146. Haute bourgeoisie

From, Made Better in Japan, by Tom Downey, 1/27/12, The Wall Street Journal:

“During the robust economy of the 80’s, Japan’s exports ruled, and the country would import the best that money could buy from the rest of the globe, including Italian chefs and French sommeliers. Which made Japan an haute bourgeoisie heaven where luxury manufacturers from the West expected skyrocketing sales forever.”

Haute: elegant or high class

Bourgeoisie: the middle class in society [typically referring to its perceived materialistic values]