How the Other Half Parties: Distinction and Display among the Jet Set

This paper presents fieldwork among the international jet set in VIP parties to understand how members of the new elite signal status to each other.  After first documenting the global calendar of jet set destinations from New York, Miami, the Hamptons, and the French Riviera, I next argue that the VIP club stages a gendered arena for rituals of display and conspicuous waste.  Finally, I analyze the culture of VIP space, which is predicated on ostentation, exclusivity, and women as decoration. I conclude with implications for class consolidation, since accessing the jet set is one important way to establish and maintain economic power.