EVOLUTION

BRANDS' MARKUPS ALLOW HUGE RENTS, WHICH RAISE ALL RENTS: WHEN OWNERS OF TRADITIONAL SHOPS RETIRE, 

MERCHANTS OF COMPARABLE SPIRIT LACK THE MEANS TO REPLACE THEM

Take what used to be a historic café, where furious debates took place during the Revolution and Napoleon became a client. Until 2016 it remained a restaurant, where life sized engravings of Louis-Philippe's family* lined the walls. 

* The head of the Bourbon junior branch. Its connection with the site is explained here.

Zoom

The gardens are reflected in the window.

Those below are much less impressive, but give the idea:  

 

Engravings sold on the web 

That place now harbors a brand... 

Their cost, in 2019; the list is no longer posted, but prices appear on the web.

Or is silent.

 

# # #

Traditional luxury is produced

 on a small scale in owners' workshops

or in countries where regulation is relatively strict.

It costs the same or less than mass-produced brands,

and its price / quality ratio is infinitely better. 

Here there are still a few shops

where luxury is real and worth its cost.

*     *     *

Next,

The ambiance of a Balzac novel