Guilty pleasure
Everyone has at least one, right? A guilty pleasure. You know, that thing you do that you enjoy so much but don’t always feel comfortable admitting that you do it. Those things that you hide from your friends and family because it seems so out of character or they type of thing that they wouldn’t find a hundred percent acceptable. So, yesterday I made a detour on my way home from our weekly playgroup to pick up the latest issue of Monocle, a British magazine aiming at worldly, affluent men. I had originally come across the magazine via their podcasts in the iTunes directory, as they put out companion videos for the articles they publish along with a weekly sudio podcast where the editors sit around an jovially talk of current events, design, culture, and everything else they cover in print.
It’s guilty because, quite frankly, I do not have in any forseeable near future the means with which to live in the lush manner put forth in this magazine. It’s published with an affluent audience in mind, one that has the leisure time to read about and discuss current events in a highbrow manner and jetset about the world in first class to see things firsthand. They talk of trips to Tokyo in the same air as one would speak of driving in to downtown for a really nice restaurant. I can honestly say that I’m not really in that league, nor do I ever think that I will be. Hell, even their subscription price is more than the cover price, something that is rare in magazines… Most will entice you to subscribe with a discount. Monocle doesn’t bother, but they do offer a nice tote bag and invites to their office parties. I don’t know whether it’s more preposterous, presumptuous, or pretentious on my part to be reading this.
But it’s a pleasure because, despite lacking the vast financial resources, I can relate to it.
Monocleis a magazine that focuses on current affairs, unique businesses, design and architecture, and interesting culture, all on a global scope. And, wouldn’t you know it, these are all topics that pique my interest. Taking stock of where my interests have been going, all of the topics covered on a monthly basis (well, almost… the magazine does take two months off) fall in line with topics that I have been spending my leisure time on. So, having all of these topic in one place certainly is convenient, if not downright serendipitous.
Of course, the writers and editors of this magazine frequently speak of luxury. They opine at length of this clothing store in Japan or that delicatessen in Italy or some lamp that was designed and hand-crafted in Sweden (and, incidentally, purchased by one of the editors as a gift to his mother). While these locations and wares are from all corners of the globe, they do have a common thread in that they all portray luxury as an experience wrapped around a well-made item or service. Luxury isn’t just paying more for something, just look at the gaudy Bling H20 and its Swarovski crystal-studded bottle and its $70 price tag (it’s just water!), it’s a matter of having a good experience and quality product no matter what the price is. More often than not, this concept is best found to be in use by small, local retailers and producers that know their community and customers on a more personal level and can tailor the experience of the customer better than some national chain that subscribes to a one-size-fits-all business model.
Luxury doesn’t need to be expensive. They did do a report on a Liberian man who serves up a “personalized” newspaper to inform his community.
Anyway, sure you can pop into Kohl’s for a dress shirt to go with your business suit and come out with something that looks decent, fits about right, and is made of a fabric that feels okay and is close enough to a color and print that you like. But for it to be a true luxury you need to stop into a locally run haberdashery where they’ll measure you up and make a shirt that fits only you out of fabric that you hand-pick yourself. Or, instead of browsing the furniture aisle at Target for a lamp you could stop by a locally owned gallery where the shopkeeper gets a feel for what the locals want and goes out to find pieces that bit the bill. Luxury isn’t even stepping into the most expensive store at the Mall of America and paying a premium for the same shirt that thousands of others have paid a premium for. That’s just common mass marketing wrapped up in a big price sticker. Luxury is a personalized experience with a friendly, familiar face that you can find right around the corner and nowhere else.
It is interesting that nowadays the cheap, everyday goods are imported from far-flung places like China while the notion of purchasing something crafted from a local producer has a premium put on it. Didn’t it used to be the other way around? Don’t we have our priorities backward?
One of their usual focuses is the media, and not just the quality of information that is disseminated but the quality of design as well. They regularly have some design consultantcome on to the podcast and talk about how this newspaper got a design update or that magazine is behind the times and the whole point of it all is to, again, craft a news source with a worthwhile experience as well as reliable information. In short, who wants to read a poorly written, ugly newspaper? Also, in this digital day and age, how can you translate the branding of a newspaper onto the website, eReaders, and news aggregators? When big, global news happens, who gives us real, human stories and who gives us the bland, corporate line and tells us to move along and keep on buying stuff? (The easy, watered-down answer is, of course, locally or publicly owned news for the former and big news conglomerates for the latter.) It’s all very nerdy and stylish and thoughtful at the same time, and I like it.
Amazingly enough, I actually like their fashion section. I have reviewed a number of magazines geared toward men, and I have never liked the fashion sections. Take a look at the likes of Maxim and Esquire and you’ll see skinny, young men in edgy clothing that no sensible man would wear (or, that’s what I saw way back when I picked up copies of these magazines and subsequently gave up on them). At least in Monocle I can find clothing that looks comfortable. Clothing I would actually wear, like smart-looking sweaters and jeans. Just look at this scarf on the left. Sure, it’ll run me over a hundred bucks just to buy it and ship it from the UK, but I would definitely wear something like that. Perhaps I should show this photo to Jen, since she promised to knit a scarf for me.
I must confess, though, that I do feel a bit hypocritical when I purchase this magazine. I bend the rules a bit on the lifestyle they lay out. One thing that they tend to portray is that if something is well made and worth buying, then it’s worth paying full price for, which is all good and fair when you’re talking about keeping your money local. Another is that, whenever possible, the best source for periodicals is either directly from the source (in other words, a subscription) or from a local bookseller/newsstand where you can interact with a knowledgeable purveyor of information on paper (check out their Bookseller of Beirut). I do neither, as I use my member discount at Barnes & Noble, essentially picking it up at an impersonal national chain store and paying a dollar less than the cover price besides. Honestly, I should make it in to the nearest independent bookstore one of these days, Majors and Quinn in Uptown, but I would pass right by a Barnes & Noble on my way there. As an aside to my aside, the only local, independent bookstore I’ve actually been into is Uncommon Good Books, and the Old Scout eschews the magazine rack and focuses his sales on just books.
And there is my confession. Underneath my common man exterior beats the heart of an affluent elitist intellectual (alongside the other hearts that beat away in my chest for all my other passions), and what keeps that part of me chained up is that my pocketbook favors what’s best for my daughter and what our family needs over my lofty ideals and expensive tastes. Unless we somehow strike it rich, perhaps when Jen’s office mates all go in on the PowerBall when the jackpot gets large, I’ll have to take my luxury in small doses and learn to hand-craft some of those personal creature comforts myself (for example, the gradual rennovation of my house). Until that day comes, I’ll just sit down and take pleasure in reading Monocle. Even with the guilt.
