Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit

by Ashley Mears

Overview

A sociologist and former fashion model takes readers inside the elite global party circuit of "models and bottles" to reveal how beautiful young women are used to boost the status of men

Million-dollar birthday parties, megayachts on the French Riviera, and $40,000 bottles of champagne. In today's New Gilded Age, the world's moneyed classes have taken conspicuous consumption to new extremes. In Very Important People, sociologist, author, and former fashion model Ashley Mears takes readers inside the exclusive global nightclub and party circuit—from New York City and the Hamptons to Miami and Saint-Tropez—to reveal the intricate economy of beauty, status, and money that lies behind these spectacular displays of wealth and leisure.

Mears spent eighteen months in this world of "models and bottles" to write this captivating, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking narrative. She describes how clubs and restaurants pay promoters to recruit beautiful young women to their venues in order to attract men and get them to spend huge sums in the ritual of bottle service. These "girls" enhance the status of the men and enrich club owners, exchanging their bodily capital for as little as free drinks and a chance to party with men who are rich or aspire to be. Though they are priceless assets in the party circuit, these women are regarded as worthless as long-term relationship prospects, and their bodies are constantly assessed against men's money.

A story of extreme gender inequality in a seductive world, Very Important People unveils troubling realities behind moneyed leisure in an age of record economic disparity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691227054
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	08/31/2021
Pages:	328
Sales rank:	429,656
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ashley Mears is associate professor in the Department of Sociology and in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Boston University. She is the author of Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model. Her writings have appeared in the New York Times, Elle, and other publications. She lives in Boston.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Prologue xi

1 We Are the Cool People 1

2 Daytime 40

3 The Potlatch 66

4 Trafficking at Model Camp 104

5 Who Runs the Girls? 148

6 Started from the Bottom 210

7 Closure 235

Research Appendix 245

Notes 251

References 277

Index 293

Discussion Questions 302

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“With sharp analytical insight and riveting evidence, Ashley Mears takes us backstage into the glamorous global world of parties and nightclubs. Behind the flowing bottles of Dom Pérignon and other displays of extreme wealth, Mears reveals an intricate social web connecting enterprising party promoters, rich clients, and beautiful women. Updating Veblen for the twenty-first century, Very Important People makes crucial contributions to our understanding of consumption and more broadly to economic sociology.”—Viviana A. Zelizer, author of Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy

“This fascinating book provides an eye-opening account of how beautiful ‘girls’—unpaid models—are shuttled by promoters around the globe to provide atmosphere in elite clubs for rich men. In a gripping narrative, Mears vividly describes the lavish consumption of elites to illuminate, in a fresh way, how gender works in daily life. Highly recommended.”—Annette Lareau, author of Unequal Childhoods

"Ashley Mears's page-turning account of the VIP global party circuit is simply terrific. In a snappy narrative, Mears takes readers into a world that is equal parts thrilling and heartbreaking, doused with moments that are by turn laugh-out-loud funny and tragically sad. No one but Mears could have written this book. The research is heroic and fearless, and the access it required was nearly impossible."—David Grazian, author of On the Make: The Hustle of Urban Nightlife

"A rich exposé of the elite party circuit written in a lively style, Very Important People is like a night out on the town with a glamorous, insightful guide."—James Farrer, coauthor of Shanghai Nightscapes: A Nocturnal Biography of a Global City

Editorial Reviews

One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership

"Honorable Mention for the Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award, Consumers and Consumption Section of the American Sociological Association"

From the Publisher

"Riveting. . . . Mears is an excellent storyteller, resulting in a book that’s well-informed and critical but also animated and engaging."

Tatler