Very Important People

Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit

By: Ashley Mears

Narrated by: Mia Barron

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

A sociologist and former fashion model takes listeners inside the elite global party circuit of "models and bottles" to reveal how beautiful young women are used to boost the status of men.

Million-dollar birthday parties, megayachts on the French Riviera, and $40,000 bottles of champagne. In today's New Gilded Age, the world's moneyed classes have taken conspicuous consumption to new extremes. In Very Important People, sociologist, author, and former fashion model Ashley Mears takes listeners inside the exclusive global nightclub and party circuit - from New York City and the Hamptons to Miami and Saint-Tropez - to reveal the intricate economy of beauty, status, and money that lies behind these spectacular displays of wealth and leisure.

Mears spent 18 months in this world of "models and bottles" to write this captivating, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking narrative. She describes how clubs and restaurants pay promoters to recruit beautiful young women to their venues in order to attract men and get them to spend huge sums in the ritual of bottle service. These "girls" enhance the status of the men and enrich club owners, exchanging their bodily capital for as little as free drinks and a chance to party with men who are rich or aspire to be. Though they are priceless assets in the party circuit, these women are regarded as worthless as long-term relationship prospects, and their bodies are constantly assessed against men's money.

A story of extreme gender inequality in a seductive world, Very Important People unveils troubling realities behind moneyed leisure in an age of record economic disparity.

©2020 Ashley Mears (P)2020 Recorded Books

I liked it.

I didnt know this type of world existed. It was really interesting to hear. !

an excellent story but a little cynical

The book had a very Marxist view that value creation is always exploitation and seem to suggest a lack of agency from women, many of which probably understand this world and choose to participate in it willingly. The speaker was excellent.

Great

Tell you about night life and it’s secrets it is a very great book to learn how to network

Fascinating but very repetitive

Fascinating look into this world, but it told essentially the same stories over and over with slight variations. The same points are also made over and over. I suppose that makes for good entertainment, but if you just want the key points it's a far too laborious.

Sneak peek into "models and bottles"

A 31-year old sociology professor travels with high profile club promoters for about 2 years and tells us all about the promoters' job and lifestyle, "whales" and very rich clients, and "girls" aka models (attractive, tall, slender females) who provide the attractive backdrop.

The narrator was great. The story felt repetitive even though the author was highlighting different parts of the club lifestyle. There's just so many times you can hear "attractive" and "models" before you feel like you're reading some American Psycho babble.

The book seems to higlight what it's like to be a promoter. We only get about a chapter focusing on the models and their attitude towards the whole arrangement. Lastly, we hear little to nothing from the "clients" or the high profile rich people who make this whole book even possible. Seems like the party circuit is just so clubs can sell champagne at 1000% markups to rich white men or Saudis.

From what I gathered, the promoters get paid by the club to bring 10-15 models that sit around VIPs tables and provide attractive ambiance. The models get free meals at expensive restaurants and access to the clubs but, other than that, they dont receive cash for appearing at the club, nor are they expected to sleep around with any of the clients (sure jan). The models are expected to be available about 4 nights a week from 5pm-3am. It's an interesting read for sure ... it just feels like you're listening to the same thing but said in different ways after a few hours.

Wow this is a crazy environment

* Ok, book is about the nightlife and extravagant people in clubs specially in Vegas, LA and NY it’s crazy just read it

Great research and enjoyed reading

Fascinating read! I live to learn about the history of human behaviors. This rounded out my education on EDM clubs. Thank you!

great as always

i have really enjoyed this second book by Ashley. I was continuously fascinated by her choice of words and language to accuratbel label the social interactions for what they truly were. I learned a new perspective and settled some of my older myths about night life. thanks for the detailed expose!

Crazy!

Very thought provoking and absolutely brutally honest. There were times the info was downright depressing but it’s crazy to understand more the lives of people in high society and how shallow it can all be

Fair and interesting treatment

An intimate but fair portrait of the people in this secretive and exclusive world. Very interesting to see this sexy world through an academic lens.