I was an unwilling witness to an ugly scene last Saturday. I was meeting a friend for lunch at The Gallery in Selfridges. I was a bit early so I decided to go browse the accessories at Chanel on the ground floor to kill time. While I was ogling part of the Chanel-Londres Metier d'Art Collection, an ugly scene played out before my incredulous eyes. Two women were in the process of making a purchase when one of the women started shrieking "How rude! I can't believe you would say such a thing! It's rude to suggest that my husband should buy it for me as an anniversary present! Soon her friend chimed in: "Your comment will be reported to head office! I hope you get fired for this! You deserve to be fired! How rude!" The women departed in a loud, belligerent huff but their aura lingered on for considerably longer (probably because they continued to bellow their discontent as they stomped across the ground floor on their way out of the store).
I personally am not absolutely certain what it was about the anniversary suggestion that was so offensive as to warrant that kind of irate verbal rampage. One of the women was pushing a pram at least making the possibility of a wedding anniversary plausible. To be fair, perhaps the individuals in question had personal circumstances that would make the salesperson's suggestion difficult to accept or inadvertently hurtful - a divorce or the death of a would-be husband for instance. Or, maybe they were a lesbian couple. Or, a couple of hard-working professionals who can buy their own accessories thank-you-very-much. Who knows? Still, aren't there more effective low-key ways to manifest one's displeasure than by screaming menacingly in someone's face for the world to hear? To her credit, the Chanel salesperson handled it with surprising dignity given that the shrieking was accompanied with flailing arms and menacing finger pointing that underscored the belligerence of the customers' tone and manner.
The incident stuck with me for some reason and I found myself thinking about it when I woke up on Sunday morning. Regardless of whether the statement triggering the reaction was objectively offensive or not, it was the tone of the exchange that I found disturbing. It was also the context. It's not the first time I've witnessed the wealthy behaving badly - money buys things not class. Yet, I'm pretty sure that a similar incident at a football match would not have elicited the same reaction in me. Something about the location and the context made it seem all the more inappropriate. This sentiment taps into the unquantifiable and complex element of the luxury experience that too often gets overlooked. Luxury, more than the label, more than the materials that make up the product and certainly more than the price tag associated with it, is a state of mind. The refinement of the physical environment but also the manner in which an exchange takes place is an elusive but essential component of that state of mind. The scene I witnessed, through no fault of Chanel's or Selfrides', ruined that state of mind for me (albeit temporarily). I couldn't have enjoyed browsing the collection if I had wanted to after witnessing that awful scene let alone make a purchase. It's as though the ugliness of the encounter had literally rubbed off on the beautiful accessories. Quel dommage.
Sincerely,
The Luxe Chronicles
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