional background in fashion is required, but a little distance from consumer culture and a little curiosity help. It is worth reading before making a purchase decision, and it works as an entry point into modern consumer culture: it may not keep you away from luxury, but it will let you see it more clearly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the fashion industry and how brands operate
Urban consumers who want to understand the history and business models of luxury
Readers drawn to consumer culture and documentary investigation
Professionals in marketing, retail, or brand-related work

Not a good fit for

Fashion lovers looking for product recommendations and styling guides
Readers who want only the glossy brand story and reject a critical perspective
Research-oriented readers seeking a systematic academic framework

Reading tips

Start with the chapters on how the brands rose to build a timeline, then revisit present-day cases for clarity
When reading about advertising and brand recognition, take notes comparing brands you know
After each chapter, record one point that changed your previous impression, for later review
Discuss with someone what counts as luxury, to test whether the book's question holds up

About the publisher

Chongqing University Press China · Founded in 1985

Chongqing University Press is a comprehensive university press whose publishing areas span social and cultural studies, industrial technology, finance and economics, medicine, social psychology, and theory. Judging from its catalog, the press publishes both academic works and popular science titles. Representative books include E. H. Gombrich's Shadows: The Depiction of Cast Shadows in Western Art, Magnesium-Based Hydrogen Storage Materials by Pan Fusheng et al., Research on China's Regional Spatial Development Models by Sun Jiuwen, and titles from the Gynecologic Oncology Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, such as the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Gynecologic Malignancies in China (2019) and Bipolar Disorder: What You and Your Family Need to Know. Its authors work in art history, materials science, regional economics, clinical medicine, and social research methods. Public information is limited, but its publishing profile combines academic translation, industrial technology, and practical medical guides.

版权信息
序
第一部分
第一章奢侈品行业的诞生
第二章奢侈品航母
第三章全球化
第二部分
第四章明星闪进你眼里
第五章成功的香味
第六章手袋里的秘密
第七章血汗工厂和劳工危机
第三部分
第八章走向大众
第九章伪货朋友
第十章新型的奢侈品市场
第十一章新奢侈
原注
参考文献
图片说明

FAQ

Is this book dismissing luxury?

Not a simple dismissal. It asks why luxury lost its luster, focusing on how the industry moved from an aristocratic preserve to scale expansion and marketing, so readers see the mechanism rather than a blanket critique of consumption itself.

Can someone unfamiliar with fashion brands follow it?

Yes. The book systematically traces how luxury brands rose, organized by time and industry logic, without relying on jargon. Readers unfamiliar with brands may in fact keep the distance needed to accept its investigative perspective.

Will it affect how I buy luxury goods?

It may affect how you judge, rather than telling you to buy or not. It helps you understand how brand premiums, advertising, and recognition are formed, so you know more clearly why you are paying.

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About the author

黛娜·托马斯 Author

Dana Thomas is an author included in this Chinese-language book database, with only one title, The Luxury, currently listed and commonly classified under culture. Public information about her English name, nationality, birth and death dates, and personal experience is limited, and no existing biography is available, so it is difficult to sketch the outline of her life; readers can only come to know her through the work itself. The title The Luxury points to topics such as consumer culture, material desire, and lifestyle, a common observational angle in cultural writing. Based on the available information, her writing addresses the cultural field and tends to discuss everyday consumer phenomena, using the theme suggested by the title to prompt readers to reflect on the idea of luxury and its social meanings. Because the number of works in the database is limited, her writing style and overall influence await further material, and no excessive inference is made here; this note is based only on known facts.

李孟苏 Author

Li Mengsu is a Chinese-language book author. Owing to limited public information, details such as her nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background cannot be confirmed. Judging from the two works held in the library, The Luxurious and Little Britain, her writing largely centers on cultural subjects: the former explores luxury culture and consumer phenomena, while the latter focuses on British society and everyday life. Both are classified under culture and classic works. Her prose combines observation with narration and often approaches broader cultural themes through ordinary details, presenting differences in lifestyle and outlook across cultural contexts in an accessible way. Her output so far appears modest, yet her choice of subjects shows sustained attention to cultural phenomena, and her work has found a readership among Chinese readers.