GEW Social Sciences Group

Luxury consumption among Gulf women is often portrayed through clichés of wealth and excess. Gulf Glamourchallenges these assumptions by presenting luxury as a sophisticated social practice rooted in history, culture, gender relations, and economic transformation. Through eleven thematic chapters, the book investigates the symbolic dimensions of luxury in the Gulf. It demonstrates how handbags, jewellery, fragrances, designer clothing, hospitality, and digital self-presentation become tools through which women communicate prestige, elegance, belonging, and aspiration.
The book analyses the influence of education, professional achievement, inherited wealth, entrepreneurship, and social media on female purchasing behaviour. It also examines how Gulf women adapt international luxury trends to local expectations concerning modesty, family honour, and cultural authenticity. Far from being passive consumers, women appear here as influential decision-makers, trend interpreters, and creators of new aesthetic norms.
Their choices shape retail spaces, redefine luxury experiences, and contribute to the evolution of global brands operating within Gulf societies. Combining perspectives from sociology, anthropology, consumer psychology, and gender studies, Gulf Glamour provides readers with a deeper understanding of contemporary Gulf lifestyles and emerging patterns of social distinction. Whether you are interested in luxury marketing, Middle Eastern societies, women's studies, or the future of global consumer cultures, this book offers an illuminating and timely perspective on one of the most fascinating transformations taking place in the twenty-first century.