I saw it in Denver a lot. With the mountain casual look dominating local fashion, and small bungalows selling for $300,000 and up, displays of wealth wasn't always obvious. You could see it reflected in expensive SUVs, choice of music (usually smooth jazz), home appliances and hardware (commercial refrigerators and stoves, European washing machines and dryers, elaborate sinks and faucets), entertainment (expensive restaurants with "bistro," "trattoria," or "New American Grill" in the name), and certain things dropped in casual conversation (mentioning condos in Vail, personal trainers, adventure vacations in Africa or Antarctica, and so on).
It was a hoot going to open houses in Denver, and seeing Sub-Zero refrigerators, Viking ovens, Miele dishwashers and $3,000 microfiber slipcover couches in 750 square foot bungalows. Oh ... stereo softly playing the local smooth jazz station, of course.
I also encountered upward mobility at dog parks, of all places. Labs dominated the Denver dog scene, but many weren't ordinary Labs. They were either "field Labs" or "show Labs," and people would talk about their pedigrees, or sending them away to spcial gun dog training camps. Only in Denver did many people recognize the breed of Bailey; Portuguese Water Dogs were considered a "yuppie puppy" and a fashionable breed for the upwardly mobile. "How much did you pay for her" was the most frequent question.
The big difference between someone who might just be upper middle class and the pretentious new-money Denverites was that the new money folks had no concept of dimishing returns. Does a $2,000 dishwasher imported fron Switzerland really get dishes four times cleaner than a normally high-end $500 KitchenAid dishwasher? Is the organic free range chicken at Whole Foods that much better than the chicken at King Soopers? Is a $100 bottle of wine distinctly five times better than an otherwise well-regarded $20 bottle? Is a $5,000 amplifier ten times better than an otherwise audio-hile quality $500 NAD or Adcom amp?
