What are elegance and luxury?

[dreamecho]

"Elegance" and "luxury" are terms we throw around quite a bit when we talk about style, but I think there's a bit more to these terms than meets the eye. What do you think? Some food for thought:

What is elegance?

What is luxury?

Are the two related?

Are elegance and/or luxury related to style? If so, HOW are they related to style?

Can you be stylish without being elegant?

Is monetary wealth necessary for elegance and/or luxury?

Are elegance and luxury inherent and/or acquired?

Is luxury a "good" or "bad" thing?

Are you elegant? Do you wish you were? Are you glad you aren't?

Examples of luxury and elegance?

I have some thoughts of my own, but want to hear what other people have to say first.

I searched to make sure there wasn't a similar thread...hope this thread isn't redundant....If so, mods, do your thang .

 

[dreamecho]

I'll weigh in later, but just to get things started...

We have a member named Elegance.Is.Refusal.

...and fashionista-ta's current signature is a quote from Carmel Snow: "Elegance is good taste plus a dash of daring."

 

[dsq]

i think this is a good topic for discussion. here is what i think.

elegance and luxury may seemingly overlap with each other, but to me, they are quite the opposite. elegance to me is from the mind, it is an intangible source of countenance, manner, and class. luxury on the other hand is very secular.

elegance must be learned from experience and taught by those who possess this quality. characteristics such as manners, poise, posture, and the diction you use in your daily language can affect your elegance.

luxury can almost always be bought with money. there's a new group arising called the nouveau riche where they have made a lot of money in a short period of time and they like to enjoy what they never had when they were growing up. a good example of this are hiphop artists, many of these hiphop artists grew up in "the ghetto" and did not experience the luxuries of fine food, wine, and other services and products the more affluent could afford. when these nouveau riche suddenly make all this money, they go out and buy the most expensive of everything. But having all these luxury products does not mean you will have the class to carry them. not everyone is like this obviously. and i chose hiphop artists as an example because a lot of the themes in their music is having and owning luxury while blending in their old lifestyle of being ghetto. there is nothing wrong with this lifestyle but it serves as a good example to distinguish elegance and luxury.

we like to associate the two together and pretend that having the money to buy luxury will bring you class and elegance, but it just doesn't happen that way in the real world. there is nothing wrong with owning better things in life and living the way you want whether it be a ghetto, flashy, low-profile etc.; but just know that elegance really cannot be bought like luxury can, it must be learned, taught, and experienced.

 

[gius]

I think the words are completely different

but in terms of style,
they go together because usually when I think of elegance I think refinement, cleanliness and formal dressing. Luxurious things, like silks and jewels, can add to the look but they aren't always necessary

but generally elegance has to come from behaviour because I have seen people dress like how I mentioned but they do not look elegant because of how they act (noisy, etc.).


To look elegant, I think you also sometimes need a certain face
I don't think I could do so even if I dressed like someone from the Secret Garden--I would just look silly or older than my real age.
Generally I find girls seem to pull off looking elegant and refined better than a guy--a guy can look elegant by behaviour (quiet, etc.)

I think I am contradicting myself several times in this post

 

[dreamecho]

Great thoughts, dsq & gius!

Like both of you, I feel that the two concepts, while sometimes related, are very separate and are rooted in very different places. I especially like this from dsq:

elegance and luxury may seemingly overlap with each other, but to me, they are quite the opposite. elegance to me is from the mind, it is an intangible source of countenance, manner, and class. luxury on the other hand is very secular.

dsq, by saying luxury is secular, did you mean that it is very physical, very material?

I think I am contradicting myself several times in this post

Don't worry...I am still working out the thoughts in my head, too. I'm just glad you took some time to think about things and reply...

 

[eternitygoddess]

Elegance is dignity, class, grace, confidence. Elegance is never loud, brash, tacky. It's not X-rated. It's mysterious, tantalizes, and invites people in for a closer look.

Elegance could be luxury, but luxury doesn't always mean elegance. I think dsq presented a very good case of when the two are different.

Monetary wealth is definitely required for luxury, and it's okay for elegance but elegance doesn't require it. Elegance isn't just style, but the personality of a person. A poor/middle class person can be much more elegant and than a wealthy person (Paris Hilton is rich but she sure ain't elegant)

Luxury is acquired because it's more superficial. Elegance is both inherent and acquired.

 

[MissTrine85]

What is elegance? elegance is jackie kennedy, audrey hepburn

What is luxury? luxury is cashmere, silk and champagne

Are the two related? it can be

Are elegance and/or luxury related to style? If so, HOW are they related to style? i think of elegance as a style like boho is a style. and i think of luxury as something to make one thing better, ect. a black cardi is more luxurious made when its made of cashmere

Can you be stylish without being elegant?
of couse you can

Is monetary wealth necessary for elegance and/or luxury?
for elegance? no. for luxery? its about quality and quantity. buy the best materials you can pay.

Are elegance and luxury inherent and/or acquired?
i can be.

Is luxury a "good" or "bad" thing?
i think of it as a good thing

Are you elegant? Do you wish you were? Are you glad you aren't?
i try to be elegant.

Examples of luxury and elegance?
se above

 

[kellyisazebra]

What is elegance? If I had to choose one word to describe elegance, I'd pick class.

What is luxury? Again, one word? Probably spoiled.

Are the two related? I don't think so, only in fashion, haha.

Are elegance and/or luxury related to style? If so, HOW are they related to style? Yes, luxury because you can have the luxury of owning certain expensive items... and elegance, of course. You can look elegant.

Can you be stylish without being elegant? Definitely. Style & fashion are everywhere.

Is monetary wealth necessary for elegance and/or luxury? Not elegance, you can buy cheap things and still look classic. Luxury, you'd probably need a lot of money.

Are elegance and luxury inherent and/or acquired? Elegance in style, definitely inherented. But luxury, acquired.

Is luxury a "good" or "bad" thing? It depends on your view of it. I don't think it's either. It's just how you choose to live your life. I find a lot of items that are considered to be luxurious, just completely unnecessary. I wouldn't want them. However, other's would, so it could be a good thing... just depending on how you see it.

Are you elegant? Do you wish you were? Are you glad you aren't? I like dressing elegantly. I don't look it everyday, but why would someone be glad if they didn't dress with elegance?

Examples of luxury and elegance? Luxury, probably like a fur coat (ew), or a huge house? Or maids & butlers... Elegance, someone can style themselves in a very classic beautiful way.

 

[PrinceOfCats]

Luxury is the feeling of superiority because you have more money than most people.

Elegance is the feeling of superiority because you have more taste than most people because you have more money than most people.

 

[notmanons]

What is elegance?.
Elegance is definition and precision, grace and beauty in movement. It is perfection.

What is luxury?
Luxury is comfort and fit for pleasure, it is something limited which is pleasant for the eye.

Are the two related?
Perfection to me is luxury, grace and opulence is not always comfort (Example: beautiful 7 inch heels) but comfort and pleasure to the eye.

Are elegance and/or luxury related to style? If so, HOW are they related to style?
Style is seen, elegance is beautiful and luxury and style is the quality of the imagination.

Can you be stylish without being elegant?

Is monetary wealth necessary for elegance and/or luxury?

Are elegance and luxury inherent and/or acquired?

Is luxury a "good" or "bad" thing?

Are you elegant? Do you wish you were? Are you glad you aren't?

Examples of luxury and elegance?

 

[dreamecho]

thanks to kellyisazebra, MissTrine, eternitygoddess, Kushie, PrinceOfCats for their insight!

okay, so i have finally put my thoughts together into something i hope is coherent...

to me, there are two kinds of luxury. there is the luxury that most of us think of when we consider people with monetary wealth, such as hollywood celebrities. we talk about how they own luxury goods and how this or that person lives a life of luxury because she has an expensive house with expensive furniture and an expensive car, etc.

the second kind of luxury that i am more interested in is not necessarily one that requires money to purchase; rather, this kind of luxury requires a person's capacity to acknowledge, value and fully experience something. the person who savors a slice of gourmet chocolate cake, feeling the tingle of deliciousness from the tip of her tongue to the tip of her toes--this is real luxury to me. the woman who delights in the rustle of a skirt around her legs, who delights in her awareness of her body and in her ability to feels such physical sensations--this is real luxury to me. the person who basks in the sunlight as he lays on the lawn in a city park, who soaks up the sun and the tickle of the grass with every cell of his body--this is real luxury to me. the essential difference between these two kinds of luxury is that the former type is defined by the expensiveness of the good or service, while the latter requires a person's ability to recognize and really appreciate an exquisite object or experience. it's the discerning and perceptive person that makes an object or experience luxurious--not the other way around. real luxury requires constant awareness, and constant and complete appreciation; at a certain point, the intensity of one's experience becomes so great that the experience can even dissolve into one of potentially spiritual proportions: a complete joy in life and in one's capacity to fully relish it.

i'm still thinking about elegance in itself and the intertwining of elegance & luxury....but for now i'd welcome more insight and discussion from everyone!

 

[Diorling]

What is elegance?

Elegance the is confidence to be unglamorous and understated. Elegance is all black w/ a baggy pant.

What is luxury?

Luxury is all black w/ cashmere baggy pants. There are quite a few types of luxury though.

Are the two related?

No. You can be luxurious and trashy, but elegant and inexpensive.

Are elegance and/or luxury related to style? If so, HOW are they related to style?

No, they arent. I know people who are so effortlessly elegant and couldn't be any less interested in fashion/style.

Can you be stylish without being elegant?

Yes

Is monetary wealth necessary for elegance and/or luxury?

No. Monteary wealth

Are elegance and luxury inherent and/or acquired?

Luxury can be acquired, anyone can have a sense of luxury. Elegant luxury is inherent.

Is luxury a "good" or "bad" thing?

It can be both.

Are you elegant? Do you wish you were? Are you glad you aren't?

I dont know. Ive been told I am but I dont think Im elegant, I find myself to be mega-frump. It doesnt really matter to me if I am.

Examples of luxury and elegance?

I gave some, a black cashmere crewneck tshirt paired w/ a black slouchy cashmere pant a flat and a Birkin.

 

[dreamecho]

hmmmm...i didn't intend for this thread to become a q&a survey....

i was hoping for more of a discussion....

i think's my own fault because of how i wrote the initial post...

when i said these questions were "food for thought", i was just looking to get people's mental gears churning on the subjects...

 

[Diorling]

^ My gears were churning, just my fingers weren't in the mood to record.

Since you forced me.

I agree w/ you dreamecho, there are two kinds of luxury. The ostentatious 10million dollar hosue w/ a Bentley in the garage luxury. OR the luxury of just the comfort of a 2 bedroom in NYC. I prefer the second the most just because there is so much ease, luxury is ease to me, I think a HUGE mansion would be sooo cumbersome...

Im just rambling since it's 2AM but you made me...

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

^ I have to agree, the bigger the house the more work it requires. I'm enjoying living in my little one bedroom apartment right now and dreading having to mow the lawn someday...

 

[dreamecho]

^ My gears were churning, just my fingers weren't in the mood to record.

Since you forced me.

well, Diorling, apparently my powers of persuasion have worked through the internet . i didn't doubt that your gears were churning... thanks for replying.

i wasn't so much commenting on your post alone, but rather the turn that the thread had taken several posts ago.

 

[miu_miu]

I think elegance is an innate quality, luxury is something that is possessed (although, there are other types of luxury - luxury of time for example). For me, luxury is a beautiful cashmere sweater, but elegance is how you show it off..

 

[*mette-marit*]

Luxury is the feeling of superiority because you have more money than most people.

Elegance is the feeling of superiority because you have more taste than most people because you have more money than most people.

I like that one a lot!
I think that it is true, except for the very last bit....you can have more taste than mostpeople without necesarily having more money than them!

 

[pucci_mama]

I am bumping this..

I think elegance and taste goes hand in hand.. it's something selective, refined.. and restricted about it..

Luxury... there are a lot of so-called luxury items out there..which I personally find the opposite of luxury..

Hmm.

 

[MJCouture]

I think elegance is a way of being, a state. One's attitude can be elegant regardless of their clothes. While there are certain looks that are "elegant" in style, a non-elegant person in an elegant outfit is not elegant. And vis versa.

As for luxury. Its banal at this point. Luxury is at its core exclusivity, but there really is none anymore. To me in a post-dotcom era, luxury is NOT treating expensive things as if they are expensive. A heavily worn in Balenciaga leather jacket is luxurious, but a pristinely kept Chanel blazer is just expensive...