Habituation is indeed a fact of human psychology. That's one reason we like novelty, including different cuts of jeans. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Like John Kennedy in 1960, Obama combines youth, vigor, and good looks with the promise of political change. Like Kennedy, he grew… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Like the 'test tube babies' born of in vitro fertilization, cloned children need not be identifiable, much less freaks or outcasts. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Viewers don't care how big media companies are. They care whether they can dump those they don't like, whether because of lousy… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Our eyes and brains pretty consistently like some human forms better than others. Shown photos of strangers, even babies look longer at… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Like Disneyland, luxury retailers have long had to figure out how to overcome customers' natural inertia. Unlike less pricey stores, they tend… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
I like kids, but I don't expect to have any of my own. I'm 40 years old and spend most of my… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
By reshaping or decorating our outer selves, we express our inner sense of self: 'I like that' becomes 'I'm like that.' — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Traditional PCs face competition from specialty products like Palm Pilots and from the servers that provide the nodes in computer networks. Microsoft's… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Though designed as a mere convenience, clothing sizes establish an unintended norm, an ideal from which deviations seem like flaws. There's nothing… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Like the rest of the genetic lottery, beauty is unfair. Everyone falls short of perfection, but some are luckier than others. Real… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Neon signs don't consume much power, but they look like they do. A cousin of fluorescent lighting, neon is actually quite energy… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
In the fall of 1978, I left the religious, conservative, biracial, slow-paced culture of South Carolina for the secular, liberal, multi-ethnic, intense… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
As a general rule, durable-goods production tends to be the most volatile sector of the economy. Since people usually have a stock… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Living with a single kidney is almost exactly like living with two; the remaining kidney expands to take up the slack. (When… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Like the skyscraper, the automobile, and the motion-picture palace, neon signs once symbolized popular hopes for a new era of technological achievement… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
The low point for neon came in 1982, when Holiday Inn did away with its signature 'Great Sign,' replacing the neon extravaganza with a… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
'The Matrix' is a movie that is all about glamour. I could do a whole talk on 'The Matrix' and glamour. It was criticized… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
“Design is not style. It’s not about giving shape to the shell and not giving a damn about the guts. Good design is a… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
Persuasion has become a kind of force. The more the advertiser knows about what consumers want, and the more desires the product and packaging… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
When credit is cheaper to use and easier to arrange, people do use more of it. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
Glamour is a beautiful illusion - the word 'glamour' originally meant a literal magic spell - that promises to transcend ordinary life and make… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
A standard 'well woman' checkup can last as little as 10 minutes, hardly time for any in-depth discussions. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
When I was in college, I wanted to be editor of 'Reason' when I grew up. It was an impractical ambition, especially since the… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
A lot of consumers actively enjoy advertising, especially fashion print ads and clever TV commercials. The nostalgic cable channel TVLand features not only vintage… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
“Functionality still matters, of course. But competition has pushed quality so high and prices so low that many manufacturers can no longer distinguish themselves… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
Like the skyscraper, the automobile, and the motion-picture palace, neon signs once symbolized popular hopes for a new era of technological achievement and commercial… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
When 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' premiered on the WB Network in 1996, American culture was in trouble. Americans were bowling alone, pursuing individual interests… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
The glamour of air travel - its aspirational meaning in the public imagination - disappeared before its luxury did, dissipating as flying gradually became… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
Behind the criticism of fashion as an artistic medium is a highly ideological prejudice: against markets, against consumers, against the dynamism of Western commercial… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share
