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?

You could have a crushed velvet sofa and be cool but it would have to be either that it was part of your own style ( so not the newest style that accompanied the crushed sofa look) or decades old.

And if you like the newest style? What then?

It depresses me that people might care more about whether a particular style was tacky than whether they like it.

I would never call anything 'common' - I think its very snobby and lacking in class to do so.

Tacky just is cheap or gaudy. I've been to Buckingham Palace and all the gold moulding is very tacky. The art collection, of course, is not. I'd say that if I saw gold mouldings and furniture in a victorian terrace house or a council house.

And yes I think Yankee candles are tacky. Branded and synthetic smelling. I agree too with Michael Kors and the TOWIE looks. Putting little kids in denim and branded clothing. Drug dealer range rovers, huge gold watches, all new matching furniture - all that.

But fashions change and I'm aware that my tastes are very influenced by my age and generation. I was very trendy as a student in the 80s and I like how my DD and her Art school friends express their edgy tastes. So for them having quite a few ear piercings, tattoos and big hoop earrings is cool, but they also make their own clothes or up-cycle vintage clothes. They make music, art and films. So often it depends on how people wear or use goods and thats quite hard to interpret. Because some fashions are tongue in cheek or reinterpreted/reclaimed.

The brand thing makes me laugh.

Adidas,Nike,Fila, Converse even TU,George etc are brands.

Are my Superstars tacky because they're Adidas and should I stop wearing something I love and have done for the past 11 years because shock horror brands , tacky common faints.

I'd clutch my pearls but I'm too common for that .

Is it even possible to buy sports wear without logos? I'm sure the Queen has a Barbour jacket

Converse has very visible branding. Even without the branding, you can tell what it is because Converse shoes have a specific look. They are also popular - you see them everywhere. Are they tacky as a result? The whole thing is complete nonsense.

There is no such thing as tacky things just tacky people.

A few years ago a very posh friend of mine was telling me about her latest shopping trip to Burberry on Bond St. Both her and her mum were on first name terms with the staff and spent so much money in the shop that they were given 'gifts' of scarfs at Christmas from the staff.

Later that same week a more working class friend of mine was telling me how only 'common' people shop in Burberry.

It made me realise that it's not what you buy that matters. A posh person in Burberry is still posh and a common person in Burberry is still common.

No offense to Yankee Candle fans, but to me they are tacky because the fragrances seem so artificial and headache-inducing. Even the dye on the candles look artificial and cheap. Sorry... that said I've enjoyed a couple of festive candles from there.

Leopard print is an interesting one, a lot would class this tacky but it's a tackiness that sort of transcends into fabulousness on some people. I think that's when kitsch comes in, and there's a very fine, undefined line between knowingly/ tastefully kitsch and plain tacky.

Giant hair bows on babies are tacky because they are ostentatious and unnatural. Likewise fake nails and the Love Island look.

The Burberry check is the classic example of an item becoming tacky from being too 'mass market' and lost the luxury, exclusive veneer. Similar examples: Tiffany, LV, Michael Kors.

Grey interiors aren't tacky to me, so much as identikit and boring. It is everywhere and trendy but the opposite of ostentatious.

I know someone who's loaded and has sensible taste but somehow loves dressing her young daughters in matching outfits from Juicy Couture and the like. That to me is tacky but I will never say so.

@PoppySeedSaid

There is no such thing as tacky things just tacky people.

A few years ago a very posh friend of mine was telling me about her latest shopping trip to Burberry on Bond St. Both her and her mum were on first name terms with the staff and spent so much money in the shop that they were given 'gifts' of scarfs at Christmas from the staff.

Later that same week a more working class friend of mine was telling me how only 'common' people shop in Burberry.

It made me realise that it's not what you buy that matters. A posh person in Burberry is still posh and a common person in Burberry is still common.

Which is tacitly admitting that it's actually a judgement on the person and their level of social capital. It's got nothing to do with the brand of clothes. It's just an excuse to sneer.

Queen wears a Barbour jacket - fine

TOWIE actor wears a Barbour jacket - this uppity lower class man has ideas above his station oh how tacky!

I think Converse isn't tacky despite the obvious branding because they're kind of a low key shoe, no? Just a classic style that hasn't changed for years, isn't particularly expensive, generally not in your face.

And yeah, almost all sportswear is clearly branded anyway it's hard to avoid wearing logos there.

I bought a Burberry trench in 1984 and still occasionally wear it. No way would I buy a Burberry scarf or baseball cap.

I might buy a Yankee candle just to test it. Hi Malone aren't marvellous imo. The ones from the RHS shop are pretty good (Sainsbury's and Waitrose ones are poor). Best one ever was bought At a charity event. No idea of the make but niche and goodness it was divine. Have missed the event for about 5 years but will try to get there this year - social distancing permitting.

But contrary to Style & Beauty can someone please tell me why Iris by Prada is supposed to be wonderful because I can't get the vibe.

No - Converse isn't considered tacky because it's a middle class sort of thing to wear. There's nothing about the style that is more 'classic' than most Adidas trainers. You can buy c
Converse in various glitzy designs etc...

In the 90s, Adidas was considered a bit cool and indie. Now it's tacky. It's got nothing to do with the 3 stripes or the Converse brand, and everything to do with middle class perceptions about 'the type of people who wear [item]'.

Oh and also why converse are supposed to be fantastic. They are plimsolls devoid of any support

Agreed - Adidas are far better for actual sports than Converse!

OhTheRoses

No point posting then is there Thisismytimetoshine. I don't really give a flying fuck but clearly you do. Here you go - branded Asprey hammer and chisel to work away at that very tacky old chip on your shoulder.

OhTheRoses I’ve just come on here to say you sound utterly grim. You’ve been rude to at least four people on this thread.

You’re always so desperate to prove how top drawer you are - not just on this thread - that it makes me think you probably have little else going for you.

I mean, if you were fun, clever and beautiful you really wouldn’t need to bang on about how posh you are. I speak as someone who has all of these and pots of money but wouldn’t dream of ever admitting any of it. Self-deprecation is the key .. if you’ve got it, you don’t have to flaunt it. Try a little charm, why don’t you?

Bless you you’re so Dull. I’ve never read anything remotely interesting you’ve written yet.

It’s a particularly weird British thing to actually look down on “new money” and revere “old money” like it’s somehow special to have had your wealth handed to you instead of making it yourself.
I discovered this when I moved to Australia and here there is a horror of being seen to have just been handed success (although it happens often enough!) and a thought that those people that this has happened to aren’t good enough to make it on their own (James Packer, Murdoch children etc).
It’s very interesting as I had always had that British thing of feeling snobby about new money and it has somewhat changed since living over here.

My mum is very "in the know" about what is common and she would say:

• different coloured pegs on the same items of washing
• those soap dispenser bottles that are see-through with fish patterns on
• doing the lottery

I think on the whole anything ostentatious is considered tacky

Working class we often like to show we have made money, most certainly will send children to private school, have an expensive car and a regular new car, clothes/shoes that show we have made it often for children too (I wouldn’t do this) Yankee candles meh I can’t stand the smell of them

Traditional middle class and upper middle class play down their wealth (to listen to them they are the poorest people I know without actually of course mentioning figures) clothes are well made, children have good quality clothes that are handed down, frugal with money, a good sensible car, money spent on education and property. Some of ds friends at prep school had such old school uniforms the posher the families were the more threadbare the blazers were

Of course this is a generalisation but it’s the small things that give it away and as class is very much entrenched in our culture being common is what no one wants to been seen as

In my opinion, not all brands are tacky. The tacky brands are the ones people use as a status symbol to show off.

George is a brand, as is primark, but these are affordable shops so there’s nothing to flex about. No one would want to buy a handbag with the primark logo all over it.

But with something like LV, people want to show off that they’ve got a few hundred spare to spend on a bag. They want the logo plastered everywhere for people to realise. If there was a plain black LV bag with no logos, they wouldn’t be interested. This is an example of tackiness because they’re only interested in showing off.

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.

Well said @terracottapot. That is so true and something most of the posters on this thread could learn from.

@GlummyMcGlummerson

My mum is very "in the know" about what is common and she would say:

• different coloured pegs on the same items of washing
• those soap dispenser bottles that are see-through with fish patterns on
• doing the lottery

She sounds nuts.

Which is tacitly admitting that it's actually a judgement on the person and their level of social capital. It's got nothing to do with the brand of clothes. It's just an excuse to sneer.

Absolutely. All about the person and their place in society. Buying something tacky isn't going to make you tacky.

I’ve been dying to get that off my chest for years.