Walk into a perfume store, and you’re overwhelmed with the scent and shine. Glowing bottles, long, dramatic names, and a vast array of scents that just want to become your next go-to. Perfume’s been a ...

In today's society, status symbols play a crucial role in how people perceive success and sophistication. However, what represents an achievement or a reflection of identity for many women might just ...

Once a status symbol, now worthless junk A nostalgic look back at the decade of excess, the 1980s, reveals a time when conspicuous consumption reached new heights. Technology promised to revolutionize ...

In recent days, the Globe has run several articles about Nantucket: one about vintage cars as a status symbol, costing as much as $300,000 (“On Nantucket, the new status symbol is an old car,” Page A1 ...

Three-quarters of Americans say they plan to trade down, forgoing more extravagant purchases in the future. For decades, the markers of success in America followed a familiar script: bigger homes, ...

I still remember clutching a Beanie Baby in each hand at the age of five, begging my parents to buy me just one more. While these trends may seem harmless at first glance, they reflect a deeper ...

Class and status have defined and disturbed civilisations for generations. In monarchies, a family monopolised power, privileges and status. Political reforms, based on voting, watered down their ...

Our culture embodies mutually exclusive beliefs in tribalism and individual exceptionalism. Tribalism used to depend on family; over the past millennium, it increasingly has come to depend on wealth ...