Penultimate invisible luxury to trump the quiet luxury trend
The best luxury to beat all quiet luxury debate once and for all
You have heard of the popularization of the term "quiet luxury." Quiet luxury eschews loudly branded clothes and trendy looks in favor of timeless classics and IYKYK looks. Vogue declared the term "thoroughly overused in modern society, used to describe everything from sports cars and holidays to mattresses and make-up—its ubiquity is at odds with the exclusivity it's supposed to denote."
In 2023, the debate over luxury, quiet luxury, and loud luxury became so loud that even the Wall Street Journal weighed in with what fashion might qualify for the term (spoiler: according to the article, it's Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli. Zzzz).
Many influencers tout their quiet luxury looks on social media platforms, their followers cooing over their "old money aesthetics." The irony, of course, is that the influencers are usually hawking hauls of plain beige fast fashion.
What is luxury anyway?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines luxury as "a condition of abundance or great ease and comfort." When I read this, I don't think of clothes but, instead, one particular luxury that brings great ease and comfort. This luxury is often taken for granted but is only afforded by a small percentage of the world's population. And if you are wealthy, you further optimize your surroundings to pursue this luxury. If you are in the position to be debating the merits of whether that beige 80% wool sweater qualifies for "quiet luxury," I assure you, you probably have the comfort of this luxury that most people in this world lack.
What is this luxury? Temperature control
According to the World Bank, "More than half the global population – around 4.5 billion people – are at high risk of experiencing an extreme weather event, such as floods, drought, cyclones, or heatwaves. About 2.3 billion of them are poor (living on less than $6.85 per day). Almost 400 million are extremely poor (living on less than $2.15 per day), according to 2020 data." This is just extreme weather events, which means even a higher percentage lives in uncomfortable but not extreme conditions. In fact, even the citizens of the wealthier countries "like Britain, Norway, Finland and Switzerland will face the greatest relative increase in uncomfortably hot days" as temperatures continue to rise.
Temperature as luxury is more than being in a wealthy country to avoid extreme environments. As I have been working from home since the pandemic, I have relished having total control over my working and living environment. Offices in the states are optimized for male bodies (40-year-old, 70-kilogram men likely wearing suits), and recent research has shown that at average office temperatures, women's productivity drops. Adjusting the temperature to a consistent 70 degrees has been a game-changer for my productivity. Human bodies are so well optimized (thank you, evolution!) to maintain homeostasis that when the environment is subpar, that's all our body can focus on adjusting: shiver uncontrollably to keep warm or sweat profusely to cool off.
Every day, I feel grateful for the temperature-controlled environment I live in most of the time (let's all agree that the temperature in the New York subway ranges from uncomfortable to disgusting in the summer). When I step outside and feel the heat or cold, I realize how luxurious it is to go home to a temperature-controlled environment. New Yorkers agree--many outsource simple errands and order takeout to avoid going outdoors altogether, and it's not even that cold here! Even those who are not wealthy find it worth paying for such a comfort. Temperature comfort is just that worth it.
I did not fully understand how the temperature affected my happiness until I moved from Los Angeles to Boston in 2007. I spent my teens and college years near Santa Monica and Redondo Beach, where the weather was typically between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year (I think it's hotter now, 20 years later). On the rare occasion the temperature dropped to the 60s, we requested heat lamps and blankets or gave up on dining al fresco altogether.
When I moved to Boston, my body and wardrobe did not know how to adjust, not to mention the new lifestyle of needing to walk everywhere whether the snow piled 5 feet high or the humidity reached the same level as my internal organs. Even if I had enough heat in the apartment (in fact, the prewar buildings had too much heat, and I could not adjust the temperature down in the winter, requiring me to open my window in January; having an in-unit temperature was very, very rare and very very expensive), I still had to walk 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store to pick up food. Being a poor, broke graduate student, it was not until my second winter in Boston that I could finally purchase somewhat adequate winter gear. I could now see why wealthy celebs opt for bicoastal lives or Torontonians "snowbird" down to Florida. To optimize for temperature.
So next time you see a debate about quiet luxury, remind yourself that living in a physically comfortable, temperature-controlled environment is the ultimate silent luxury one can achieve. Being able to adjust one's surroundings to maintain homeostasis (or avoid uncomfortable temperatures altogether) effortlessly is the pinnacle of human progress in infrastructure and comfort that so few of us are afforded, even in the States.
Do you live in a temperature-controlled environment and have the luxury of avoiding discomfort by staying indoors? Share other silent luxuries in the comments!