“Luxury”, everyone has a different image of what he or she experiences with “luxury” and so you cannot judge it for someone else. You most likely have an image of it yourself and that can also change. Why is that difference there, why does the luxury feeling sometimes change, is there a common denominator when it comes to “luxury” and last but not least… what is the trend of 2015.
Definition of “luxury”
If we check the various (online) dictionaries, we arrive at the following:
- “Excess”
- “Abundance”
- “Lush”
- “Splendor”
- “Wealth”
- “Convenience”
Wikipedia explains the opposite of luxury goods as secondary goods, or: “Goods that do not directly provide the consumer’s basic needs, but from which the consumer derives a certain utility.”
In short, what you do not strictly need, but what is pleasant/pleasant. Since it is not necessary, but pleasant for everyone, it is different, so luxury is experienced differently by everyone. This also implies that if pampering is applied daily, the feeling of luxury will increase more and more. The opposite is of course also true, because someone who has nothing in everyday life will quickly experience anything extra as a luxury.
Some examples
While one person talks about luxury in the form of an expensive holiday, a motor yacht or a second home, the other person may talk about good health, the freedom to do what he/she likes (not necessarily linked to money) or Occasionally experience eating in a restaurant as a luxury.
New age trends
First luxury, then basic needs
As with so many things, trends can also be recognized in luxury. That makes sense, because society and the people who live in it are changing. Where people live, there are developments and that means that what was luxurious at the end of the last century is now part of the basics. Think of a privately owned home, because this was an exception mid-last century, but now our own home (your own place) is almost part of our basic need. The same goes for the car, because you stand out if you don’t have a car. It is actually assumed that there is at least one car in every household.
“The power of being an introvert in a world that won’t stop chatting.” (Susan Cain)
Source: Curaçao – Annastaal
Less is more
A new luxury or trend is the fact that less is more. We have been busy collecting in recent decades. Have a career and earn a lot of money. Use the money you earn to buy and do business. The holidays are increasing in number and we are going more and more exotic. But also a second car, art on the wall, expensive jewelry or a second home. The investment is often seen as an actual investment, but people also want to enjoy that quiet place, after all, it is very busy in our lives.
The new luxury lies in that last aspect, because collecting is out and silence and nothingness is in. A certain group already did this by spending a day in the sauna, but this is now too busy for a growing group. You relax, but there is no real luxury at all and this can be done in all kinds of places and in all kinds of ways. In short, tranquility is all the rage, consider:
- Just at home is an easy chair with good headphones and some meditation or nature sounds in the background.
- A quiet compartment on the train, where reading or doing nothing is at the top of the list.
- Visit nature in the morning, where the maximum sound is the boat moving water as it sails through the river, the rustling of birds in the greenery or the sound of the sea waves that keep crashing on the coastline.
- Doing your daily things, but in combination with turning off the telephone and radio.
- In your car with the phone far away and the radio off. Just drive straight ahead and enjoy the sound of… the silence. The later evenings in particular are ideal for this.
It’s quite disappointing to have silence around you. It automatically makes you think and many people find that quite scary. If you find it scary, start with a few minutes and build up slowly. At some point you enjoy it intensely and you can talk about the acceptance of silence.
Finally
The question remains whether anyone will use it, because it is a luxury that is close to everyone. Silence can be confrontational, it can be experienced as boredom and it can be experienced as soothing, giving all the stress radars a break. Trend or not, silence every now and then is good for body and mind and decide for yourself whether it is a luxury.
