David Dimbleby TV - Crimes & Misdemeanors 1989 - Dorothy Parker - John Lothrop Motley - Michael Scott TV - Coco Chanel - Lord Byron - Hannah More - Robert Pollok - F Scott Fitzgerald - John Steinbeck - John Gay - Secret History of Humans TV - World’s Most Luxurious TV - Inside Beverly Hills: The Land of the Rich & Famous TV - The World’s Most Luxurious Homes TV - Britain’s Most Expensive Home: Building for a Billionaire TV -
Chippendale published catalogues of his work to enable consumers to choose exactly which ornate design would look right in their homes. David Dimbleby: Seven Ages of Britain: Age of Money, BBC 2010
God is a luxury I can’t afford. Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 starring Woody Allen & Martin Landau & Anjelica Huston & Mia Farrow & Alan Alda & Jerry Orbach & Joanna Gleason & Claire Bloom & Sam Waterston & Caroline Aaron et al, director Woody Allen, Judah
Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves. Dorothy Parker
cf.
Give us the luxuries of life, and we’ll dispense with its necessities. John Lothrop Motley, 1857, attributed; viz also G K Chesterton’s letter to fiancée
Part of a collection of some of the most wondrous luxuries the world has ever seen. Dr Michael Scott, Guilty Pleasures I: Luxury in Ancient Greece: Nothing in Excess BBC 2013
An idyll that touches on democracy, patriotism, on social harmony and epic courage, and even on the divine … Luxury is a rare thing … The haves and the have-nots. ibid.
Luxury as political propaganda. ibid.
A serious danger of civil unrest. Or even revolution. ibid.
The birth of democracy and a new role for luxury ... Led by a man called Cleisthenes, invoked the mass of the people, to break the power of its enemies ... The rule of the people: one man one vote ... Democracy was established in Athens in 508 B.C. ibid.
The Acropolis was rebuilt. ibid.
Perecles’ play: The Persians [luxurious and decadent]. ibid.
We’re off to Sparta: ’cause luxury was an issue there too. ibid.
Sparta was very different from Athens. ibid.
Sparta had no city walls. ibid.
Sparta was organised for war. ibid.
By the end of the fifth century the Spartan military machine dominated mainland Greece. ibid.
The remains of ancient Sparta are not impressive. ibid.
This Spartan stoicism even extended beyond death. ibid.
Inverted minimalist luxury. ibid.
King’s Chapel was built so that priests could pray for the soul of one man – King Henry VI – to secure his place in heaven. Dr Michael Scott, Guilty Pleasures: Luxury in the Middle Ages II, BBC 2013
Luxury could damage your very soul – it was becoming a deadly sin. ibid.
The Church could not stop the march of luxury. ibid.
Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity. Coco Chanel
Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury. Coco Chanel
Sofas ’twas half a sin to sit upon,
So costly were they; carpets, every stitch
Of workmanship so rare, they make you wish
You could glide o’er them like a golden fish. Lord Byron, Don Juan V: 65
Fell luxury! more perilous to youth
Than storms or quicksands, poverty or chains. Hannah More, Belshazzar
Luxury and dissipation, soft and gentle as their approaches are, and silently as they throw their silken chains about the heart, enslave it more than the most active and turbulent vices. Hannah More, Essays, Dissipation
On his weary couch
Fat Luxury, sick of the night’s debauch,
Lay groaning, fretful at the obtrusive beam
That through his lattice peeped derisively. Robert Pollok, Course of Time VII:69
The idea of a slow approach to the luxury of leisure drove him wild. He was, of course, progressing toward it, but, like a child eating his ice cream so slowly that he couldn’t taste it at all. F Scott Fitzgerald, The Offshore Pirate
They want luxury and they want love and they want admiration. John Steinbeck, East of Eden
Whether we can afford it or not, we must have superfluities. John Gay, Polly, 1729
When you examine the path of mankind across Time distinct patterns emerge. By recognising the forces that create these patterns you can decode the secrets of man. Secret History of Humans I: Lust for Luxury, History 2020
Our lust for luxury is a powerful force that has shaped the human story … This unquenchable desire for the exotic. ibid.
Pepper … Silk … Silver … Cotton … A Ford Model T costs just a few months’ wages … Exclusive luxuries can now be made available for millions. Yesterday’s luxuries become today’s necessities and changed the world in unexpected ways. ibid.
This lifestyle doesn’t come cheap. A superyacht costs between £10-120 million to buy. And just under a million pounds a years to run. It’s not just about the gadgets – super-yachting offers privacy, relaxation and a travel experience bordering on perfection. World’s Most Luxurious 1e1: Yachts, MTV 2020
Berths are in high demand across the Mediterranean with the sought-after spots costing almost £5,000 per night. ibid.
Bash has over £1 million’ worth of the latest water toys. ibid.
The world’s richest people spend over a trillion pounds every year living the luxury life … The demand for luxury cars is stronger than ever. But the world’s most luxurious cars have sky-high standards set by brands synonymous with luxury such as Rolls Royce with their meticulous attention to detail. World’s Most Luxurious s1e2: Cars
Millionaires are getting younger, and the combination of horsepower and lavish interiors are wanted in equal measure. So supercar brands are taking on the luxury car market. ibid.
‘This is about understated luxury. This is about making an entrance, raising a smile. And having an experience.’ ibid. Morgan salesman
A luxury world where only the best is good enough … Berlin’s most expensive hotel suite is being prepared by the butler and his team: Kempinski Adlon … and command tens of thousands a night … The choice of millionaire, celebrities and even royalty. World’s Most Luxurious Hotels, Channel 5 2022
The Group opened a new hotel in one of the fastest growing marketplaces: Dubai. ibid.
One small suburb of Los Angeles has arguably the most exclusive postcode in the world – 90210. Hollywood calls it home. The capital of celebrity, a billionaire’s playground, a world where style is status, luxury rules the roost. Who you know, what you drive, and how much you make, is all that really matters. Inside Beverly Hills: The Land of the Rich and Famous s1e1, Channel 4 2021
The average house price in 90210 is $4.5 million. ibid.
Nearly half of Beverly Hills adults are single. There are twice as many women in the market for love than men. Inside Beverly Hills: The Land of the Rich and Famous s1e2, captions
Beverly Hills boasts more millionaires than any other town in the world. ibid.
Appearances are everything in Beverly Hills. And what you drive speaks volumes about your wealth and status. Inside Beverly Hills: The Land of the Rich and Famous s1e3
The world’s richest people spend over a trillion pounds every year living the luxury life. Discover the secrets of a luxury world where only the best is good enough. Revealing that’s it more than just about flashing the cash. Meet the most discerning customers in the world. Inside the World’s Multi-Million Pound Mega Mansions aka The World’s Most Luxurious Homes, Channel 5 2019
Across the globe luxury is the goal and there is no shortage of pricey properties for those who can afford them, from sprawling English estates to vertical metropolitan living where space is definitely at a premium. ibid.
Los Angeles: Even before it’s finished, it’s got an anticipated price tag of $500 million … in the exclusive suburb of Bel Air. ibid.