For millennials, fancy cookware has become a signifier that you’ve got your act together
In south Louisiana, a handed-down cast-iron skillet that’s been seasoned by years of use might be the perfect indicator that you know what you’re doing around the kitchen. But for younger generations, those cast-iron skillets are part of a collection of cookware items that signify not just their know-how in the kitchen, but also increasingly their sophistication and domestic stability.
Sure, they might still be renting their home, but their kitchen cabinets are tricked out with Le Creuset skillets and Dutch ovens—all in matching colors, of course—and expensive limited edition KitchenAid mixers.
A recent story from The Atlantic explained the curious trend of marketing high-end kitchen gadgets to millennials. The generation that’s facing an uphill battle in homeownership and paying off student debt is also increasingly more likely to buy such cookware tools even if they are also more likely to dine out than older generations.
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They’ve had to reimagine what stability might look like in this economy. Older generations might have opted for waiting until they were married to invest in pricey kitchen items—or just put them on their wedding registries. But millennials are putting off marriage for later and making those domestic investments now.
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