In 'The Future and Its Enemies,' I argue that individual creativity and enterprise are not only personally satisfying but socially good, producing… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Society needs both parents and nonparents, both the work party and the home party. While raising children is the most important work… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
'Frankenstein' did not invent the fear of science; the novel found its audience because it dramatized anxieties that already existed. Although popular… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
The innovative process is a fragile one, dependent on a complex, often messy interplay of imagination, competition, and exchange. Curbing new ideas… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
A lot of consumers actively enjoy advertising, especially fashion print ads and clever TV commercials. The nostalgic cable channel TVLand features not… — 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
The Taliban outlawed wearing polish in the late 1990s, punishing some offenders by amputating a fingertip. Importing polish was banned only in… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Americans hate their cable companies - for bumbling installers, on-again-off-again transmissions, peculiar channel selections, and indifferent customer service. The only thing cable… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
In a media culture, we not only judge strangers by how they look but by the images of how they look. So… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
'CSI' has not only remained a top-rated show through seven seasons; it has had real-world consequences. Police and prosecutors complain of a… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Loft living is the antithesis of suburban domesticity, if only because the open spaces don't easily accommodate family life. Lofts also offer… — 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
