Subtle signs of class

[Anonymous]

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Nobody’s saying you have to buy antique furniture. It’s just that class is the subject of this thread. Also, reupholsters and refinishers (although preserving original patina is valued and is historically responsible) exist.

You don’t even realize that you’re STILL talking about Old Money WASP culture as if it’s the be all and end all. It’s not!

It is, however, the subject of this thread. Find a new thread if you don’t like this topic.

There are lots of rich people though.

What about Hollywood elite? Tech elite? Southern rich? Indian rich? Chinese rich?

None of them aspire to live like miserly WASPs.

Don’t waste your time PP. People have been trying to point this out for pages but a few posters refuse to move on from WASPs as the epitome of UC culture. There’s no other way of being rich in America

The funny thing is, most of their fortunes have dwindled over the generations and very very few of them are anywhere near as rich as the groups you mention.

It sounds like some of you are butthurt that your furniture isn’t considered upper class.

And yet you claim you don’t care about any of this.

So why on earth are you still here? Go outside and enjoy the warm weather before it rains.

To tell you the truth, I am offended that someone called me lower class because I bought some Stickley furniture. It is so rude and dumb.

Honestly, your furniture sounds lovely. Nobody called you lower class, but they did say it was middle class because you were putting it out there ats being upper class. That’s the risk we all take when we put personal stuff on DCUM, as we’ve all found out at one point or another.

I wasn’t though! Truly. People were talking about Pottery Barn and how it is overpriced and mass produced. I agree it is overpriced for what you for what you get (wood veneer). Someone asked “where can you buy real wood furniture” and I said we like Stickley. It’s all wood and hand made, not mass produced. That’s it, that’s all I said.

Then I get a bunch of so,Kent’s saying “snort” and “oh dear”. So I said, “what’s wrong with Stickley” because I was seriously not aware that is considered low class and it evolved from there.

You got replies like “snort” and “old dear” because you used the phrase “dining set” not because it’s Stickley (which I agree is nice).

Not quite. But let’s not reopen that.

I'm the "oh dear" PP, and yes, it was because you used the term "dining set". Nothing to do with Stickley. Dining set is just such a strange, and yes, middle-class, concept.

So what do you call a dining table and chairs?

DP. The dining room. If that’s not specific enough, the dining table or the dining chairs.

[Anonymous]

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Nobody’s saying you have to buy antique furniture. It’s just that class is the subject of this thread. Also, reupholsters and refinishers (although preserving original patina is valued and is historically responsible) exist.

You don’t even realize that you’re STILL talking about Old Money WASP culture as if it’s the be all and end all. It’s not!

It is, however, the subject of this thread. Find a new thread if you don’t like this topic.

There are lots of rich people though.

What about Hollywood elite? Tech elite? Southern rich? Indian rich? Chinese rich?

None of them aspire to live like miserly WASPs.

Don’t waste your time PP. People have been trying to point this out for pages but a few posters refuse to move on from WASPs as the epitome of UC culture. There’s no other way of being rich in America

The funny thing is, most of their fortunes have dwindled over the generations and very very few of them are anywhere near as rich as the groups you mention.

It sounds like some of you are butthurt that your furniture isn’t considered upper class.

And yet you claim you don’t care about any of this.

So why on earth are you still here? Go outside and enjoy the warm weather before it rains.

To tell you the truth, I am offended that someone called me lower class because I bought some Stickley furniture. It is so rude and dumb.

Honestly, your furniture sounds lovely. Nobody called you lower class, but they did say it was middle class because you were putting it out there ats being upper class. That’s the risk we all take when we put personal stuff on DCUM, as we’ve all found out at one point or another.

I wasn’t though! Truly. People were talking about Pottery Barn and how it is overpriced and mass produced. I agree it is overpriced for what you for what you get (wood veneer). Someone asked “where can you buy real wood furniture” and I said we like Stickley. It’s all wood and hand made, not mass produced. That’s it, that’s all I said.

Then I get a bunch of so,Kent’s saying “snort” and “oh dear”. So I said, “what’s wrong with Stickley” because I was seriously not aware that is considered low class and it evolved from there.

You got replies like “snort” and “old dear” because you used the phrase “dining set” not because it’s Stickley (which I agree is nice).

Not quite. But let’s not reopen that.

I'm the "oh dear" PP, and yes, it was because you used the term "dining set". Nothing to do with Stickley. Dining set is just such a strange, and yes, middle-class, concept.

So what do you call a dining table and chairs?

PP. A dining table and chairs.

[Anonymous]

This thread went from almost jumping the shark to fascinating again. What's fascinating to me is the extent to which people say they don't care about class, but then get offended to hear that something they like or do is MC. Maybe "class" is too value-laden of a term.

A lot of these subtleties, like whether you prefer to buy furniture in a set or have inherited and accumulated pieces individually, are things that tell you something about a person's family history. My parents are not WASPs. But we have been "well off" and considered a "good family" for multiple generations. In practical terms, for many people that translates to not having to furnish a household from nothing in a short period of time. And it's also reflected in taste preferences. To me, it just seems normal to buy each piece of furniture separately, and that's the look I prefer. IMHO, the Stickley set someone posted is perfectly lovely, it's just not to my taste to have matching chairs and table. I can't explain why.

I don't know what to say. If I were to describe my family, until recently I would have said upper echelons of UMC, because my parents work in professional jobs. But I've always noticed subtle differences between my parents preferences and those who were similarly well-off but didn't have the same multi-generational background of privilege. And I notice it between me and my friends and colleagues, most of whom did not grow up like I did. It in no way impacts whether I like or respect any of these people. It's just different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread went from almost jumping the shark to fascinating again. What's fascinating to me is the extent to which people say they don't care about class, but then get offended to hear that something they like or do is MC. Maybe "class" is too value-laden of a term.

A lot of these subtleties, like whether you prefer to buy furniture in a set or have inherited and accumulated pieces individually, are things that tell you something about a person's family history. My parents are not WASPs. But we have been "well off" and considered a "good family" for multiple generations. In practical terms, for many people that translates to not having to furnish a household from nothing in a short period of time. And it's also reflected in taste preferences. To me, it just seems normal to buy each piece of furniture separately, and that's the look I prefer. IMHO, the Stickley set someone posted is perfectly lovely, it's just not to my taste to have matching chairs and table. I can't explain why.

I don't know what to say. If I were to describe my family, until recently I would have said upper echelons of UMC, because my parents work in professional jobs. But I've always noticed subtle differences between my parents preferences and those who were similarly well-off but didn't have the same multi-generational background of privilege. And I notice it between me and my friends and colleagues, most of whom did not grow up like I did. It in no way impacts whether I like or respect any of these people. It's just different.

Really because I'm extremely bored by this whole post and the asinine "dining set" thing.

Question: Lindsay Lohan. Was once classy? Was never classy? What about when she was in The Parent Trap?

What about Anne Hathaway? She seems so stuck up yet also so annoying so I can't tell if that is classy.

Also, Lisa Vanderpump. Pros: accent, swans. Cons: cleavage, house is made of mall glass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread went from almost jumping the shark to fascinating again. What's fascinating to me is the extent to which people say they don't care about class, but then get offended to hear that something they like or do is MC. Maybe "class" is too value-laden of a term.

A lot of these subtleties, like whether you prefer to buy furniture in a set or have inherited and accumulated pieces individually, are things that tell you something about a person's family history. My parents are not WASPs. But we have been "well off" and considered a "good family" for multiple generations. In practical terms, for many people that translates to not having to furnish a household from nothing in a short period of time. And it's also reflected in taste preferences. To me, it just seems normal to buy each piece of furniture separately, and that's the look I prefer. IMHO, the Stickley set someone posted is perfectly lovely, it's just not to my taste to have matching chairs and table. I can't explain why.

I don't know what to say. If I were to describe my family, until recently I would have said upper echelons of UMC, because my parents work in professional jobs. But I've always noticed subtle differences between my parents preferences and those who were similarly well-off but didn't have the same multi-generational background of privilege. And I notice it between me and my friends and colleagues, most of whom did not grow up like I did. It in no way impacts whether I like or respect any of these people. It's just different.

Really because I'm extremely bored by this whole post and the asinine "dining set" thing.

Question: Lindsay Lohan. Was once classy? Was never classy? What about when she was in The Parent Trap?

What about Anne Hathaway? She seems so stuck up yet also so annoying so I can't tell if that is classy.

Also, Lisa Vanderpump. Pros: accent, swans. Cons: cleavage, house is made of mall glass.

You should probably go back to the Entertainment Forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget Mormon rich and influencer culture!

Some of those people make serious coin doing that.

...I grew up around some pretty affluent Mormon families. I have relatives who are big donors to BYU.

It is a world unto itself.

Can the Stickley posters shut up for a sec? I wanna hear this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread went from almost jumping the shark to fascinating again. What's fascinating to me is the extent to which people say they don't care about class, but then get offended to hear that something they like or do is MC. Maybe "class" is too value-laden of a term.

A lot of these subtleties, like whether you prefer to buy furniture in a set or have inherited and accumulated pieces individually, are things that tell you something about a person's family history. My parents are not WASPs. But we have been "well off" and considered a "good family" for multiple generations. In practical terms, for many people that translates to not having to furnish a household from nothing in a short period of time. And it's also reflected in taste preferences. To me, it just seems normal to buy each piece of furniture separately, and that's the look I prefer. IMHO, the Stickley set someone posted is perfectly lovely, it's just not to my taste to have matching chairs and table. I can't explain why.

I don't know what to say. If I were to describe my family, until recently I would have said upper echelons of UMC, because my parents work in professional jobs. But I've always noticed subtle differences between my parents preferences and those who were similarly well-off but didn't have the same multi-generational background of privilege. And I notice it between me and my friends and colleagues, most of whom did not grow up like I did. It in no way impacts whether I like or respect any of these people. It's just different.

Really because I'm extremely bored by this whole post and the asinine "dining set" thing.

Question: Lindsay Lohan. Was once classy? Was never classy? What about when she was in The Parent Trap?

What about Anne Hathaway? She seems so stuck up yet also so annoying so I can't tell if that is classy.

Also, Lisa Vanderpump. Pros: accent, swans. Cons: cleavage, house is made of mall glass.

Amen PP. I'll talk to you.

Lindsay -- nah. Praying to the gods of DCUM that her British twin from the Parent Trap is living a classier life, however we choose to define it today, though.

Anne Hathaway -- her PR team is working overtime to make "AH is classy" happen but it's fake. I'm sure she's nice and all, the imagine she projects seems so put on.

Lisa Vanderpump -- HA!

How about Countess Luann or Lisa Rinna? Or the RHOP ladies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget Mormon rich and influencer culture!

Some of those people make serious coin doing that.

...I grew up around some pretty affluent Mormon families. I have relatives who are big donors to BYU.

It is a world unto itself.

Can the Stickley posters shut up for a sec? I wanna hear this.

Yes--more on the world of affluent Mormons. I know one through work whose family is very prominent but know little of that world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Even buying a "set" with matching table and chairs (which is what I assumed you meant by "dining set") is a class marker. It's silly, maybe, but it is what it is. My parents did not inherit a lot, but they never bought sets. And they mixed-and-matched estate pieces with custom furniture. E.g. their dining room furniture is a mix of antique chairs that have been reupholstered and a custom dining table (Henredon and Baker, I think, but I'm not sure).

So your parents furniture doesn’t match (and is probably looking worn). What about YOUR furniture? You’re an adult. Time to stop talking about what your parents have

Not sure why the hostility. My parents have 12 matching, antique dining room chairs (two with arms) that are reupholstered. I think the patina might be original, but either way the finish is almost perfect. They paid quite a premium for that at auction. PP asked a question about why people were suggesting that a "dining set" is a class indicator, and I'm explaining. I don't think it's better...it just is what it is.

The majority of my furniture is new or used but not antique. I like cleaner lines than what my parents like. But I also don't like matching sets (maybe because of how I grew up), so the pieces have been purchased individually. Like Stacey and Clinton from WNTW, they don't match, they "go".

I don't really care about any of this, but I am aware that people notice these things. And it is a class advantage to have been raised in a certain way that defines your tastes etc. That advantage matters more in some settings than others. If it doesn't matter to your life or job, NBD. But it matters in politics, so it matters to a lot of people in DC.

You can learn all this “classy” stuff from an ikea catalogue. They don’t do sets either.

[Anonymous]

So if that Stickley poster had just said “dining table and chairs” instead of “dining set” the past five pages could have been avoided????

Why didn’t you just tell her that she shouldn’t use the phrase “set” instead of making her think the problem is her furniture.

[Anonymous]

So UC does like to match.

I thought it was the talking about the price.

Or the things being on sale.

[Anonymous]

*DOESN’T

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Decor from other countries, not decor from TJ Maxx.

Not even the TJ Maxx in Georgetown? What about items made in China?

[Anonymous]

Vacation spots: if you can’t even consider going there because so expensive that’s the UC hangout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Generally, yes. Books are a definite sign of class as is a tasteful home. Clean and calm and smells fresh (like outside fresh not plug-ins stink).

Rows of mass market paperbacks by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, et al are not signs of class. If anything they signal a limited sphere of knowledge.

Stephen King is actually one of the best writers of his generation. Snobs don’t recognize his skill.

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