Substance of Style

<p>Whether it's sleek leather pants a shiny new Apple computer or a designer toaster we make important decisions as consumers every day based on our sensory experience. Sensory appeals are everywhere and they are intensifying radically changing how Americans live and work. The twenty-first century has become the age of aesthetics and whether we realize it or not this influence has taken over the marketplace and much more.</p><p>In this penetrating keenly observed book Virginia Postrel makes the argument that appearance counts that aesthetic value is real. Drawing from fields as diverse as fashion real estate politics design and economics Postrel deftly chronicles our culture's aesthetic imperative and argues persuasively that it is a vital component of a healthy forward-looking society.</p><p>Intelligent incisive and thought-provoking <em>The Substance of Style</em> is a groundbreaking portrait of the democratization of taste and a brilliant examination of the way we live now.</p>