Veblen at the Boat Show: Anthropologist Wanted

Before “flexing” was flexing, there was Thornstein Veblen. He identified social signals and flexes long before Silicon Valley knew what a Patagonia sleeveless vest was, and certainly before executives ditched neckties for hoodies, in the ultimate workplace flex. 

Veblen actually lived in Silicon Valley before the silicon, with an address no less prestigious than on Sand Hill Road. But of course, back then, before it became the global headquarters for venture capital, Sand Hill Road was better known for just, well, sand. 

So we wonder what the author of The Theory of the Leisure Class would have said if he visited a boat show? Thornstein Veblen coined the phrase “conspicuous consumption,” and we can’t think of consumption more conspicuous than at a boat show. 

If you’re looking for social signals and flexes, then look no further than your local boat show – whether that be in Annapolis, the SF Bay Area, Florida, or Monaco. Peacocking and popped collars are part of the show – whether you go sockless when you wear your loafers or put on socks with embroidered sailboats, whether you wear a pink golf shirt or prefer a yachty blue blazer – boat shows are the place to see styles and fashions that are a world unto themselves. Not to mention the one-upsmanship of the boats at the boat show, where worth is measured by LOA – Length Overall. 

That’s why Sailicon Valley is searching for an anthropologist to accompany us on an assignment in Annapolis – the town with not only one but two Helly Hansen stores on the same block. Think Bill Cunningham in the wilds of the Upper East Side, David Attenborough peering at peacocks, or National Geographic does the docks. 

We’ll be at the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October documenting the wildlife. Will you be there? 

This is a serious ad for an anthropologist. Know someone we should be talking to about this? Hit us up.