How has luxury changed over the years?
Wearing a luxury dress or a gorgeous accessory is always very special for a woman because, through a luxury item, she can also express her refinement and her sensual femininity. A luxury accessory enhances her beauty and her charm, highlighting her personality and love for her body and her physical aspect.
However, looking at old TV shows or turning the pages of an old fashion magazine, we realize that the concept of luxury has changed over the years. Now the word “luxury” has different connotations than in the past. This term has evolved with the changing of society and, above all, with the different role that woman has gained in modern society in recent years, a position which has allowed her to express herself in all her restrained elegance and natural beauty.
In the past, women had an idea of luxury as something superfluous and purely aesthetic, a concept mainly for rich ladies who wanted to appear in society and be noticed. Luxury was seen as synonym of eccentricity; the lover of luxury was almost always a woman loving herself and whose main role in life was to be looked at and admired for her dress and for her physical beauty.
The situation changed after the two world wars, in particular after the second world war, when people were reacting to the tragedy and the devastation caused by the terrible conflict and women started to be interested in luxury, as it symbolized a magical perfect world where everything was chic and extremely beautiful. In this period the idea of elegance was closely connected to the concept of luxury: you were perfectly elegant and refined only if you wore a luxury dress or if you completed your look with a luxury accessory.
Our grandmothers always had one section in their closets for their simple everyday dresses and another section for their “luxury” dresses, very elegant styles made of excellent quality fabric such as silk or prestigious wool. The same went for accessories: simple leather bags and shoes were used daily when they went out shopping, while the “luxury” pair of shoes and the “luxury clutch” were carefully stored in the wardrobe and worn only on Sunday when they went out for the “passeggiata” (a leisurely stroll through the town) and they had to be impeccably dressed because everybody would be looking at each other and noticing what they were wearing. Wearing a luxury item was a source of honor and pride for our grandmothers, so that they could express to the outside world that, despite the great suffering in the past during the war, they were still there, stronger and more dignified than before, and their financial situation too was now positive, thanks to their many sacrifices and careful balancing of accounts, and allowed them to live honestly and with dignity.
Today’s concept of luxury can be considered similar to the idea of luxury in the past in some ideological aspects, even though it shows some notable differences. Woman, as already indicated in the very first lines of this article, is gaining a more privileged role in society every day. She leads many political parties, she is manager of many important industries and her life is very busy. She has to spend a lot of time away from home, flying from one country to another, always dealing with people. Her role of power and responsibility must be supported by a physical look that is as reassuring as her promises, so she has to pay a lot of attention to the care of her image, always choosing something stylish but also sober and elegant, which enhances her as a businessperson and as a woman. She wears luxury dresses, where luxury is here a synonym of elegance and high quality, the guarantee of a product which sets off the figure perfectly and remains impeccable in any situation, even after a long day’s work. She needs a dress or an accessory which allows her to spend the whole day out and about, without any problem or risk, with the certainty of always having by her side a product of excellent quality which doesn’t ever let her down.
A luxury item today has to satisfy not only a woman’s wish to appear charming, seductive and refined, but also her desire for practicality and comfort. The business woman today needs to feel caressed and pampered by her luxury product. She is no longer prepared to suffer in order to appear sensual and gorgeous (as our grandmothers did) but she wants the best of quality with the maximum comfort.
And what do you think of a luxury item? Is it just a means to enhance your appearence or is it fundamental to the life of today’s woman?
