We are material creatures who spend much of our lives on material pursuits (even building a cathedral or writing a novel requires… — 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
By binding image and desire, glamour gives us pleasure, even as it heightens our yearning. It leads us to feel that the… — 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
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
Our demand for good looks, expressed in the biting comments that ensue when public figures fall short of perfection, puts enormous pressures… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
More than two decades after the birth of Louise Brown, and all the hysteria that surrounded her 'test tube' conception, we should… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Y2K hype taps our native discomfort with the realities of a dynamic, evolving social order. It elevates personal, local contact over the… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
The Internet ethos of diversity and competition runs exactly counter to uniform, gatekeeper-oriented medical culture - the technocratic philosophy of the 'one… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
The children who are 'our future' will inherit a world created not just by parental devotion but by the sort of zealous,… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
We know beauty when we see it, and our reactions are remarkably consistent. Beauty is not just a social construct, and not… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
We know we need bosses and deadlines to help us get work done. But sometimes we can also use an external push… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
As borrowers, we may feel guilty about running up debt, anxious about making payments, and resentful of the constraints that old obligations… — 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 Image
'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 Image
Science is about exploring the unknown and cannot offer guarantees. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
“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 Image
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 Image
When credit is cheaper to use and easier to arrange, people do use more of it. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
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 Image
A standard 'well woman' checkup can last as little as 10 minutes, hardly time for any in-depth discussions. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
