“The Obscura CueLight is coolest pool table ever, features sensors and a projector that projects an image only where the balls are on the table. The pool table and projections system will cost $200,000! Currently you can found it at Esquire’s ultimate bachelor pad in NYC.”

Now we are talking Private Pampering™ here: “I don’t need it, but I’m worth it.”™ So you don’t NEEEEEED this awesomeness but if you want an ESTEEM boost (and can afford it) then this a pretty powerful version of “in-your-face” luxury.

Sexy Stuff!  I personally can’t wait for the rest of the jaw droppers that will reside in Esquire’s ultimate bachelor pad to be revealed.

That’s right! Your Celebritot (as the Aristabrat website refers to them) can now enjoy the exclusivity and absolutely dumbfounding experience of drooling on a Swarovski studded pacifier- or shaking a rattle worth more than my groceries every week. They can even bash all the cute little crystals off of it into the sidewalls of a crib, since babies have no sense of value and everything that’s cute and shiny will inevitably get destroyed.

Who would outfit their children like this? Who would have the gall- or senselessness- to showcase their baby, or as they grow up, their tween, in more money than most people spend on their weekly cost of living? The average cost of a full outfit for a tween( that’s a twelve year old for those of you keeping score at home!) from this abomination of common sense is right around US $838.00. That’s over half of what the average single male spends monthly just to get by.

I don’t care h0w cute you think your kid is, it doesn’t need a $300.00 onezie set.

As we reported earlier, Mr Lagerfeld has been quoted as saying,
“It’s great to see things you may not buy — because you don’t have the money — but it is very ugly to think they shouldn’t exist because you can not buy them.”

He is no less outspoken about his couture line,
“is not for the nouveau riche. It is for the very rich.“-WSJ

Even though there is no doubt that Uncle Karl is crazy, like the old joke goes… I may be crazy but I’m not stupid!

Does the American Public believe itself to be entitled to every luxury, no matter the cost or practicality? Do we have restrict ourselves to utilitarianism because luxury is no longer affordable to aspirational buyers?

Commenters opinions vary:

Comment by n/a – February 1, 2009

When designers start making clothes that real people can wear I’ll go back to buying. If you figure resembles a coat hanger you can look good in anything. Many of the fabrics are so hideous that my grandmother would never have worn them and she died in 1956 at rhe age of 91. I have patterns from the late 40s and 50s, classic lines that never date. Have had to adjust the sizes but the look is still good.

Comment by bgaleles – January 28, 2009

There must be a compromise somewhere.

Isn’t there enough room in the world for a little of both worlds?

As long as someone is willing to pay for it, there will always be someone making dresses that cost tens of thousands of dollars and like Karl said,  it is very ugly to think they shouldn’t exist because you can not buy them.” But, unless you plan on exclusively serving this clientel, the opportunity is in meeting the needs of the aspirational customer who is now on a budget. After all, good design is cheap; ethical practices, good materials, and a dedication to quality is always appreciated. Leave the antics and couture  to Uncle Karl, he is better at them anyway.

Hospitals bill are expensive as is, but there’s no better time to pamper yourself then while bed-ridden, sick, hurt, and absolutely miserable. That’s why Sharp Health Care is opening a $195 million dollar acute-care tower at its Memorial Hospital campus in Kearney Mesa. Coffee bars, flat screen televisions, iPod docking stations, and therapeutic aromas to fill your bedroom are just some of the amenities offered at this rare high-end hospital.

Lining its halls with beach scenes and gardens, studies “have shown that patients recover faster when they stay in private rooms, are exposed to sunlight and have space for a family member to stay with them overnight”.

Providing a cozy environment for patients in comparison to the usual sterile and gloomy white in most is about attending to the details, details that can lead to dramatic results. Now we all know we could do without certain things, but we don’t care; we deserve it because we’re still living, still breathing, and worth it.

I don’t need it, I really shouldn’t, but I’m still worth it. Times may be tough, and it’s safe to say that most Americans have cut back and reevaluated at some point or another their necessities. But fortunately for some business owners, there are just some luxuries consumers aren’t going to cut back completely on, particularly small luxuries. One consumer explains to the Washington Post how a$6.95 molten lava cake and a cappuccino with her boyfriend is one of those such luxuries:

“It wasn’t that cheap, but it was [darn] good,” she said with satisfaction after the cake was gone. “Sitting in a place like this with a friend and having a nice moment. . . . I wouldn’t cut back on that, even with my tight budget. “

Indeed it seems that it’s at the most challenging of times that we need to pamper ourselves with even the smallest of comforts. We do it all our lives, when we were young it was a stuffed animal, a blanket, a Disney movie, the family pet. Now, it might be latte or cocktail. We’re just human, and in comfort we find hope and the realization that indeed, the most important things in life, really aren’t about the money.

Will people still crave to be spoiled with items of luxury? Of Course!

Will they be able to throw caution to the wind and throw money at something that they desire and probably can’t afford? Probably not.

Target is continuing their program of offering items with a dash of luxury and designer panache with a new series of affordable eco-luxe fashion from the creators’ of eco-conscious label Loomstate.

This is the second collaboration that designer Rogan Gregory, creator of Loomstate and the more avant-garde label Rogan, has performed with Target.  The success of the first line proved that even consumers on a budget will pay a little more for stylish clothing that is ethically sound. The new line is planned to be released in April, coinciding with Earth Day celebrations.

Loomstate is considered to be the more practical of the designer’s two brands and the price point will be modest , priced between ($14.99 and $44.99)ut, the new collection will be anything but boring.

Co-founder Scott Hahn says to WWD:

“We did a drunken yarn dye with a little curved wabi-sabi feeling that’s totally unique,” Hahn said. “For a couple of blends, we used linen and silk. It’s not ho-hum organic cotton. It’s engineered fabrics, which makes it all the more interesting.”

Environmentally friendly and Organic are the new made in Italy, especially when it comes to fashion. This makes any product that fits into these categories feel a little more luxurious and makes it easier to justify the extra cost because of the perception that you are doing something good for the world and yourself by buying it. When it comes wrapped up in a stylish, comfortable and affordable package, who can resist?

This is pure, unadulterated, luxury and opulence at it’s finest and despite the impracticality of 5700 lb vehicle powered by a hand built 8-cylinder engine that costs $350,000 we love this car.  Why? How can you love a car whose jewel encrusted gear shifter probably costs more than a new Prius? How can you love a car that is the very opposite of green?

 We love it because it is the very definition of Private Pampering,

“ I don’t need it but I’m Worth it”

We love it because in a world that is filled with gloomy headlines and the endless complexities of the world financial crises it is an escape to a more carefree world. One that is filled with hand stitched leather seats complemented with accents of exotic wood.

No, there is little hope that any of us here at Culturewaves will ever be able to afford this impeccable machine, but as we pour over headline after atrocious headline we do start to drift a little, and if only in our minds, we take our Bentley out for a spin. When we do, we put the top down, drive far out into the countryside in a part of the world that is always warm and sunny, and we turn the 1100 watt stereo up so loud that there is not a even the slightest chance that the outside world could disturb us.

The Prada II has a lot to live up to. The first Prada phone was a stunning success, over a million units have been sold world wide.  The Prada II definitely measures up in the styling department. Besides elegant styling the new model comes with a 5 mp camera, slow motion video, 3G video calling, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, full HTML browser, Wi-Fi. slide out qwerty board and did we mention the very slick companion timepiece (wrist communicator) that communicates with the phone via Bluetooth. So it is not lacking in the goodies department either.

But at a price tag of 600 euros or around  $800 dollars, the LG Prada II is an expensive stocking stuffer.

There are two factors that may have a serious impact on the sales of the expensive yet impressively designed and equipped luxury cell phone. First there are a number of impressive phones currently available on the market for much much less, $199 iPhone comes to mind and that is just one model. Albeit none of these models come with a star trek like “wrist communicator”.

The second, is the big, fat, ugly elephant, that seems to be in everyone’s room all at the same time, that we are all so sick of hearing about, the economy. The high end market has proven to be less recession proof than once thought, with one  report claiming that even well kept mistresses are feeling the pinch will the Prada perform up to expectations. From what we have seen so far this is indeed an impressive phone, but worth 4 iPhones ? We will have to wait and see if good looks and charm or frugality will win the day.

Did I mention that it has a wrist communicator?

Let’s hear another hooray for the almighty soy bean. We can add beautifying skin treatment to its endless list of benefactors.  At least I can’t think of any other reason why anyone would want consider pampering themselves in a huge tub of soy milk while sipping on a just-as-hot cup of the stuff. A hot spring in Hakone Kowakien, Japan provides the soy milk hot tub for guests to sit back and relax. Many skin therapy creams containing soybean oil claim that it helps heal the skin from scarring and stretch marks as it soothes and smoothens. For once sitting in a spa liquid that doesn’t leave your skin dry from the chlorine sounds like a winner, but I wonder how sweetly the soy milk smells at such a warm temperatures.