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?

The Italians are a class of their own and can carry off things that look hideous on a Brit 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s about anything which is ostentatious I think.

Mr Hinch is tacky. Katie price is tacky. Almost anything linked to reality tv is tacky. Designer gear intended to flaunt the brand is tacky. Knock offs of it are really tacky. Brands become tacky when they are frequently copied; eg you just wouldn’t carry a michael kors bag because everyone presumes its a knock off.

According to my mum vertical blinds are common. Never quite got to the bottom of that one...

Recollects my grandmother when I bought a pair of red, flat pumps with gold trim at the heel, circa 1984 "you do realise people may think you are a prostitute!"
I had similar shoes, patent leather flats with a bow on the front yes, I know that now and my Nan went nuts at my Mum for buying them
I think it's where I first heard the phrase all fur coat/red shoes and no knickers at the age of 8 or 9

I think tacky/common means anything that offends lower middle class sensibilities.
Someone on MN said roast dinners were tacky the other day (well, they actually used the ch word, but hey).
Very bizarre.

Someone above said it's what poor people think rich people would wear/drive etc and I think this is true to an extent. Its to do also with attempting to display your wealth I think. If you have wealth, you don't need to display it.
E.g. Wear a plain black DKNY dress= fine, wear a black tee with DKNY across the front = tacky.

Cheap skirts cut on the bias do look cheap. They always have a teeeny weeny hem, and this makes them look shit. To hem a bias cut skirt properly it needs bias banding. This is very expensive to do.

And Chanel anything is dubious if it has the logo flashed all over it. If it has no or very discreet logo, then it’s fine.

ROFL @pussycatinboots - at least I was 24!

I was brought up with vertical blinds being tacky too.

Interesting thread! I find things tacky when a person is trying too hard to come across as flashy.

For example, when a baby/small child is dressed head to toe in designer clothes. They’re wearing a t-shirt with a massive Hugo Boss logo and a Hugo boss hat and baby Gucci shoes.

Also people who have bought face masks with fake designer logos on.

I don’t think grey decor is inherently tacky. It’s the houses where every item is grey (even the child’s bedroom and toys), everything sparkles and all the furniture is reflective. I’ve seen some insta homes which are so grey they look like a black and white photo, which crosses the tacky line for me

@tempnamechange98765

For me I would say "flashy", obviously expensive things can seem tacky/common, whereas subtlety expensive things are seen as more tasteful. A good example is the Louis Vuitton handbag with the logo plastered all over it several times - it's so "obviously" an expensive designer item it can seem tacky/common. Equally I think it depends on the person wearing it...

The “Louis Vuitton” bag that you find on all the Greek and Turkish Street markets for about a tenner?

I think a bias cut skirt usually looks cheap as it has a teeny tiny hem on it, and that looks shit. It should have bias binding on the hem and this is expensive.

I think Chanel can also look tacky. But only if it has a massive logo. A very small, indiscreet or internal logo is fine.

So good l posted twice🙄

@Grottyfeet

My Gran (born 1896 and in service until she married) used to say only common people worry about appearing common.....and talk about money.

Yes, I grew up hearing that.

The general consensus used to be that something was ‘common’ because it literally became common.

Tacky meant that you were pretending to be posh when you clearly weren’t. Eg having a Louis Vuitton handbag ( which would clearly have been a fake) if you lived on the twelfth floor of a council block.

As to Yankee Candles ... they really are common and not good for your environment. Just saying.

@buttheemojii - with the right eye and the right dry cleaner you can replicate. My wedding dress was "Made to measure, off the shelf, but I paid £90 to have the hem "rolled". " Made a huge difference. 29 years ago though. Did you know that the dressing rooms in Horrids had hint of pink bulbs to make us all look better?

A very interesting question, OP.

I suspect things become common/tacky once they have been appropriated by "chavs". This seems to be the case with everything from smelly candles to cars to children's names.

It certainly isn't to do with money, because I have come across some ridiculously rich people who have (as I would put it) absolutely no taste. This would cover white Evoques/Porsche 4x4s; false nails; any visible logo on any item of clothing whatsoever; cosmetic surgery; hair extensions; perma-tans; painted-on eyebrows; hot tubs; overly pungent scent/aftershave; generic "art" on the walls; Christmas trees where all the baubles are matchy-matchy; French bulldogs; and new furniture (as opposed to inherited/bought at auctions). The list goes on.

But, as you say, it is a mystery why this should be the case.

@OhTheRoses She deliberately set me up...and bought me a matching handbag a few days later 🤦‍♀️🤣
They looked fab with my dark teal corduroy trousers and muppet show tee shirt

I was in ASDA the other day and it had a ‘Happy Birthday Nan’ card. You would not see one of those in Waitrose!

But a rolled edge is lovely! But not a crappy overlocked one.

How do you know ?
I think it’s because the middle classes (who say this most frequently) are conditioned through life to be hyper alert to anything at all which might portray them as tacky/common. And have the money/opportunity, power, whatever, to avoid those things.
Those who are unsure or uneasy about who they are (the striving middle class) are the most likely to make fun of or belittle what they see as common or tacky.
Those who don’t need to worry about who they are don’t even have to engage - no need to broadcast who they are by labelling others.

Wish it were different.

Personally, I think caring what anyone else thinks is common. Properly posh people really don't do that and in fact, proper manners are all about making all sorts of others feel comfortable, not judging them.

Low class does not equal common or tacky.

I think lots of products endorsed by the people in TOWIE are/have become tacky eg D&G, Burberry.

Range rovers are classically black, no? Two on my street. Most stolen car in the U.K. (according to a policeman I know)

Would the queen have it? No? then it's tacky Not exactly this and not about cost either. DH and I both very working class background so not trying to out middle class anyone, but i suppose you look at the type of people that have something and decide if they are your kind of people or not and go from there. Do I have some tacky stuff? Absolutely, but I would say I'm more "cheap" than "tacky"

Yankee Candles are definitely tacky. I think it’s because they look/are so synthetic.

I don’t think it’s anything to do with hyper alertness. It’s too obvious for that. You just kind of know instinctively.

I meant hyper as in all of the time and deep within - agree - Probably slightly wring word. Acute. Better.

I love leopard print, yankee candles, goggle box, aldi, lidl and milk tray chocolates.
I am from a posh family but love so called. " tacky stuff." Cannot be arsed to spend more to seem posh.