What things do you see and think are just pretentious?

[SneakyGremlins]

For me it's cafés with "no WiFi here, talk to each other!" signs.

A) I'll probably go elsewhere thanks

B) My best friend likes to sit on his phone anyway because they don't realise mobile data exists.

I just find it so wanky - if I'm going out to spend money on a drink and several pieces of cake then I'm going out to relax. If I want to be on my phone then I will be.

I love my hunters. They’re the only wellies I’ve ever had that haven’t left me blistered to crap. And I’ve got a pair that are bright turquoise

MissLanesAmericanCousin Thanks for the tip! I have eyeshadows that fade so quickly it's ridiculous, I also have eyeshadows that look perfect 12 hours later! (Revolution Re-Loaded palettes, I don't know what they put in them, but they are magic, and they're £4!) I have an UD eyeshadow primer and setting spray that I got as free samples with an order, so I'm going to try them with the magically disappearing shadows. I don't find creasing that much of an issue (luckily.) L'Oreal are my go to for eyeliners that stay put, as are CYO (Boots own brand,) both are fairly cheap but they do what I need them to.

You are lucky to have NYX in your supermarkets, I highly suggest you try some of their stuff, I really like them.

Those lists that say "Things you must do before 20/30/40!" Oh do piss off!

Vegans and hipsters. Ever so pretentious and over sensitive(mostly in the case of hipsters)...a lot of them are snowflakes.
There are those who put on the whole sensitive 'woke' act..yeah yeah we know you're desperate to get laid. You're not fooling anyone but yourself.

Londoners buying properties in Cornwall(pricing local people out of the market) and trying to colonize and also outprice locals in parts of Bristol.
B**r off!!!!@

The sensitive 'woke' act being the men I mean.

I was once had friends who were the epitome of pretentiousness. They would post endlessly about their expensive steak knives, square plates and they once invited a mutual friend for dinner just so they could talk about their new fire place. They also believed their daughter was a genius at under a year old who had a penchant for classical music and the STEM subjects.
They always seemed really odd and desperate at times. They wanted to be seen with the "right" type of people. My DP wasn't even on their radar until he had his Phd.
If people are pretentious because they enjoy It, good for them. If people are pretentious in a "keeping up with the Jones's " way, I pity them.

Interesting to see other people’s opinions.

I’m surprised to see the number of people saying that personalised license plates are pretentious because I always thought they were rather common. Sadly, I now have one as DH was having trouble with birthday present ideas a few years ago.

Me circa 1997. I was a pretentious twat of a student, studying French - took a course in Erotic French Literature which we used to read out loud and talk about in French in my tutor's study. I smoked filter-lessss Gauloises and only watched films from the French New Wave. Knobber.

Zut alors choccky

Oops meant to add if find the use of ‘meh’ whether spoken or written pretentious and dismissive and self important. Not wholly sure I should - think may be irrational but I really hate it.
Perhaps I should be more ‘meh’ about it

Choccy, You win. None of us can compete with that, our fireplaces and steak knives are as nothing by comparison. Bonnet de douche.

Hunter wellie are the only ones which fit my legs and feet. Others are too baggy round the legs and ankles, and way too wide in the foot - I've sent countless other pairs back. If you buy Hunter Norris as opposed to the festival version, I reckon that takes you just back the other side of pretentiousness

The reason the vast majority of Range Rovers are white is because it's the cheapest colour of car paint used on cars for the lease market. If you go into a RR showroom and want to lease one then you can only really get white, red or black.

Choccy J'etais un peu comme ca vers 1997. La honte .

To refer back to the OP. "No wi-fi Here" signs aren't pretentious. They are simply advertising a service - or lack of one - that appeals to some people. Me included. I hate sitting in a cafe surrounded by self hypnotised arseholes staring at their phones, checking their Instagram / Facebook / whatevers. Vicariously living other people's lives while missing out on their own.

If you want Pretentious (with a capitol P) hang about with some film students and teenage wannabee actors for a few days. All else pales in comparison.

OT - Is there any French literature that ISN'T erotic?

There's a running gag in my family that I only read French Comic books for the tits. (Is reading French Comic books pretentious?)

And here's a (safe for work) comic strip I drew on that very subject:
www.flickr.com/photos/junkmonkey/27227328543/in/photolist-HtZbc2-6YpcfF-6Ypcna

I hate sitting in a cafe surrounded by self hypnotised arseholes staring at their phones, checking their Instagram / Facebook / whatevers. Vicariously living other people's lives while missing out on their own.

Assuming everyone else is a hypnotised zombie while you, and you alone, are really living, is very pretentious.

How do you know they're not reading the world news, chatting to far-away family or doing their Tesco shop?

I think Hunter wellies are a perfect demonstration of the fact that it isn't just an object that is pretentious - it is the intention of the buyer too. If you wear wellies a lot, it makes sense to buy the sturdiest, most comfortable, most durable ones you can - and if that is Hunter wellies, then your purchase and use of them is sensible and not pretentious at all.

If, however, you are just buying them because of the label, and they will barely ever see mud (or only at Glastonbury), that is pretentious.

How do you know they're not reading the world news, chatting to far-away family or doing their Tesco shop?

I have no idea at all. They could be writing thoughts for that great novel that no one will read, or reading porn, or plotting a suicide bombing for all I know. I have no idea. I just know that being in a roomful of phone addicts staring at glowing rectangles held half a meter in front of their face (ALL THE TIME) is boring, killing the art of conversation, and trashing any pretence of a polite society we used to (pretend to) enjoy.

But you said they were "vicariously living other people's lives while missing out on their own". None of the things you mentioned above count as that. So phone use annoys you. But people using their phones doesn't mean they're not living their life, and it's certainly not up to coffee shops to police that with poncy "no wifi" zones. Why does it bother you if other people don't have conversations? As long as the people you associate with can still hold a conversation, surely it doesn't matter? Or maybe you're less interesting than what's on their phones...

Today I played ‘pretentiousness Bingo’ at my local cafe.

Hipster waiter (beverage curator?) launched himself across the room to let me know earnestly that he thought my tea pot needed another 40 seconds (precisely) before he thought it would be optimally brewed for me to pour.

Also those mule loafers with fur lining that sticks out. So bare heels but cosy toes? Extra points for the horse-bit buckle (real or fake).

it's certainly not up to coffee shops to police that with poncy "no wifi" zones

So were 'No smoking areas' in restaurants and cafes, before the smoking laws were changed, 'poncy'? Would a vegetarian restaurant be 'poncy' for not telling people it doesn't sell meat products? Or does every establishment have to offer everything available anywhere all the time?

No wi-fi is a selling point.

Nothing pretentious about it all.

So thesandman do you all sit and chat to each other instead, total strangers etc? I take a paperback with me when I go alone to a cafe, is that somehow more acceptable?

I have two pairs of Hunter wellies. I bought them about 15 years ago, when I was living in the countryside and spent a lot of time walking along muddy lanes and across muddy fields. Sometimes I wear them in the city, on very wet days when running errands. Mostly they just linger in the bottom of my wardrobe. I don’t anticipate ever needing to replace them because they are great quality and it doesn’t matter if they are a bit worn.

I don’t think that’s pretentious.

So basically according to most of the posts here if you don't like or understand something it's pretentious. Got it!