For nouveau riche only

This quarterly magazine, another title that aims to expand the Robb Report brand, is aimed at those who don’t have to bother to ask, “How much will it cost to have that plasma-screen TV embedded in the footboard of the bed?” Think Town & Country meets Donald Trump -- stinking rich, but maybe not so classy.

The magazine clearly targets the nouveau riche male -- one with too much money and too little taste. There are articles on home urinals, game rooms, fancy recliners, even a cigarette lighter collection. Issue No. 2, winter 2005, features Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ garish hangout space next to his business office -- a study in ostentatious teak tackiness.

An editor’s note insists “luxury is in the details, not the price tag,” but the magazine’s goal seems to be to get cash-flush readers to spend, spend, spend while showing plenty of merchandise in rooms starkly devoid of people. I kept checking to see if a page was marked “advertisement” because the line between ad copy and stories is so thin. Most stories fill only one page and end with handy phone numbers and websites where products can be purchased.

Yes, money can buy a lot of cool stuff, even an 18-head shower. But this showcase for such obscene wealth makes one age-old axiom perfectly clear: Class still isn’t for sale.

-- Samantha Bonar