All posts tagged: ATTITUDE

So What’s it Like to Be a Rich Dog?

In our multi-part exploration of the secret lives of well-off dogs, it’s time to talk fashion. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the great European luxury houses have responded to the desire to treat our dogs as we do our children by launching designer apparel and accessories for the canine contingent. Pucci has $350 dog carrier, and Louis Vuitton goes them one better with a monogrammed one for $965. Pet bling is a thing, too, and there are reports of an owner spending $250,000 on a diamond dog collar.

Wealthy People are More Likely to be Dog Owners

Well, I’ll be doggone. It turns out that dogs are a luxury good. Who knew? The wealthier you are, the more likely you are to own a canine. While 51% of American households own a dog, a recent survey by the consultancy Spectrem Group reported that of Americans with more than $5 million in net worth, 74% own at least one dog.  Need further proof? Beyoncé and Jay-Z just bought their first dog.

Member of the Club: Are You In?

Do words like exclusive, private, dues, waiting list and members-only excite you? If so, you’re not alone. Do they make you anxious or even angry? Ditto. This is a tension I hear about every day from friends, acquaintances and family. And it’s also an interesting driver of a very little understood kind of luxury business: the private club.

Is the Quest for Luxury Instagram Pics Making you Crazy?

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has launched a new advertising campaign that appears to be the perfect intersection of luxury, marketing and tech, and also the quintessential sign of our times. Outdoor ads all over Manhattan show screen shots of fictional Instagram pages with gorgeous photos of luxury life onboard their ships and on excursions to various photogenic ports of call. The ads are complete with multiple hashtags, and of course the obligatory tally of the number of (fictional) likes each post has garnered.

Pain and Pleasure: How Far Will You Go to Look Good?

I bought a pair of the new Valentino Garavani flats on my last trip to Boston, and I wore them for the first time a couple of weekends ago. They are super-cute, black with a crisis-cross ankle strap and silver metal grommet details. The man who sold them to me at their store on Newberry Street raved about them as an upgrade to the Rock Stud flats that I already own in multiple colors. “These are so much more comfortable than the old version,” he assured me as he lovingly put them in their red box.