To ask how do you know which things are 'tacky/common'?

[TheHydrangeas]

On here I sometimes see certain items, behaviours, homeware, fashion, makeup, etc classed as "tacky" or "common". Sometimes I can understand it, but other times it is things that seem pretty innocuous. Despite this you see this kind of unanimous belief that those things are "common". However I can't really find an underlying pattern to what is deemed to be tacky/common and what is not. Is there any kind of theme or pattern to this? One example is I remember reading a thread where a pretty popular brand of scented candles were classed as tacky.

I also want to say that I am not trying to portray other users negatively as judgemental or anything, we are all entitled to our opinions. I am just interested from a broader point of view - how do certain things become tacky or common?

Saw a glittery steering wheel in a Range Rover today and thought of this thread!

@Atalune

Is your furniture bought?

If you know you know.

No, I stole it. So I don't know.

Why on earth should it matter? If you like a thing and can afford it, buy it. Have confidence in your own judgement - you are the one who'll be living with whatever it is. It matters not a jot if someone else thinks it's tasteless.

Blimey. A class thread on mn and only two posters mentioning U/ non-U. Standards have slipped since penis beaker. 😂😂

compulsivesnacker I think it's more that the class-conscious people are no longer interested in being considered U. They are instead horrified at the possibility that they might be considered chavs so all their energy is now being channelled into emphasising their middle-class credentials.

Whether this is because non-U people have accepted that U is a totally separate part of society, or because U people are now considered utterly awful, or because class-consciousness has moved down the social scale, I'm not sure.

@MrsToothyBitch

Hmmm... I grew up hearing that certain things were "common" but it's something that my DM wouldn't have said outside the immediate family.

The understanding I have of the words - based on what I grew up with them meaning- is as follows:

Common - can involve tackiness, something popular with the lower orders, often decorative or branded and intended to make someone appear naicer than they are but instead immediately giving away a baser origin. Somehow, it won't be quite right. This is presumably why we were not allowed patent school shoes (school rule), ear piercings in the juniors, and why my mother sneers at frilled ankle socks. Common also applies when something explodes in popularity and is worn/owned/used by many in an attempt to seem more affluent but instead merely drags down the label or brand.

Tacky- crosses over with common but usually refers to something especially gaudy - often looks downright cheap, whereas common will just be slightly wrong rather than necessarily cheap. Hallmarks are larger or obvious logos or wearing all of the labels together, being flashy. Examples are certain products from certain brands- eg Barbour Intl vs classic Barbour, bags with huge Chanel or Gucci logos- or styling them to look a certain way. Money should whisper, not shout.

Indeed.

Money talks, but wealth whispers.

I just saw a fake Lamborghini that's the definition of tacky

Matchy-matchy clothes are also a bit dodgy - I know a family who all had their hair done the same colour (YES - the Mum, the Dad and the early teen daughter all the same caramel blonde...not the two boys who were still baby blond though) and the last time I saw them they were wearing matching beige suede jackets and white jeans. Seriously.

I think the clue is in the word ‘common’. Easily available, the masses have it and it doesn’t have any cachet because of that.

It's because they've had good manners, courtesy and politeness drummed into them from early infancy and it's a hard habit to break.

This isn't a preserve of the upper classes 🙄. My family are solidly working class and this is very much how I was brought up. As a carer for my disabled child so on benefits I would now be classed as underclass on here but still that's how DS has been brought up.

I think the clue is in the word ‘common’. Easily available, the masses have it and it doesn’t have any cachet because of that.

That's not what common means in the sense the Op is referring at all.

I thought Buckingham palace was pretty tacky. Gold literally everywhere you look. Gaudy and ostentatious.

that's literally the only time where ostentation is actually not tacky, being an official state palace and all

the private aisles are much more subtle!

What do U and non U mean please ?

It's a very 50s thing where U is 'upper class' - it's to do with linguistics and how we use words that signify class or tribe. So 'U' would be the word 'napkin' and 'Non U' is serviette for example.
Often 'NonU' words and expressions try to be overly polite or 'posh'

@MrDarcysMa, if you have to ask, then you don't need to know.

hat's not what common means in the sense the Op is referring at all.

Yes it is. For example, a huge TV is common because it’s what the masses want.

U vs Non-U examples:
Drawing room not Lounge
Pudding not Sweet
Terrace not Patio
What? not Pardon?
Lavatory (or loo) not Toilet

That kind of thing. There's a whole load of commentary doing the rounds now about modern versions as indicators - it's really quite tongue in cheek but I think there are still some people who take it seriously!

I don’t think that is what was/is meant by common either. As for ‘cachet’ surely seeking that is common ?

Common doesn’t necessarily mean prevalent. There is sometimes correlation but it is not causative at all !

Yes true. I withdraw what I said. I didn’t explain it well.

@KatherineParr4

Common, vulgar, ordinary refer, often with derogatory connotations of cheapness or inferiority, to what is usual or most often experienced. Common applies to what is accustomed, usually experienced, or inferior, to the opposite of what is exclusive or aristocratic: The park is used by the common people.

This is the meaning the Op is referring to.

I almost never hear the word common (to mean vulgar, as opposed to commonplace) in real life and am always astounded when it's dropped in quite casually on MN.

If I think of something as tacky it's usually something very poorly made and ugly as sin. I have no idea what makes a candle tacky.

Yes I know exactly what the OP means. I expressed myself clumsily.

[quote ChristmasCarcass]@tankflybos Not sure if that’s tongue in cheek, but: Aitch. No “H”. In the same way that “Y” isn’t pronounced “ya-why”, and “F” isn’t “Feff”.[/quote]
I say Haitch as do my children and pretty much everyone I know. The disadvantage of having Catholic Irish parents. 🤣 Not done me no harm. I know it's 'technically' aitch but honestly half the country says Haitch even v v posh people.