The book investigates how popular media shapes consumer perceptions of taste, fashion, and social identity. It examines the role of media texts in influencing audiences to construct their lifestyles and defining appropriate lifestyles for specific social groups. The work utilizes contemporary examples to illustrate how engaging with lifestyle media, such as make-over television or celebrity chef cookbooks, are significant cultural practices for developing ideas about taste, status, and identity.

The book is positioned as essential reading for students in media and cultural studies, as well as for individuals interested in the media's impact on daily life. The contributors highlight that engaging with lifestyle media constitutes significant cultural practices through which individuals explore their taste, status, and identity. The work aims to open up the complex processes that shape our taste and forge identities, suggesting these media demand serious attention. It is framed as a text that provides pleasure through viewing, reading, and listening while also offering critical insight.