ABSTRACT

Consumer research and consumer culture theory in particular have taken a keen interest in what consumers do together, in more or less structured groups. The notion of "vestaval" comes as a valuable addition to the conceptual tool kit available to researchers reporting on recent phenomena of collective appropriation of a public or private space. This chapter explores the concept what could be described as an ancient vestaval, brought up to date by individuals who take part in it around the Mediterranean: the passeggiata. The context of Mediterranean consumption provides some interesting contrasts with that of the English-speaking world and help researchers expand the concept of vestaval to facilitate its widespread adoption. Using three autoethnographies conducted during the passeggiata in Beirut, Marseille, and Milan, the chapter demonstrates how today's vestavals lie on the tenuous border between market and society, with participants clearly able to handle frequent crossings over that border, into what the researchers define as an oasis of slowness.