Things that are unintentional status symbols.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having chickens in your yard.

Wrong status. Says poverty.

You're correct if the person is selling the eggs to earn pin money.

You're wrong if it's a "hobby" and and the "hobbyist" bought the $1,500 Williams & Sonoma chicken coop: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/agrarian-garden/agrarian-garden-chicken-coops/?page=viewall&bnrid=3152401&cm_ven=BrandSearch&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=BrandGenericAgrarian&cm_ite=williams+and+sonoma+chicken+coop&OVMTC=Exact&site=&creative=23761413505&OVKEY=williams%20and%20sonoma%20chicken%20coop&url_id=146851821&adpos=1t1&device=c&devicemodel= . Bonus points if the lawn service cleans it for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the obsession with "old money" is so weird. Many people on this forum speak about it as though these people are morally superior to others with less money or, even worse, new money. Which is funny considering the number of a$$holes that I know who would be considered "old money."

IMO, to the extent there's interest in old money, it's because it's quiet and doesn't flaunt status symbols. Most of them drive old cars, vacation quietly on the Cape instead of in places where People magazine is likely to take their pics, and they live quietly in their Beacon Hill houses instead of McMansions. You're right, of course, they are just as likely to be jerks as anybody else - but that's not what's being "admired" here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars.

Rich people drive Mercedes Benz.

Poor people don't.

They drive Kias.

Or Hyundais.

Or Honda Odysseys.

Ridiculous. We have millions and drive a Prius and a Honda.

+1. Rich people drive all kinds of cars. Old money drives Priuses and Hondas. New Money drives Mercedes Benzes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A spot-on description of old money by Jeffrey Eugenides, from "The Marriage Plot":

The Hannas' house was a hundred-year-old Tudor, fronted by London plane trees and dying hemlocks. Inside, everything was tasteful and half falling apart. The Oriental carpets had stains. The brick-red kitchen linoleum was thirty years old. When Mitchell used the powder room, he saw that the toilet paper dispenser had been repaired with Scotch tape. So had the peeling wallpaper in the kitchen. Mitchell had encountered shabby gentility before, but here was Wasp thrift in its purest form. The plaster ceilings sagged alarmingly. Vestigial burglar alarms sprouted from the walls. The knob-and-tube wiring sent flames out of the lighting sockets when you unplugged anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having chickens in your yard.

Wrong status. Says poverty.

You're correct if the person is selling the eggs to earn pin money.

You're wrong if it's a "hobby" and and the "hobbyist" bought the $1,500 Williams & Sonoma chicken coop: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/agrarian-garden/agrarian-garden-chicken-coops/?page=viewall&bnrid=3152401&cm_ven=BrandSearch&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=BrandGenericAgrarian&cm_ite=williams+and+sonoma+chicken+coop&OVMTC=Exact&site=&creative=23761413505&OVKEY=williams%20and%20sonoma%20chicken%20coop&url_id=146851821&adpos=1t1&device=c&devicemodel= . Bonus points if the lawn service cleans it for you.

PP again. Should say that the $1,500 chicken coop is, of course, an intentional status symbol rather than an unintentional one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the obsession with "old money" is so weird. Many people on this forum speak about it as though these people are morally superior to others with less money or, even worse, new money. Which is funny considering the number of a$$holes that I know who would be considered "old money."

IMO, to the extent there's interest in old money, it's because it's quiet and doesn't flaunt status symbols. Most of them drive old cars, vacation quietly on the Cape instead of in places where People magazine is likely to take their pics, and they live quietly in their Beacon Hill houses instead of McMansions. You're right, of course, they are just as likely to be jerks as anybody else - but that's not what's being "admired" here.

IMO, it isn't quiet. People drop not so subtle hints about it all of the time. I find the fascination with it very strange. Just people who happened to be born lucky. Most couldn't produce the same lifestyle today on their own if they had to do so. A lot of laziness. And alcohol/drugs. I don't see much to admire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars.

Rich people drive Mercedes Benz.

Poor people don't.

They drive Kias.

Or Hyundais.

Or Honda Odysseys.

Ridiculous. We have millions and drive a Prius and a Honda.

Wrong. Totally wrong. Prius is trying wayyyy to hard to be eco and no real prep drives any asian-brand car. The car has to be European or American (trucks, SUVs, like Wagoneers).

True preps drive old, old mercedes station wagons and old tank-like Volvos and old Saabs and wood panelled Wagoneers. Of course, your car cant always be old so the key is you pat cash for a nivce, new European sedan or American SUV and drive it for at least 13 years but more like 25 years if you can.


+1. Rich people drive all kinds of cars. Old money drives Priuses and Hondas. New Money drives Mercedes Benzes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars.

Rich people drive Mercedes Benz.

Poor people don't.

They drive Kias.

Or Hyundais.

Or Honda Odysseys.

Ridiculous. We have millions and drive a Prius and a Honda.

+1. Rich people drive all kinds of cars. Old money drives Priuses and Hondas. New Money drives Mercedes Benzes.

Wrong. Totally wrong. Prius is trying wayyyy to hard to be eco and no real prep drives any asian-brand car. The car has to be European or American (trucks, SUVs, like Wagoneers).

True preps drive old, old mercedes station wagons and old tank-like Volvos and old Saabs and wood panelled Wagoneers. Of course, your car cant always be old so the key is you pat cash for a nivce, new European sedan or American SUV and drive it for at least 13 years but more like 25 years if you can.

[Anonymous]

I think special diets in general. It takes a certain kind of privilege to willingly forgo food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars.

Rich people drive Mercedes Benz.

Poor people don't.

They drive Kias.

Or Hyundais.

Or Honda Odysseys.

Ridiculous. We have millions and drive a Prius and a Honda.

+1. Rich people drive all kinds of cars. Old money drives Priuses and Hondas. New Money drives Mercedes Benzes.

Wrong. Totally wrong. Prius is trying wayyyy to hard to be eco and no real prep drives any asian-brand car. The car has to be European or American (trucks, SUVs, like Wagoneers).

True preps drive old, old mercedes station wagons and old tank-like Volvos and old Saabs and wood panelled Wagoneers. Of course, your car cant always be old so the key is you pat cash for a nivce, new European sedan or American SUV and drive it for at least 13 years but more like 25 years if you can.

C'mon. I know old money that cares about the environment. And the whole Volvo/Saab thing has become so cliched (like men's pants with whales or ducks on them) that even old money is moving off these brands of cars.

(Not to mention, it's been hard to get Saab parts for your 10-year-old Saab ever since the company went out of business. Ask me how I know.)

[Anonymous]

Yes I have to laugh at a friend of mine who goes to silly lengths not to drive an Asian car. She actually doesn't have much money currently, but will come into some eventually. It would make much more sense for her to drive a reliable Honda or Toyota, but she always buys used European cars that are always (expensively) in the shop.

Old money is discreet in some ways, but the word Harvard always comes up in conversation. Not all legacies are dumb though - all three of her kids also went to Harvard and are very bright and actually doing good things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes I have to laugh at a friend of mine who goes to silly lengths not to drive an Asian car. She actually doesn't have much money currently, but will come into some eventually. It would make much more sense for her to drive a reliable Honda or Toyota, but she always buys used European cars that are always (expensively) in the shop.

Old money is discreet in some ways, but the word Harvard always comes up in conversation. Not all legacies are dumb though - all three of her kids also went to Harvard and are very bright and actually doing good things.

No, the word Harvard doesn't always come up in conversation with old money - because a lot of them went to Middlebury and Bates instead. Legacy is no longer the admissions guarantee that it used to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being a good skier.

Straight teeth.

Dietary requirements.

I agree with this except for dietary requirements. I think the opposite: being able to eat anything in moderation, drink and function, smoke a cigarette occasionally when with prep school friends and still look attractive and not be self conscious at all. "Grandmother smoked and drank gin until she was 92"

PP here. I mean, "gluten intolerant," "vegan," etc.

You know gluten intolerance is a real health problem, right?

For less than 1% of the population, which is far, far less than the amount of people who go gluten-free to mask their subtle eating disorders into socially acceptable habits.

False. It is just under 1% specifically for celiac - percentage is much higher for the broader spectrum of gluten sensitivities.

Though I'll grant you it could be an unintentional status symbol, as getting diagnosed takes time and good medical care, and the GF diet is frequently more expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes I have to laugh at a friend of mine who goes to silly lengths not to drive an Asian car. She actually doesn't have much money currently, but will come into some eventually. It would make much more sense for her to drive a reliable Honda or Toyota, but she always buys used European cars that are always (expensively) in the shop.

Old money is discreet in some ways, but the word Harvard always comes up in conversation. Not all legacies are dumb though - all three of her kids also went to Harvard and are very bright and actually doing good things.

I'm sorry, but it sounds like you're describing a person who read the books on old money, and wants to identify with old money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think special diets in general. It takes a certain kind of privilege to willingly forgo food.

What makes you think all people on special diets actually want to be on those special diets? Some people don't eat food that will kill them.