What Constitutes Luxury?
What constitutes luxury? I continued to be baffled that friends of mine pay scads of money for “designer” items, only to find that the quality of construction, and often, the quality of service is not commensurate with the price that is charged. I for one, am tired of paying $85 (on sale) for a shirt whose collar shrinks at the cleaners. I am tired of salesmen telling me that my neck must have gotten fatter. Firstly, this isn’t true. Secondly, as the customer, I don’t wish to be told that a product deficiency is my fault, just because a purveyor doesn’t wish to stand behind its product.
On that subject, there is a men’s specialty clothier here in Baltimore, now a national, which built its reputation on offering a line, and service, similar to that of Brooks Brothers. My last experience there was disheartening. I wanted to purchase a glen plaid suit. I knew exactly what shade of blue I wanted as I have an excellent tie, with springer spaniels on it, which would match perfectly. The salesman told me that I am fat. Well, I may be comfortably middle aged. But these guys do sell separates, and he could have gently guided me to that rack, and I think I would have been perfectly happy. Instead, I was made to feel inadequate. I did ultimately purchase my glen plaid suit at that store, but I don’t think I will buy another there. And, by the way, the suit turned out to be of mediocre quality. It isn’t cut well. I have found someone who imports direct from Canada and can custom size me without my being embarrassed. You may ask, why don’t I order custom? I suppose I should, but I really enjoy having choices offered to me instead having to think of what I want myself.
My Burberry shirts have held up well to repeated launderings without shrinking. Many of my friends have begun to buy Brooks Brothers wash and wears. So in the case of off-the-rack shirts, buying a luxury brand does pay.
But does it pay to buy a luxury brand car? I don’t know. I purchased a new car for my college aged son, last week. Even at entry level, there are now several “luxury brand” cars available. They include, urban look, Nissan Versa, the Scions from Toyota, and the Honda Fit. Candidly, I was drawn to the Kia Soul, which might just be a fashion flash in the pan, but seemed like a lot of fun. The Nissan, the Scions, and the Honda all offered less power and fewer features than the Hyundai Elantra. So I bought the Elantra. I don’t love the exterior design, the interior looks great, and it offers so many features at no additional charge. Why is the Hyundai the true luxury? The car offers more safety features, more convenience items, and a 10 year warranty! In other words, I don’t have to worry about it. And I saved at least $3,000 compared to the Scions and Honda, and $600 over the Versa (which had an inferior warranty).
It was exciting to visit the lobby of the newly renovated Renaissance Hotel in downtown Baltimore, but I question the placement of several chaises in the lobby. Is a person supposed to put his feet up in the lobby of a 4/5 star hotel?
