What is luxury? The dictionaries call it costly comfort. History calls it excess made respectable. We call it something rarer still: a matter of perception, shaped by circumstance, by environment and by the state of one’s mind. This is the Simply Luxury definition of luxury.
Few words in the English language carry as much weight, or as much ambiguity, as luxury. It is printed on hotel brochures and stitched into the linings of handbags. It is whispered in the ateliers of Geneva and the private salons of Paris. It is promised by advertisers and debated by economists. And yet, ask a dozen people to define it and you will receive a dozen different answers, each of them correct.
That is precisely the point. Luxury is not a fixed thing. It is a relationship between a person and their world.
What does luxury mean?
The great dictionaries of the English language broadly agree on three meanings of the word.
- A state of great comfort and elegance, particularly when it involves fine and costly things: exquisite food and wine, beautiful clothing, exceptional places to stay.
- An object or indulgence that is desirable but not essential, something that brings pleasure precisely because one could live without it.
- A rare pleasure or advantage, as when we speak of the luxury of time, the luxury of silence, or the luxury of choice.
It is the third meaning that reveals the truth of the word. Luxury is defined less by what something costs than by how rarely one is able to enjoy it.
Where does the word luxury come from?
The word has travelled a remarkable distance. It descends from the Latin luxus, meaning excess, which gave rise to luxuria, a term the Romans used for extravagance and indulgence. It passed into Old French as luxurie and arrived in Middle English carrying a distinctly disapproving tone, closer to lust and licentiousness than to refinement.
Only in the seventeenth century did luxury begin to mean what it means today: the enjoyment of costly comfort and beauty. In a few hundred years the word moved from vice to virtue, from something to be confessed to something to be celebrated. That journey is, in itself, the clearest proof that luxury has always been a matter of perception.
In Britain the word is pronounced LUK shuh ree (/ˈlʌkʃəri/), while many American speakers soften it to LUG zhuh ree.
Luxury is a matter of perception
Here lies the heart of our definition. Luxury is an interpretation of a situation. It is relative to one’s circumstances, one’s environment and one’s state of mind.
Consider water. For a family in a part of the world where clean water must be carried for miles, a running tap is the most profound luxury imaginable. For those of us fortunate enough to live with it, the same tap is simply normal, so ordinary that it is never noticed. The water has not changed. Only the perspective has.
History tells the same story. Pepper and spices were once so precious in medieval Europe that they were traded as treasure. Sugar was a delicacy reserved for royal tables. Glass windows, hot baths and fresh fruit in winter were all, in their time, the privileges of a very few. Each became ordinary as circumstances changed, and each was replaced in the imagination by something new and more difficult to obtain.
The state of the mind matters just as much. A man may own a fleet of motor yachts and still lack the luxury of an untroubled night. Another may own very little and yet possess the rarest luxury of all: contentment. Luxury, in the end, is felt before it is owned.
How the great thinkers have defined luxury
Philosophers, economists and couturiers have each tried to capture the essence of luxury, and each has illuminated a different facet of it.
Thorstein Veblen and conspicuous consumption
In The Theory of the Leisure Class, published in 1899, the economist Thorstein Veblen observed that the wealthy often consume not merely for pleasure but to display their standing. He called it conspicuous consumption, and the idea still explains why certain goods become more desirable as their prices rise.
The economist’s luxury good
In economics, a luxury good is one for which demand rises more than proportionally as income rises. As people grow wealthier, they spend a growing share of their income on such goods, which is why the luxury sector tends to flourish alongside prosperity.
Gabrielle Chanel and comfort
Mademoiselle Chanel believed that true luxury must be comfortable, or it is not luxury at all. Her conviction transformed women’s fashion, freeing it from constraint and proving that elegance and ease belong together.
Rarity, dream and distinction
Scholars of luxury branding have long argued that luxury depends upon rarity and upon the dream it inspires. A luxury house must remain always slightly out of reach, for the moment it becomes commonplace, the dream dissolves.
The seven pillars of true luxury
Drawing upon thirteen years of publishing for royalty, heads of state and the world’s most discerning collectors, we believe genuine luxury rests upon seven pillars.
- Rarity. Luxury cannot be abundant. Its value lies partly in how few are able to enjoy it.
- Craftsmanship. The patient hand of the master artisan, whether shaping a tourbillon, stitching a saddle or finishing the hull of a yacht, is never hurried.
- Time. Time is the most finite of all resources, which makes it the ultimate luxury: time to savour, time to reflect, time to be fully present.
- Beauty. Luxury elevates the senses. It is designed to be admired, touched and remembered.
- Discretion. The most refined luxury never shouts. It is recognised by those who know, and needs no explanation for those who do not.
- Meaning. An heirloom watch, a family estate, a work of art passed through generations: true luxury carries a story that outlives its owner.
- Freedom. Above all, luxury is the freedom to choose: where to go, how to live and with whom to spend one’s days.
Other words for luxury
The English language offers a rich vocabulary for the idea of luxury, each word carrying its own nuance: opulence, splendour, sumptuousness, magnificence, indulgence, extravagance, affluence, refinement, comfort and grandeur. Its natural opposites are necessity, austerity, frugality and simplicity, although, as the most enlightened collectors know, simplicity perfectly executed can itself be the highest luxury of all.
The Simply Luxury definition of luxury
Luxury (noun): the experience of something rare, beautiful and made without compromise, enjoyed beyond necessity. Luxury is relative. It is shaped by circumstance, by environment and by the state of one’s mind, so that what is ordinary to one person may be priceless to another. It may be held in the hand, as a masterpiece of craftsmanship, or held in the heart, as time, freedom, peace and the company of those we love. True luxury elevates the person who enjoys it and honours the hands that created it.
Frequently asked questions about luxury
Is luxury the same as expensive?
Not necessarily. Many luxuries are costly, yet price alone does not make something luxurious. Rarity, craftsmanship, beauty and meaning matter far more. Equally, some of life’s greatest luxuries, such as silence, time and good health, cannot be bought at all.
What is the difference between a luxury and a necessity?
A necessity is something one needs in order to live well; a luxury is something one enjoys beyond that need. The line between them moves with circumstance, which is why yesterday’s luxury so often becomes tomorrow’s necessity.
What is a luxury good?
In everyday language, a luxury good is a product of exceptional quality and desirability, such as fine jewellery, haute horology, couture or a grand touring motor car. In economics, it is a good for which demand grows faster than income.
What is quiet luxury?
Quiet luxury describes an understated approach to wealth and style, favouring exquisite materials and impeccable craftsmanship over visible logos. It is luxury that is recognised rather than announced.
Why is luxury relative?
Because luxury depends on the gap between what a person has and what their circumstances make ordinary. Clean water, a warm home or a quiet afternoon may be unremarkable to one person and a profound luxury to another.
Discover the world of luxury
Simply Luxury is the digital home of Simply Abu Dhabi, the invitation only publication founded in 2013 and read by royalty, heads of state and ultra high net worth individuals around the world. Explore the very finest in horology, jewellery, fashion, automobiles, yachts, private aviation, hotels and resorts, dining and art.