When credit is cheaper to use and easier to arrange, people do use more of it. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
When 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' premiered on the WB Network in 1996, American culture was in trouble. Americans were bowling alone, pursuing… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Rich people in poor places want to show off their wealth. And their less affluent counterparts feel pressure to fake it, at… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
By giving unusual people an easy way to find one another, the Internet has also enabled them to pool rare talents, resources,… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Glamour doesn’t just happen, people don’t wake up in the morning glamorous. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Clothing creates the illusion that bodies fit an aesthetically pleasing norm. And that illusion depends on getting the fit right. Garments that… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
The SAT is not perfect. We all know smart, knowledgeable people who do badly on standardized tests. But neither is it useless.… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Rising living standards - whether in a village, a region, a nation, or the world - depend first on specialization: on letting… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
At the simplest level, only people who know they do not know everything will be curious enough to find things out. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Grassroots techies - the mostly unknown people who write code and start companies that don't make the headlines - hate, loathe, and… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
The evergreen story of people in debt becomes even sexier in an economic downturn, when debts inevitably get harder to pay. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Although people often equate them, glamour is not the same as beauty, stylishness, luxury, celebrity, or sex appeal. It is not limited… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
European nations began World War I with a glamorous vision of war, only to be psychologically shattered by the realities of the… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
The history of the Internet is not, as some people have tried to make it, a libertarian just-so story. It is a… — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
What makes a loft authentic isn't its layout or its history but its ability to give people a true home - a… — 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
In a dynamic, decentralized system of individual choice and responsibility, people do not have to trust any authority but their own. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
People without children do have the freedom to do things that caring parents with dependent kids can't - to work long hours,… — 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
On the Internet, people on the tails of the bell curve can find one another. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
On the Net, the bell curve reclaims its tails. The uncommon is as accessible as the common. The very fragmentation of the… — 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
