Masstige...

In the book, Trading Up, the authors talk about American consumers' desire to feel "special" by treating themselves to a luxury in a category they value. It might be Starbucks vs. McDonalds coffee...or "I only buy Hondas" or whatever they feel is important (Viking ranges, WEber grills, etc.)

They talk about the concept of "Masstige" or "Mass Prestige" where someone with ostensible high class brings products to the masses. You see this at Target a lot and Martha Stewart in Kmart.

Today, my hygienist told me that she only buys "Ralph Lauren" paint from Home Depot.

I'm sure it's extremely high quality, but it's just interesting how Ralph Lauren has put his name on paint and put it in a place of mass consumerism like Home Depot. It's just a trifecta I would not have guessed would have existed.