While doing our yearly Diwali cleaning last month, my husband and I got talking about what luxury means to us. For the first time, neither of our answers matched what the world typically associates with the word. For us, luxury looked a lot less like status and a lot more like comfort, convenience, and unfettered little moments of joy.

Somewhere along the way, luxury has been rebranded into something performative—something you’re supposed to display, not experience. Brands now dictate what luxury should mean, the best example being the curious case of the “Hermès purchase history": buying things you don’t really want or need just to “build credit" and be deemed worthy of a Birkin or a Kelly. I say this as someone who appreciates beautiful things—but the irony isn’t lost on me.

We chase luxury like a treasure hunt, without noticing that some of the richest treasures in our lives have nothing to do with waitlists or sales associates.

The sound of my dogs........

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